Last orders called at General Smuts in White City
A pub house on the White City Estate, described by patrons as a "supremely scary" 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 a pub website as a " supremely scary place, barely a night went by without a fight or someone being injured outside it." The pub is also well known to the Police for 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 licence 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.
October 21, 2011
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