Agenda item

·  Recorded music

Monday to Wednesday 11:00 – 23:00

Thursday 11:00 – 23:30

Friday and Saturday 11:00 - 00:00

Sunday 11:00 – 22:30

·  Sale of alcohol (on & off premises)

Monday to Wednesday 12:00 – 23:00

Thursday 12:00 – 23:30

Friday and Saturday 12:00 - 00:00

Sunday 12:00 - 22:30

·  Operating hours of the premises

Monday to Wednesday 7:00 – 23:30

Thursday 7:00 – 0:00

Friday and Saturday 7:00 - 00:30

Sunday 7:00 - 23:00

Modify the conditions of the licence by adding the following conditions:

1.  That a sound limiting device shall be installed, set and maintained, to ensure the maximum levels of volume and bass of music, song or speech from regulatedentertainment permitted by the amplification system, does not cause a public nuisance in the vicinity of the premises or intrude inside the nearest or most exposed noise sensitive premises.

2.  That all audio and musical equipment used in the premises, or brought into the premises by third parties which is permitted under the Licensing Act 2003, shall be played through the installed sound limiting device.

3.  That during any regulated entertainment on the premises, permitted under the Licensing Act 2003, all doors, concertina doors and windows shall remain closed (except for access or egress).

4.  That any background music played (for when concertina doors are open) shall remain at a volume that permits normal conversation and that the volume control of any music is behind the bar/counter and is in the full control of staff at all times.

5.  That there will be no patron access/egress to and from the premises via the use of the rear door, except for patrons temporarily leaving to smoke and for use in case of emergency. Where patrons access premises from the back this shall be monitored by an SIA officer.

6.  That two SIA officer be employed jointly with the adjacent licensed premises at Railway Arch 94-95 and Railway Arch 97-99 Joan Street SE1 from Maundy Thursday (being the Thursday before Easter) to the end of October, and from 1 December to the first Saturday in January, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, to monitor and control the behaviour and dispersal of patrons leaving the premises between 20:00-00:30 on Thursdays, and 20:00 – 01:00 on Friday and Saturday nights, as well as from 20:00 to 30 minutes after closing on New Year’s Eve.

7.  That acoustic seals and brushes and self-closers (in accordance with BS 6459 Pt. 1 1984) shall be installed to all doors so as to minimise sound escape from the premises.

8.  That an acoustic lobby of adequate dimensions and providing sufficient residence time shall be installed to the front door entrance to arches that will be providing regulated entertainment to minimise sound escape from the premises, ensuring that all doors open in the direction of escape in case of emergency. This is to be installed by 1 May 2016.

9.  That the premises shall be adequately ventilated to allow doors and windows to remain closed duringregulated entertainment.

10.  That amplified music, song or speech shall not be broadcast in external areas at any time.

11.  That no external areas of the premises, including the external frontage area, shall be used for the purposes of regulated entertainment.

12.  That external waste handling, collections, deliveries and the cleaning of external areas shall only occur between the hours of 09:00 and 23:00.

13.  That there shall be no movement of musical or amplification equipment to and from the premises between the hours of 23:00 and 09:00.

14.  That the use of the external frontage area, except for smoking, shall cease at 22:00 at which point all patrons will be instructed to move indoors.

15.  That at 22:00, if not already done so, the external terrace canopy shall be deployed to cover the designated smoking area. That after 22:00, customers permitted to temporarily leave and then re-enter the premises to smoke must be restricted to the external frontage area. No more than 10 customers will be permitted to remain in this designated smoking area at any one time. Clearly legible signage to this effect must be prominently displayed.

16.  That there shall be no drinks permitted to be taken outside after 22:00.

17.  That there shall be no drinks permitted to be taken beyond the boundary of external frontage area at any time.

18.  That clearly legible signage will be prominently displayed at all patron exits, where it can easily be seen and read, requesting that patrons leave the premises in a quiet and orderly manner that is respectful to neighbours.

19.  That clearly legible signage will be prominently displayed at all patron exits, where it can easily be seen and read, requesting to the effect that patrons do not take drinks outside after 22:00.

20.  That a health and safety assessment be undertaken to determine the safe number of patrons allowed in the outside area at the back of the premises. 

21.  That clearly legible signage will be prominently displayed in the external frontage area, where it can easily be seen and read, requesting to the effect that patrons are not permitted to take drinks off the premises and into Isabella Street.

22.  That when regulated entertainment is being provided the premises management shall carry out regular checks to monitor the sound level at the closest noise sensitive location(s) to the premises and shall ensure that the sound level of the entertainment does not cause a public nuisance in the vicinity of the premises at the/those location(s). A written record of sound level checks shall be kept and shall contain details of: the time, date and location of each check, the person who undertook the check and any actions taken as a result of the check. Each check shall be signed in the record by the person who made the check. The monitoring record shall be kept at the premises and made available to officers of the police or council on request.

23.  That the premises licence holder shall make available a telephone number for local residents to contact management of the premises as and when necessary.

24.  That a comprehensive Dispersal Policy shall be produced and implemented at the premises, with all staff trained on the most up to date policy. A record of staff training on the Dispersal Policy shall be kept at the premises and a copy of the policy and training records be made available to the council or police on request.

25.  That alcohol for consumption off the premises is not sold for immediate consumption in the area around the premises and is supplied in sealed containers.

26.  That all licensable activity will cease 30 minutes before closing times.

27.  That the management of the premises meet quarterly with representatives of residents to review the operations of the premises.

In addition, members agreed that following this review of the premises licence the suspension of the conditions relating to the provision of live or recorded music is lifted under section 177A(3) of the Licensing Act 2003 and all the conditions imposed as a result of this review shall apply under section 177A(4).

Modify the conditions of the licence by removing the following conditions:

28.  Condition 344 “That reasonable steps shall be taken to prevent noise and vibration escaping from the premises including music, noise from ventilation and human voices.”

29.  Condition 845 “No movement of / collection of bottles outside the premises shall take place between the hours of 23:00 and 09:00 the following day.”

30.  Condition 846 “There shall be no public entertainment outside the premises.”

31.  Condition 847 “No patrons shall sit outside the premises between the hours off 23:00 hours and 09:00 .”

Reasons for the decision

The reasons for this decision are as follows:

The licensing sub-committee heard from the environmental protection officer, the applicant for the review, who outlined that this review had been brought because of the complaints made by residents regarding noise levels caused by patrons and music emanating from the premises; the management of patrons spilling out into Isabella Street; and the premises’ failure to respond to and implement advice from the environmental protection team (EPT). Many of the amended conditions suggested by the EPT had been conciliated prior to the meeting.

The licensing sub-committee heard from the licensing officer representing the council as a responsible authority that two door supervisors on Isabella Street (shared with the premises occupying the neighbouring arches) were needed to control the patrons leaving the premises. These should be operating all year round on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. He supported the conditions suggested by the EPT regarding the restriction of times for live and recorded music, and restricting the number of people allowed outside the premises at any time to control the noise. He also supported the introduction of a dispersal policy. 

The licensing sub-committee heard from the health and safety officer supporting the review, who added that he would like to see measures implemented to decrease noise pollution. He also suggested a risk assessment be carried out to determine the safe occupation level of the outside area. 

The licensing sub-committee heard from the public health authority representative supporting the review and highlighting the detrimental effects constant noise pollution may have on residents.

The licensing sub-committee heard from other persons supporting the review, who informed the meeting that residents were exposed to constant noise levels of sometimes more than 300 people congregating in Isabella Street - at times from 5pm to 3am. There was also anti-social behaviour especially when patrons left, as well as broken glass, discarded bottles and rubbish strewn around the street and the wider area. Normal outside restaurant use also created a lot of noise. The residents asked for: SIA officers to be deployed in Isabella Street on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights; times for licensable activities to be brought in line with those granted by the planning authority; for noise lobbies to be installed; for no alcohol to be served without food; and for no DJs to be playing. They suggested that outside dining and drinking should cease at 22:00, and that not more than 10 smokers should be permitted to be outside at the front of the premises at any given time.

The licensing sub-committee heard from the premises who informed them that most of the conditions had been conciliated in advance of the meeting. The management of the premises had taken steps to work with residents and with the neighbouring two licensed premises to address the issues, which had been raised. They had addressed the complaints about music by getting an acoustic survey done, after which they had repositioned their loudspeakers; their DJs were using noise limiting software. They were also in the process of putting in a sound lobby and were happy to have the health and safety assessment conducted to determine the safe occupancy level of the outside areas. As they were the smallest of the three venues, they were keen not to have to be liable for the costs of the SIA policing Isabella Street by themselves. They went on to say that there was no need for a condition requiring plastic glasses, as other conditions limited drinking at the front of the premises. 

The licensing sub-committee were pleased that the premises had largely conciliated with the responsible authorities, the local residents and ward councillor had serious concerns that public nuisance would continue in the area. The review application was one of 3 that had been brought by the EPT with 2 other neighbouring licensed premises namely EVs and Thai Silk and therefore, the sub-committee had to consider very carefully the complaints as against Jack’s Bar in addition to the wider cumulative impact that all 3-licenced premises had on the local community.  The licensing sub-committee noted the hours detailed in the planning permission 19/1/2004 imposed to protect and safeguard the amenity of the nearby residents from noise generation. The licensing sub-committee agreed that these hours need to be reflected in the premises licence so not to undermine the prevention of public nuisance licensing objective.  Furthermore, the licences to all 3 of the premises need to be brought into line with one another which would, address the local community’s concerns.

In reaching this decision the sub-committee had regard to all the relevant considerations and the four licensing objectives and felt that this decision was appropriate and proportionate in order to address the licensing objectives.