Millwall Café Licence Granted, With No Beer Near Kick-Off

Councillors have granted the Millwall Café on Bolina Road, directly opposite The Den, a licence to sell alcohol every day from 10am to 11pm. But on Millwall home matchdays it must follow all three rules the police asked for and the café had resisted (decision notice).

Updated 30 October: Licensing Sub-Committee D decided the application on Tuesday 27 October. The council published its decision notice this week, and this story now reports the outcome.

What the café must do on home matchdays

The sub-committee added these conditions to the ones the café had already agreed:

• A door supervisor: at least one SIA-registered door supervisor, employed by a company registered with the Accredited Contractor Scheme, on duty from two hours before kick-off until fans have dispersed.
• Fencing: a Heras fence at least six feet high around the outdoor seating, kept up until fans have dispersed.
• No alcohol near kick-off or the final whistle: no sales in the 60 minutes before kick-off or the 60 minutes after the match ends. During the match, the designated premises supervisor must decide whether to suspend sales, and must refuse anyone known to have been thrown out of the game.

The police had wanted the door supervisor on duty from 10am. Councillors said a fixed 10am start “went further than necessary irrespective of kick-off time”, so they tied it to kick-off instead. The café had offered a 30-minute pause before kick-off. Members chose 60 minutes, because the police said that hour is when away coaches arrive and rival fans have to be kept apart.

Why councillors granted it

The notice says members “accepted the Police evidence” about the café’s position: close to the stadium, on supporter routes and on the away-coach route. They noted the café’s case that it had traded on matchdays without trouble. They said that was “not determinative”, because it had never sold alcohol before.

They concluded the risks “could therefore be adequately addressed by conditions and refusal of the application was not necessary”.

The original application and the objections, as they stood before the hearing, are below.

What the café wants, and why

The application asks for one thing: alcohol for drinking on the premises, 10am to 11pm, seven days a week. The café is not applying for late hours, music or off-sales.

In its application, the café says it has traded opposite the stadium for more than four years. It serves food and soft drinks to local residents and to workers from nearby factories and businesses.

Its case is that matchday drinking already happens outside its door. It estimates that more than 60% of its matchday customers drink beer they have bought from nearby shops and wholesalers, some arriving “carrying cases of beer”. Selling beer itself, it argues, would bring that drinking “under greater control and responsible management”, with trained staff, CCTV and Challenge 25 checks.

The café says it would stay “primarily a restaurant” and not become a pub or bar. It has offered to serve drinks in plastic, never glass, on home matchdays. It also says it would stop selling after matches if post-match sales were found to cause trouble.

Why the police object

The Met’s licensing officer objected after consulting the force’s dedicated football officer for Millwall and a public order chief inspector who has commanded Millwall matches. The police say:

• the café sits at “a natural convergence point” for fans walking to the stadium
• it is on the route away coaches take into the away compound
• fans on coaches already bang on windows, and drinking outside could turn that into disorder
• early-arriving away fans could gather at the café and undermine the segregation of rival supporters
• the café has not marked out where drinking would be allowed, so it is unclear how staff would stop drinks leaving the area

The football officer’s witness statement adds that some clubs bring 10 to 15 coaches to The Den. It says the police should not have to deploy extra officers to manage crowds drawn by alcohol sales.

Why Millwall objects

The club’s head of operations and safety officer for The Den asked councillors to refuse the application. The club says Bolina Road is part of its managed route in and out of the stadium, and that groups gathering outside the café would block it at the busiest times.

It also raised the café’s name. The club said “the trading name may lead members of the public to believe the premises is operated by or associated with Millwall Football Club, which it is not”.

If councillors grant a licence, the club wants much tighter rules than the police do, including no alcohol for four hours before and after any fixture at The Den and no drinking outside.

The three sticking points

The café has agreed most of the conditions the police and the council asked for. The committee report says three remain unagreed:

Because those three are not agreed, the police and the council’s licensing team have not withdrawn their objections.

Can it be appealed?

Yes. The notice says anyone appealing must go to the magistrates’ court within 21 days of being told of the decision (decision notice).

This is a separate application from Millwall’s own bid to raise The Den’s licensed capacity to 19,999, which is open for comments until 9 November.

What it means for you

• If you go to Millwall home games: the café can now serve beer, but not in the hour before kick-off or the hour after the final whistle. Its outside seats will be fenced and a door supervisor will be on from two hours before kick-off.
• If you live or work near The Den: the licence also covers ordinary weekdays, 10am to 11pm. The council’s current applications list shows every licence open for comment in the borough.