A woman has had her bid to open a nightclub in a south London railway arch turned down after admitting to councilors she knew nothing about running a late-night venue. Lina Usma had asked Southwark Council for permission to open the Barrio Latino club until 4am in a residential area of Walworth, south London.
Speaking at a council licensing meeting on Thursday (September 12), Usma, a former Green Party city council candidate, apologized for oversights that saw the venue open illegally in July before it had a licence, blaming the error on a former manager and her team lack of experience.
She said: “Sergio (the former manager) no longer works with us. It was our mistake to delegate it to someone who (made) a lot of mistakes. (…) It’s the first time we run this kind of business. We know nothing.”
Neighbors told the same meeting that the site was not suitable for a club, claiming they had already experienced inconvenience from the site operating illegally. Resident Giada Migliavacca said: “There aren’t many restaurants or shops where we are… This area is very quiet. I don’t understand why a club opening here would be considered for a business that hasn’t followed its own rules before. It gives me no confidence in them in the future.”
Paul, another resident, who did not give his surname, added: “The noise from the venue is a public nuisance and occurs when people walk into the venue but also loitering in the street after the venue closes. I have a video from April of a drunken fist fight outside my apartment on a Sunday morning. We complained to management… but nothing changed.”
The local police and local authority licensing team objected to the application, while Southwark Council’s environmental health and trading standards departments raised concerns about aspects of the proposal. A licensing committee consisting of Councilor Suzanne Abachor, Cllr Barrie Hargrove and Cllr Sunny Lambe refused the application.
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