The Met Police has raised concerns people would be forced to step into the road if customers at a small South West London café were allowed to drink booze while standing. The police opposed plans to sell booze at Water Lane in Twickenham town centre after the venue failed to agree to only allowing table service.

The plans for the café on Water Lane were discussed at Richmond Council's licensing committee on September 26. Applicant Jerome Dwyer, who has run the venue for almost two years, said locals and customers had suggested "they want an alternative in the area for somewhere that they could drink and have somewhere to socialise other than a typical pub environment".

Mr Dwyer said the café would not "attract revellers and crowds" if the licence was granted as it was a very small venue, with capacity to comfortably fit around 20 people, and it would serve niche wines.

He said he had agreed to most of the conditions with the police, but could not agree to only allowing table service and banning people drinking while standing due to the small size of the venue. He said the conditions would make holding events like wine tasting and networking more difficult.

He added: "The small nature of the space and the niche product that we would be offering, I just don't feel that it's proportionate for us to have table service and no vertical drinking in the premises."

But PC Justin Campbell-Harris, police licensing officer, said the small size of the venue could lead to "overspills of customers outside, especially in the summer months" if people were allowed to drink while standing. He said the police would withdraw its objection if the condition was agreed.

He said: "My concerns are that if we allow vertical drinking in the venue this will allow more people inside the venue, creating an environment that in summer months may spill outside causing congestion to a small pathway and road that is in daily use by residents and visitors to the borough. This may create a scenario where members of the public would have to step out onto the road to pass customers."

Mr Dwyer said he intended to run the venue responsibly, as part of the community, and that it would not be a nuisance to the area. He said he could agree to limit the number of people able to drink while standing at the venue at any one time, but not to banning this completely.

The café would be able to serve booze from 11am to 11pm on Sundays to Thursdays, and from 11am to 11.59pm on Fridays and Saturdays, if the licence was granted.

The council's licensing committee will publish its decision on the plans in the coming days.