The Angel Set for Makeover Following Licence Suspension

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Police wanted Roehampton pub shut permanently after violent incidents

The Angel pub in Roehampton

May 16, 2026

A Roehampton pub which had been the alleged location of violent fights and antisocial behaviour has had its licence suspended for two months.

The Angel has temporarily shut and will reopen under new management, after a £300,000 revamp.

The Met Police had asked for the pub to have its licence stripped entirely, after stating that reports of serious violence, disorder and antisocial behaviour linked to it showed an “ongoing pattern of risk and poor control”.

The Met told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the review followed “continued links between the premises and incidents including serious violence, antisocial behaviour, drug-related activity and assaults on police officers, despite prior engagement with the licence holder and the introduction of additional voluntary conditions”.

But some residents rallied around the venue, on Roehampton High Street, with a Change.org petition calling for it to remain open hitting 743 signatures.

The petition warned the loss of one of Roehampton’s two surviving pubs “would be devastating, impacting local social life, communal traditions, and even our local economy”..

Wandsworth Council’s Licensing Committee instead decided to suspend the pub’s licence for two months to allow it to make improvements, after a hearing on April 29.

In a new report, the committee ruled there was not enough evidence to justify a full revocation of the licence, particularly as it had new management and there had been a reduction in incidents.

The pub’s licence was transferred from Young’s to Punch Partnerships in 2021.

In a letter to the council, ahead of the hearing, PC Belinda Loizou said the pub had shown “inadequate supervision and ineffective security arrangements”.

She wrote: “Incidents associated with the premises have placed the public, staff and police officers at risk. Violent disorder and threatening behaviour demonstrate ongoing public safety failures. The premises have generated persistent nuisance to residents, including noise, antisocial behaviour.”

Labour MP Fleur Anderson and councillors Graeme Henderson, Matthew Tiller and Jenny Yates, who represent the area, said in a letter to the authority residents had reported suffering from “noise, antisocial behaviour and use of illegal drugs at the pub”.

The letter added: “We also recognise that The Angel is one of only two pubs serving a community of around 18,000 people, and that some local residents feel strongly that, if it can be run properly and safely, the pub should remain open.”

The committee heard the pub’s designated premises supervisor had changed from Sally Cox to David Slaughter since the Met’s request for a licence review.

Solicitor Piers Warne, representing Punch Partnerships, told the meeting Mr Slaughter had turned around a number of struggling pubs and he would do the same with The Angel. He described him as having a zero-tolerance approach to bad behaviour and confirmed he would be given further training.

Mr Warne revealed the firm would also invest around £300,000 to refurbish the pub as part of the change in management.

Barrister Horaine Henry, representing the Met, told the meeting evidence showed a history of crime and violent fights at or around the pub, along with alleged drug dealing linked to the venue.

He said a raid of the premises in October last year found drugs and 57 empty snap bags, which indicated personal use and drug dealing.

But Mr Warne argued the police did not find any evidence of drug dealing at the pub during the October raid. He said the drugs were found in a private bedroom and the amount indicated personal use only, while the snap bags were empty.

He told the meeting the pub’s new management was not related to the previous supervisor.

Mr Warne added Punch Partnerships and Mr Slaughter would run the pub effectively and make sure it was an asset to the local community.

The committee decided it could not find a direct link between drugs being found on the premises and alleged drug dealing outside based on the evidence that had been presented.

A report on the committee’s decision said Punch Partnerships had failed to properly oversee management of the premises, but that members were prepared to allow the venue to stay open with the change in management and planned investment – coupled with extra conditions on the licence.

The conditions include tighter noise, security and safeguarding arrangements. The pub must also shut all windows, doors and the outside seating area by 10pm every day and hold monthly meetings with residents.

The report said the two-month suspension of the pub’s licence “reflected the severity of past incidents, the management failings, and… served as a deterrent for any future bad conduct”.

It added the committee “sincerely hoped” Punch Partnerships and Mr Slaughter would “turn the premises around and would avoid residents or the police being forced to again review the premises licence”.

Punch Partnerships has been contacted for comment.

Charlotte Lilywhite - Local Democracy Reporter

 

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