General Smuts given last orders
Wednesday October 12, 2011
A public house on the White City Estate, described by patrons as a ‘supremely scary place’ has been banned from selling alcohol.
The General Smuts on Bloemfontein Road, was said to have been in constant breach of its licence and is well known as a Shepherds Bush trouble-spot, so much so that the police asked Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s licensing sub-committee to remove the sale of alcohol as licensable activity.
Comprising a pub, function room and restaurant, the General Smuts has a fearsome reputation and is described on popular pub website www.beerintheevening.com (opens new window) as a ‘supremely scary place, barely a night went by without a fight or someone being injured outside it.’ The premises is also well known to the Police concerning football hooliganism.
In a report to the council, the police stated that the General Smuts had regularly broken the terms of its licence. This included failing to ensure that the correct number of door supervisors were on duty and failing to record complaints.
The venue was also raided by 15 Leeds United football thugs in May 2011, who were in town for a clash with Queens Park Rangers. During this attack, where no door supervisors were on duty, the licence holder, Yasser Hamouda was attacked with a chair.
The General Smuts was issued with a Section 19 notice, following a Police license check in July 2011, which informed Mr Hamouda that the council was intending to close it down but when undercover police checked the premises in August when Bolton Wanderers were playing QPR they noticed no improvement whatsoever.
Cllr Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler, chairman of the Licensing Sub-Committee, said: “We are calling last orders on the advice of the police who are deeply concerned about the crime and disorder that stems from the General Smuts. We have taken this action as we have a duty to act in the best interests of law-abiding local residents.”
General Smuts will still be able to operate its restaurant and function room and has 21 days to appeal this decision from the date the decision letter is sent out to them. The sub-committee also agreed to remove Mr Hamouda as the designated premises supervisor.
At the same meeting (Monday, October 10), the sub-committee agreed to ban the AM-PM (Best Quality Food and Wine), Lillie Road, Fulham from selling alcohol. This ban was imposed as the premises have been persistently selling counterfeit tobacco, and have also been selling DVDs, lighters and alcohol, including Bollinger Champagne.
The owner, Balvinder Malhotra was fined £1,000 for selling illegal cigarettes and tobacco in November 2009 but continued to flout the law even after his prosecution, and was fined £6,000 second time around. Mr Malhotra was also removed as the designated premises supervisor.
In a separate matter, Supersave, 94 North End Road, Fulham has withdrawn its appeal to the magistrates court in relation to the council's decision to revoke their premises licence. The council have been awared £500 costs.
