A nightclub in Romford has been granted longer weekend hours, making it the "latest opening venue in town".
Jukebox LDN, in South Street, will now open until 3.30am every Friday and Saturday after a proposed extension was approved by Havering Council's licensing sub-committee.
The licensing changes will also include live music and the selling of alcohol being allowed to continue until 3am on Friday and Saturday - an extra half an hour from what is currently permitted.
The nightclub had applied for an extra hour on all its weekend licensing activities, including staying open until 4am, but a compromise was reached by the sub-committee.
It comes after the Metropolitan Police, Havering's licensing authority and Havering's environmental health service all raised concerns about later operating times leading to an increase in "public nuisance", particularly for nearby residents.
Police listed 37 reported crimes that allegedly took place after midnight at the venue between August 5 last year and the same date this year.
In a meeting on Thursday (September 17), which lasted more than two hours, a representative speaking on behalf of Jukebox owner Danny Woodhouse pointed to "evidence" of the club following licensing guidelines as opposed to "speculation" about the potential for public nuisance with later opening hours.
The representative said: "You have to look at the evidence.
"We operate until 3[am], we've had no complaints for five years, we manage dispersal, and in fact we think we will manage it better if we are open later because other premises will have closed and we can then move them [customers] away.
"I think it is worth noting that there are a couple of licences that were open until 4am that have now gone away, Atik and the Buddha Lounge.
"There is no late venue for someone to go out to and we want to be able to provide that service."
Celebrating the decision in a post on Facebook, Danny said: "A massive thank you to everyone who supported us throughout our licence application.
"Your support genuinely means so much to us.
"We’ll continue working closely with the police, licensing and all other authorities to make sure Jukebox remains a safe, enjoyable and fun place to party.
"I'd love to invite everybody to come join us this weekend for a celebration of Jukebox and Romford's latest opening venue in town.
"See you on the dancefloor."
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