London’s Westminster Council has confirmed that an informal call was made to its licensing and planning department but that no official approach has been made by tv entertainer Cilla Black with regards to her opening a nightclub venue on Kingly Street.

Recent media reports stated that Cilla had intended to open a nightclub off Oxford Street, provisionally called Blacks, for a mature clientele looking for dinner, music and dancing, but that plans had been shelved until next year due to the new council restrictions.

Westminster Council has recently introduced tougher controls on the number of licensed premises within three of its ‘stress’ areas, namely the West End, Edgware Road and Queensway, in order to better control late-night drunkenness and noise pollution.

It was reported that Black’s proposal to convert an existing shop on Kingly Street into a nightclub was rejected due to these new restrictions. Her application would have needed to be passed on two levels – first, with permission for the conversion and then to obtain a licence to sell alcohol.

However, a spokesperson for Westminster Council told Leisure Opportunities that this was not the case: “We have no record of anyone applying for a licence for a club on Kingly Street.

“We believe a call was made informally to our planning and licensing department from someone on her behalf with regards to the conversion of a shop into a nightclub but, as far as we know, there has been no formal application from Cilla Black or anyone acting on her behalf.

“As the supposed site on Kingly Street is within our stress area, it’s unlikely that licensing would be granted.” Details: www.westminster.gov.uk or www.cillablack.com