Hotel Chocolat has won a battle to hold tasting events with booze at a new store in south west London.

The luxury chocolatier opened a new boutique store and café in Richmond town centre in December, as it prepares for a huge expansion across the UK.

Richmond Council has now approved Hotel Chocolat's plans to sell alcohol at the venue, on George Street, from 9am to 9pm every day.

Alcohol will be available to buy at the store to take home, and to drink at special tasting events over the year.

The plans faced opposition from Friends of Richmond Green, who raised concerns people would leave the shop intoxicated after these events and disturb neighbours.

The venue falls in a Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ), where the granting of licences is strictly limited to avoid adding to disturbance in the area.

The community group proposed conditions to address these concerns, including banning tasting events from taking place on weekends and when there are major rugby events at Twickenham Stadium.

Hotel Chocolat also suggested limiting the number of people allowed at the events to 20 and banning people aged under 25 from attending.

Although these conditions were agreed by Hotel Chocolat, the council's legal officers changed some of them after ruling they were not all appropriate.

The revised conditions, which have now been formally approved, allow people aged under 18 to attend the events with an adult, while those appearing under 25 will need to show ID before being served booze.

Event tickets will be limited to the number of seats available in the café, while up to 20 events can be held at the store in a year.

Velvetiser Café from Hotel Chocolat serves a range of hot drinks (credit: Hotel Chocolat).

Peter Willan, from Friends of Richmond Green, raised concerns at the changes at a licensing hearing on January 24, as he argued the group's proposals for limitations were 'sensible'.

But he added: "We want Hotel Chocolat to be successful. I think it really is important that we have a premises like Hotel Chocolat in Richmond in George Street."

Licensing consultant Andrew McGrath, representing Hotel Chocolat, said booze sold in the venue for customers to take home would be weaker and available in smaller bottles than people could find in nearby shops, while samples provided at the tasting events would be 'tiny'.

In a new report, the council's Licensing Committee said it recognised Mr Willan's concerns about adding another licensed venue to the area.

But it ruled Hotel Chocolat was not an alcohol-led business, while booze would only be drunk at the store at ticketed events.

The committee slapped more conditions on the licence to address any remaining concerns, including banning the store from offering free samples of alcoholic products on rugby event days and displaying booze in the shop window.

The report said: "The sub-committee noted that Hotel Chocolat is an established and experienced operator.

"The sub-committee noted the large number of conditions offered and agreed together with the additional conditions, those imposed by the sub-committee, which were considered appropriate and proportionate to ensure that the licensing objectives would not be undermined in this Cumulative Impact Zone."

The tasting events will be ticketed and held in the store after hours. Guests will be offered an alcoholic drink on arrival, while they will be able to take part in chocolate tastings, including alcoholic chocolates, watch demonstrations and take up exclusive offers.

Hotel Chocolat recently announced plans to expand further across the UK, after it was bought by Mars in 2023.

The company is planning to open another 25 stores over the next year, along with two international branches as it prepares to expand in the US.

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