KO for boxing at Albert Hall

Residents near the Royal Albert Hall today won a High Court order quashing licensing approval for boxing and wrestling bouts at the venue.

The decision is a victory for those living in flats at Albert Court in Prince Consort Road, who fear such events would attract "anti-social elements" to the area and lead to more noise.

The residents, backed by the freeholder and management company of Albert Court, complained that Westminster City Council failed to properly notify them of the proposed changes.

Last May the council decided to vary the licence governing use of the hall, principally adding boxing and wrestling to the list of permitted activities, also extending opening hours and the time for serving light refreshments.

The variation paved the way for the return of boxing and wrestling to the hall for the first time in about a decade. It once hosted bouts involving boxers such as Henry Cooper, Joe Bugner, Frank Bruno, Nigel Benn and Lennox Lewis.

Objectors say boxing events in the past have led to "very serious disturbances".

In January last year, the council sent about 100 letters notifying nearby residents of the plans to bring the sports back, but the computer software used to do this did not select Albert Court.

The judge said a notification exercise would fail if it did not catch whole residential buildings of the size in question.