North Bermondsey residents slammed Ocean Diva executives over their plans to moor a huge party boat at Butler’s Wharf Pier, Shad Thames.
At a meeting on Wednesday, September 21, furious locals argued that the 1,500-capacity boat’s passengers will create noise and rubbish every time they disembark.
Smart Group, which owns the yacht, has applied to make Newham’s Royal Docks its home port, but would also be able to dock at several Thames piers, including Butler’s Wharf.
At the meeting, one furious resident said: “It is a conservation area and it is very, very narrow and dense…and you want to chuck 600 people into one narrow street…I don’t think you really care.”
North Bermondsey’s Lib Dem Councillors Rachel Bentley and Emily Tester assured worried residents they were “on their side on this”.
The decision to grant a license falls to Newham Council but the Liberal Democrats will submit an objection to the application.
A council officer also said that Southwark Council and Southwark Police intended to make representations.
Cllr Rachel Bentley, Southwark Liberal Democrat member for the North Bermondsey ward said: “We have grave concerns about the disruption that Oceandiva could bring to our local area as well as on the wider communities who live along the Thames.
“The owners and operators of Oceandiva have been trying to bring their super luxury events vessel to London for many years and need to respect residents’ repeated message that it is not wanted.
“This mega boat could have an unprecedented impact on Shad Thames in terms of noise, nuisance and anti-social behaviour.”
Attending the meeting, Greg Lawson, CEO of Smart Group, assured residents that he had “a great history in operating venues”.
He and another executive sought to reassure residents that residents wouldn’t suffer from late-night parties.
One executive said: “The likelihood of anyone disembarking at 10.30pm at Butler’s Wharf is practically zero – they’re likely to be going to the other piers.”
However, they were unable to give residents categorical reassurance that the boat would never disembark as late as 10.30pm.
Newham would be responsible for any regulation of licensing conditions, with Oceandiva offering a direct phone line to the public for noise complaints.
But the Southwark Liberal Democrats pointed out that this did not provide enough clarity as to who will enforce any licensing issues that occur outside of Newham.