Is Westminster City Council Really Looking to Ban Standing in Pubs?
All will no doubt have seen all of the press last week and the sensationalised headlines, stating that Westminster City Council were looking to ban people from drinking pints on the pavement outside of pubs. The London Mayor and even Downing Street have waded in today on the topic!
The Guardian and the Mirror, the largest of the mainstream media outlets, ran headlines such as: “Thousands of pubs face having to ban punters from standing and ordering at bar in “vertical drinking” crack down” and “Council wants pubs in London’s Soho and West End to limit standing”. I have not checked, but I do not think that there are 1000s of pubs in Soho and the West End to start with!!
As always, the devil is in the detail. Westminster City Council have released a new statement of licensing policy that was out for consultation (Consultation closed 9 August 2026). Please see link: https://committees.westminster.gov.uk/documents/s73265/Licensing%20Committee%20Report%2014.07.2026%20-%20Appendix%201%20-%20Draft%20Statement%20of%20Licensing%20Policy%202026.pdf
Looking specifically at the proposed policy, there are four occasions in the draft policy that mention ‘vertical drinking’.
1.The Council’s ‘strategy’ seeks to: “Discourage excessive drunkenness and encourage the provision of more seating in premises that serve alcohol for people to sit and enjoy a drink and order food by table service in place of open bar space that caters for high volume vertical drinking.”
2. The proposed policy also raises concerns about restaurants in the Cumulative Impact Zone (“CIZ”), operating as bars, in particular “vertical drinking” premises where customers consume alcohol whilst standing throughout the evening. They even give an example of this: “This applies to all persons who wish to consume alcohol in a restaurant. There is no exception, for example, for a group of individuals where the majority are taking a substantial table meal but one is not, and nevertheless all wish to consume alcohol. The individual who is not taking a substantial table meal could not be supplies alcohol.” This approach does seem very extreme, as an individual person who wanted to join a group of eating friends, under the current proposal, should not be supplied alcohol!
3. When discussing ‘exceptions’ to the CIZ, the proposed policy states: “The introduction of measures to reduce the extent of, or to remove opportunities for, vertical drinking could address the underlying reasons for the (CIZ) policy. This could be by introducing fixed seating and conditions to provide a minimum number of seats at all times and requiring sales to be by waiter or waitress service only. However, this measure alone is unlikely to be considered as an exception.”
4. The fourth occasion is when again looking at ‘exceptions’ to the CIZ and discussing the use of premises capacity limits, the proposed policy states: “Premises that are less crowded and where customers are seated are generally associated with lower noise levels and more orderly dispersal than higher-capacity venues with predominantly vertical drinking. However, the inclusion of a capacity limit or related measures will not, in itself, be sufficient to justify an exception to policy.”
The above, especially the element in relation to the strategy, is very concerning as there certainly is a place for well managed standing drinking bars and pub style premises, even if it is in the CIZ. I have always had issues with CIZs anyway as they lead to stagnation, with new operators wanting to introduce new styles being unable to because of the (albeit rebuttable) presumption of refusal.
Westminster City Council, on Friday released the below statement confirming that the media headlines were not what they said. Their ‘LinkedIn’ post stated in relation to wanting to ban standing in Soho pubs:
“That isn’t what our Draft Statement of Licensing Policy 2026 says. The draft discusses how seating and table service can help reduce overcrowding, high-volume “vertical drinking” and disorder risks in some venues. It’s about responsible venue management-not stopping people from standing up or enjoying our incredible pubs, bars and restaurants.
So, whether you choose to sit or stand, we invite you to drink responsibly and enjoy Soho, the heart of the capitals nightlife with us. Cheers!”
It is great to see the media rallying, trying to shine a light on one of London’s greatest traditions, of drinking in the sunshine outside a pub stood up or even just ordering at the bar! I would imagine that this media storm will mean that Westminster City Council will re-visit this element of their proposed new ‘strategy’. However, accurate reporting is essential, but this would just not sell papers!
Should you be looking to make a premises licence application in Westminster (or anywhere else), please do reach out to Chris at Chris@woodswhur.co.uk or your normal Woods Whur contact.