Craft Metropolis wins approval for third venue in Sydenham

Craft Metropolis has won the local approval needed to turn an empty Sydenham Road unit into its third South London venue, giving drinkers in SE26 another possible stop for takeaway cans, a relaxed pint and coffee under one roof.

Lewisham Council’s Licensing Sub-Committee D backed Craft 26 Ltd’s bid on April 21 for 26B Sydenham Road, the former Good Food deli and coffee shop that shut in December 2025. The application was for a full variation of the premises licence, with alcohol sales for consumption on and off the premises set out for 09:00 to 23:00 Monday to Sunday, along with a change of layout and a change of premises name.

For Sydenham, the practical appeal is obvious: the plan puts a beer-led business into a vacant high street unit instead of leaving another dark frontage on a busy stretch of South London retail. SE26 described the proposal in March as a craft ale shop, coffee shop and ancillary taproom, and framed it as an addition to Craft Metropolis’s existing Penge and Brixton sites, giving the operator a local footprint that now reaches three venues.

The council’s public agenda for the hearing showed how closely the neighbourhood dynamics were being weighed. The committee had the application, representations in support and against, proposed conditions from the licensing authority, the existing licence and plan layouts in front of it. Supporters argued the project would help avoid another empty storefront, while objections focused on late-night noise and the impact of alcohol sales into the evening.

Oliver Meade, Craft 26’s director, told the committee the business was intended to be a safe, relaxed, community-focused space rather than a rowdy pub, and said he was willing to work with residents who had concerns. One agreed condition required customers not to linger or smoke at the front of the venue and instead use a designated smoking area at the back, a small but telling detail about how tightly craft beer retail in a dense street setting is shaped by hours, foot traffic and noise.

The representation deadline had been March 23, and the approval now clears the way for Craft Metropolis to press ahead with a venue that fits the current London craft beer model: part bottle shop, part taproom, part neighborhood caffeine stop. In Sydenham, that mix could make 26B Sydenham Road far more than another licensed premises.