Agenda item

The licensing officer presented their report.  Members had questions for the licensing officer.

The applicant for the review, the Metropolitan Police Service representative, addressed the sub-committee.  Members had questions for the police. 

The management of the premises and their legal representative addressed the sub-committee.  Members had questions for the management of the premises and their legal representatives.

All parties were given five minutes for summing up.

The meeting went into closed session at 11.45am.

The meeting resumed at 12.45pm and the chair advised all parties of the decision.

RESOLVED:

That as interim steps to promote the licensing objectives pending the determination of the review application at the full hearing, to be held on 31 July 2017 the licence be modified and the following conditions be added:

1.  That the project X (7 July 2017), Dancehall v Soca (22 July 2017) and PJ Lingere Party (29 July 2017) events be cancelled.

2.That there are no future events promoted by DJ Dean or David Ice.

3.  That condition 847 on licence number 850322 be amended to read ”There shall be a minimum ratio of one SIA staff member to 50 patrons or such ration as the police may think fit following consultation with them in respect of any specific event”.

4.  That condition 840 on licence number 850325 be amended to read ”There shall be a minimum ratio of one SAI staff member to 50 patrons or such ration as the police may think fit following consultation with them in respect of any specific event”.

Reasons

This was a hearing to consider if it is appropriate to take interim steps to promote the licensing objectives upon receipt of an application by the Metropolitan Police for an expedited summary review of the premises.

The application is concerned with a serious incident that took place in the early hours of Sunday 2 July 2017 from 02:06. The police attended the premises further to an emergency call requesting assistance as 200 people had rushed the front door. Police units were dispatched and it became clear that a serious public order situation was occurring. Police serials and dog units where requested to deal with a large fight. Missiles were being thrown and fights occurring. The road was blocked and the crowd estimated up to a 1000 spanning round to the Walworth Road.

On police arrival it was estimated that between 750 to 800 people were inside and estimates range from between 500 to 1000 for the number of people outside. The police felt it was clear that the venue was unable to cope with this amount of people entering and carrying out full searches and ID checks. Some people outside claimed that they had been waiting for up to two hours. Whilst police and security staff attempted to regain control, a number of attempts by those queuing were made to enter the venue including via the station and railway lines and other emergency exits. Police cordons had to be put around all entry points and across the road. Police attempted to withdraw from the area but as soon as they did further disorder occurred and there were further attempts to enter the venue.

In addition, on 26 February 2017 at around 03:50, a breach of the door at the venue occurred by a large group of males forcing their way by the security at the entrance the venue. During this a firearm was seen and as such the club was closed and required considerable police resources to manage the risk involved around this.

In addition, on the 13 May 2017 at about 05:30, council CCTV controllers reported a large disturbance outside and on police arrival police reported about 100 people fighting and officers required urgent assistance due to serious disorder.

In November 2015, the premises licence holders were subject of another expedited review relating to violence and breach of security where weapons got inside the venue which was considered a serious breach on security, a male was stabbed, a noxious substance was discharged and a firearm was believed seen. Conditions were placed on the licence in an attempt to prevent further violence and disorder being associated with the venue.

A number of incidents have occurred since, including a number this year. The venue is situated in a difficult position on a major road with limited pavement space outside to establish a safe and controlled queuing system. The amount of people attending DJ lead events and the security controls required at this sort of event appear to be causing the disorder and violence.

In 2017 the police have received at least 15 emergency calls to the 999 system to the venue tagged as violent incidents. The police requested that the licence is suspended until such time as the full earing is determined.

The licensing sub-committee heard from both the representative of the premises and also the designated premises supervisor (DPS) who reminded the sub-committee that the hearing was not to carry out a full investigation of the event, but alternatively, to consider immediate interim measures to address immediate problems with the premises, in particular the likelihood of serious crime and/or serious disorder and that such steps are deemed “necessary”. 

They advised that it was not necessary to suspend the licence, nor was it appropriate and proportionate.  Events that were considered a risk (by the premises) and attracted a specific type of person had been cancelled. A schedule of licensable events for July 2017 had been produced, detailing seven events. The premises voluntarily cancelled two events and during the course of the meeting agreed to cancel a third one.  The sub-committee heard that the premises and the DPS had an excellent working relationship with the licensing authority and the police and overall, the premises were well run. 

The licensing sub-committee having read and heard all the evidence before them were extremely concerned about the level of serious disorder that had taken place.  They also had concerns about the extent of police resources that had been taken up, the time it took to control that disorder and finally the lack of resources that had been left available for the rest of the borough if a major incident had occurred.

Given the voluntary agreement to cancel certain events until the full review of the licence on 31 July 2017, this licensing sub-committee have agreed not to suspend the premises licence.  However, the premises will be expected to address the control measure for types of events deemed a (medium) risk that they identified at the meeting in addition to the queueing system outside the premises.  It was clear from the CCTV evidence from the police that the queueing before the incident started was unsatisfactory.  The sub-committee have increased the SIA staff ratio/patron ratio.  It is recommended that there is an increase of SIA officers deployed outside when there is a significant queue.

The licensing sub-committee were satisfied that the interim steps set out above were necessary in addition to being appropriate and proportionate in order to promote the licensing objectives.

Appeal rights

There is no right of appeal to a Magistrates’ Court against the licensing authority’s decision at this stage.

The premises licence holder may make representation against any interim steps imposed and a hearing to consider the representation will be held within 48 hours of receipt of the representation.  The holder of the premises licence may only make further representations if there has been a material change in circumstances since the authority made its determination

Any representation should be in writing and cannot be received outside of normal office hours.