London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has announced that new al fresco dining and drinking areas will pop up in several areas across London this summer.
The first beneficiaries of the Mayor’s £300,000 Summer Streets Fund, these hotspots will offer outdoor dining and later closing times, giving Londoners and tourists new places to enjoy dinner and drinks while staying out later than previously allowed.
London’s Lambeth, Hackney, Waltham Forest and Westminster boroughs are the first to benefit from this scheme, and Khan said he plans to build on this early expansion by bringing al fresco dining to more areas in London over the years ahead.
The summer al fresco dining schemes are listed below:
- Westminster – After a widely popular al fresco programme during the pandemic, pubs, bars and restaurants on St Martin’s Lane in the heart of the West End will be able to provide open air dining and drinking once again. The street will be car-free from 11am-11pm and al fresco licences available for up to 34 businesses. Plans will be brought forward to make this permanent in the coming months.
- Shoreditch – For the first time ever independent bars and restaurants on Rivington Street and Redchurch Street will be able to offer outdoor dining and drinking until midnight. Both streets will be car free on Fridays and Saturdays throughout the summer and businesses will be able to apply for free licences for the first three months.
- Brixton – 400sqm of outdoor dining space will provide around 80 extra tables and 400 extra seats for businesses in Atlantic Road and Brixton Station Road. Running on selected weekends, the roads will become car free zones until 10pm, with daytime activities including food markets, art workshops and live music.
- Leyton – Francis Road will extend its car free hours, making it a hub for street trading and a cultural meeting point with seating, outdoor games, late events and a weekend market. There will be further outdoor dining in the Leyton Midland Road as part of a summer event.
The Mayor hopes this scheme will help grow London’s hospitality, leisure, and tourism industries, which account for more than one in 10 jobs in the city.
“I’m delighted to announce the first of many new al fresco hotspots across the capital to help Londoners and visitors make the most of our summer this year. With new car-free, al fresco dining in Westminster, Shoreditch, Brixton, Leyton there will be new and fantastic spaces to bring people together,” Khan said.
“The schemes announced today are just the beginning and we’re looking to build on their success across London in the years ahead.”
Earlier this year, the government announced it would give Sadiq Khan new licensing powers to cut bureaucratic red tape around initiatives like al fresco dining and longer opening hours around nightlife hotspots.
“London’s food, drink and nightlife scenes are world-class and I’m determined to do all I can to help them thrive. With new licensing powers granted by Government being developed, I’m looking forward to doing even more – working with boroughs, businesses and the police to drive forward more initiatives like these,” Khan said.
“We saw what a success it was during the pandemic, and I want to expand al fresco dining further in the years to come, all part of building a better London for everyone.”
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