Residents try to sink plan for 1,500-person party boat in capital
FOR revellers hoping to indulge in some guilt-free bacchanalia, the Oceandiva pleasure barge may seem like a gift from the gods.
The 1,500-person party boat promises to be a “revolutionary” net-zero events venue for London.
It is set to be captained by Robert Dwan, whose family have run cruises on the river for decades.
In its planning application, Oceandiva London has applied to be allowed to operate from Monday to Sunday between 11am and 2.30am the following morning. It has also applied for an extension to all its licensable activities on six days of the week to 3.00am.
Oceandiva has been opposed by residents in Southwark, where it plans to dock at Butler’s Wharf, but because the pier is private the council has no authority to intervene. Residents now rely on Newham council to block the plans.
Councils including Westminster, Southwark and Greenwich submitted responses to the planning consultation.
Peter Golds, a Conservative councillor in Tower Hamlets, told The Sunday Telegraph the boat would be a disaster for residents. He said: “Imagine at one o’clock on a summer’s morning when you’re trying to go to sleep and there are 1,500 people having a party slowly
going past your bathroom windows on the river Thames.”
In response, Oceandiva told The Telegraph it intended to “revolutionise the marine environment, as the UK’s first CO2-neutral venue on the Thames, part of an innovative operation to decarbonise the capital’s river”.
The firm said it was working with the Metropolitan Police to prepare a management plan for its Butler’s Wharf landings and that it would “directly
addresses all of the residents’ concerns comprehensively and sympathetically”.
Newham council, which cannot express a public view on an ongoing planning process, told The Telegraph: “Newham has received an unprecedented number of representations expressing concern at this application [almost 1,000].” It said the application will be the subject of a hearing by Newham licensing sub-committee on Feb 22 and 23 next year.