Franco Manca, the pizzeria on the corner of Putney High Street and Weimar Street, has applied to extend its outdoor seating licence for another year. The notice went up in the window this week.
It is a like-for-like renewal of the existing licence, which runs until 23 June 2026. The same two seating areas: three tables and six chairs on Putney High Street, four tables and eight chairs round the corner on Weimar Street. The application went through the same firm that handled the current licence and anyone wanting to make representations has until 30 May.
Why is this news? Because we nearly lost the restaurant altogether last month: parent company Fulham Shore launched a company voluntary arrangement, closing 16 of its 70 UK restaurants. The Putney branch was expected to survive. The pavement licence renewal is the first hard operational confirmation it will.
It is a minor celebration for this stretch of Putney High Street which has has nothing but bad news to offer lately. The Boilermaker has been dark since March 2025. Simmons and Be At One closed last summer. IMBA London Ltd has been fitting out the Be At One unit since at least March this year, but had not opened by the end of April. The Masala Odyssey unit at number 22 was repossessed in mid-April; the lunch deal board still in the window.
The hotel site at 31-43 has been silent for over a month, likely connected to the fact that the hotel operator, Premier Inn, has decided to scale back and sell off its central London assets. The White Lion at 14-16, Grade II listed and on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register, remains in the condition Historic England describes as “slow decay; no solution agreed.”
Against that backdrop, a national chain committing to another year of outdoor trading at this address is worth noting. The new licence period will run from 24 June 2026 to 23 June 2027. Tables on the pavement on Putney High Street and on Weimar Street, through this summer and into next.
What to do
To support or object to the Franco Manca pavement licence application, email licensing@merton.gov.uk by 30 May 2026. Representations for Wandsworth pavement licences route through Merton under the boroughs’ shared arrangement.
For general queries about pavement licences in Wandsworth, contact tablesandchairs@wandsworth.gov.uk.
If you have concerns about the condition of the White Lion at 14-16 Putney High Street, you can report them to Wandsworth Council’s planning enforcement team.
The new administration inherited this stretch on 7 May. The incoming cabinet will be confirmed at the Annual Council meeting on 27 May. The Thamesfield ward councillors who cover this part of the High Street are Cllr Ethan Brooks (cllr.e.brooks@wandsworth.gov.uk), Cllr Robert Morritt and Cllr Salvatore Murtas.
