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. His father, Ken Dwan, owned Tidal Cruises, owners of Marchioness, the pleasure cruiser that sank in 1989, killing 51 people.
The idea is for the Oceandiva to host all kinds of events and conferences, but 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 3am.
Oceandiva has already faced opposition from 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. Instead, residents are relying on Newham Council to block the plans.
Councils along the Thames, including Westminster, Southwark and Greenwich, have submitted their own responses to the planning consultation.
Peter Golds, Conservative councillor in Tower Hamlets, told The Telegraph that allowing the party boat would be a disaster for residents.
“This is not an industrial river anymore, the area along it is residential,” he said, adding “you 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.
“And to say nothing of when it docks, wherever it docks, all those people who have been on that boat for hours who will be absolutely p----d as newts staggering into the street going God knows where [at 3am].”
He pointed out that party boats turn around mid-river and then pass back the way they came, resulting in residents being disturbed a second time.
In response, Oceandiva told The Telegraph that 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 pioneering project will steer towards a more sustainable future for the river”.
The company also said that it was working with the Metropolitan Police to prepare a management plan for its Butler’s Wharf landings and that it would “directly address 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). The licensing application will be the subject of a two-day hearing by Newham Licensing sub-committee on 22 and 23 Feb 2023.”
