Agenda item

The licensing officer presented their report.  They advised that the responsible authorities had conciliated with the applicant.  The licensing officer also confirmed that the premises were within a saturation zone.

 

The applicant and their legal representative addressed the sub-committee.  Members had questions for the applicant and their legal representative.

 

The ward councillor addressed the sub-committee.  Members had questions for the ward councillor.

 

Both parties were given five minutes for summing up.

 

The meeting adjourned at 11.56am for the members to consider their decision.

 

The meeting resumed at 12.30pm and the chair advised all parties of the sub-committee’s decision.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the application made by Clapton R2 London Limited for a premises licence to be granted under s.17 of the Licensing Act 2003 in respect of the premises known as Bankside Hotel, 2 Blackfriars Road, London Se1 9J be granted as follows:

 

Films (Indoors)	Monday to Sunday 09:00 - 00:00   24 hours for residents of the hotel and their guests
Live Music (Indoors)	Monday to Sunday 09:00 - 00:00
Recorded Music (Indoors)	Monday to Sunday 09:00 - 00:00
Performance of Dance (Indoors)	Monday to Sunday 09:00 - 00:00
Late Night Refreshment	Monday to Sunday 09:00-00:00
Supply of alcohol (On-Sales)	Monday to Sunday 09:00 - 00:00   24 hours for residents of the hotel and their guests
Operating Hours	24 hours
Non-Standards Timings	An additional hour to the standards and nonstandard times on the day when British Summertime commences for licensable activities.

 

 

 

 

 

Conditions

 

The operation of the premises under the licence shall be subject to relevant mandatory conditions, conditions derived from the operation schedule highlighted in Section M of the application form, the conditions agreed with the Metropolitan Police Service and trading standards during the conciliation process and the following additional conditions agreed by the sub-committee namely:

 

1.  That the sale of alcohol beyond midnight shall be restricted to residents of the hotel and up to four bona fide guests per resident. The alcohol purchased after midnight shall be via room key only. This condition shall not apply to members of the public who have a ticket or are on a guest list for a pre-booked private function.

 

2.  That external promoters will not be used and any private hire event will remain within the control of the premises management.

 

3.  That a CCTV system be installed at the premises and be maintained in good working order and be continually recording at all times the premises are in use under the licence. The CCTV system must be capable of capturing a clear facial image of every person who enters the premises. It should cover all areas within the premises that licensable activities are available to the general public including the outside area to the front in all lighting conditions.

 

4.  That all CCTV footage shall be kept for a period of thirty one (31) days and shall, upon request, be made immediately available to officers of the police and the council.

 

5.  That a staff member who is able to operate the CCTV system shall be present at all times they are open to the public.

 

6.  That there shall be no alcohol available in the mini-bar when rooms are solely occupied by persons under the age of 18 years.

 

7.  That all staff involved in the sale of alcohol shall be trained in the prevention of sales of alcohol to underage persons, and the challenge 21 scheme in operation at the premises. A record of such training shall be kept I be accessible at the premises at all times and be made immediately available for inspection at the premises to council or police officers on request. The training record shall include the trainee's name (in block capitals), the trainer's name (in block capitals), the date(s) of training and a declaration that the training has been received.

 

8.  That a challenge 21 scheme shall be maintained at the premises requiring that staff selling alcohol request that any customer who looks under 21 years old, and who is attempting to purchase alcohol, provides valid photographic identification proving that the customer is at least 18 years old. Valid photographic identification is composed of a driving licence, passport, UK armed services 10 card and any Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) accredited card such as the Proof of Age London (PAL) card.

 

9.  That clearly legible signs shall be prominently displayed where they can easily be seen and read by customers stating to the effect that a challenge 21 policy is in operation at the premises, that customers may be asked to provide proof of age and stating what the acceptable forms of proof of age are.

 

10.  That a register of refused sales of alcohol shall be maintained in order to demonstrate effective operation of the challenge 21 policy. The register shall be kept I be accessible at the premises at all times. On a monthly basis, the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) shall check the register to ensure it is being properly completed and mark the register to that effect and, where appropriate, take corrective action in a timely manner if the register is not being completed correctly. The register shall be made immediately available for inspection at the premises to council or police officers on request.

 

11.  That no gambling machines will be on the premises.

 

The licensing sub-committee also imposed the following additional conditions:

 

12.  That when a pre-booked event is taking place the licensable activities shall terminate at 01:00 hours.

 

13.  That on no more than 15 occasions per calendar year all licensable activities shall be extended until 03:00 hours for the basement, ground and first floors.  A record shall be kept for inspection.

 

14.  That no alcohol will be in the vending machines.

 

Reasons

 

The reasons for the decision are as follows:

 

The licensing sub-committee heard from the representative for the applicant who advised that the concept of the Bankside Hotel has been under development for yen years.  The hotel has been designed to reflect its location and blend into the cultural area.  The art studio with the premises is dedicated for local artists to show their work.  The hotel would be accessible for its neighbours and would be part of the community.  The hotel will also feature a space for use by local artists and creatives which, it is envisaged, will allow gatherings for talks/lectures, art exhibitions and other community focused projects and events.

 

The event space in the basement would be used for a variety of events including gallery/exhibitions and fashion shoots.  The events would not be high velocity and when events were not arranged, it was expected that licensable activities would finish at 00:00 hours, with the exception of residents, residents’ guests or those attending a function.  The applicant had conciliated with all the responsible authorities, and whilst they had offered to meet with the residents, none attended.

 

The applicant had also considered Southwark’s statement of licensing policy very carefully.  Whilst located in the Borough and Bankside cumulative impact policy area, as part of New Southwark Plan, regeneration such as the hotel’s development was encouraged. Under the statement of licensing policy there was no restriction to residents in terms of closing time for hotel bars and guest houses in major town centres and strategic cultural areas; this permitted 24 hours alcohol sale.  The application was for licensable activities to finish at 03:00, being outside policy hours.  This however did not rebut the presumption to refuse the licence and reference was made to paragraph 140 of the licensing policy, the hours applied for, together with the suite of conditions offered and the fact that the senior management team for the Bankside Hotel were very experienced.

 

 

The licensing sub-committee heard from the ward councillor who advised there had been a long discussion with the hotel’s management team.  The applicant’s reference to the hours of the other hotel premises in the Borough and Bankside ward was not relevant as the licences held by them were largely historic and in any event, did not utilise the hours permitted under licensing as they exceeded the permitted hours for planning. The ward councillor was not satisfied that there was sufficient justification to grant the hours applied for.

 

The licensing sub-committee noted that all of the responsible authorities had conciliated.

 

The licensing sub-committee noted the content of the representation from other persons, which remained outstanding. 

 

The licensing sub-committee noted the comments from Southwark’s regeneration department in support of the application.

 

The licensing sub-committee noted that the applicant is an independent hotel located in the strategic cultural area of Borough and Bankside, which is part of the borough most suitable for new art and visitor attraction uses to be created.  This is at odds with the premises being located in a cumulative impact policy area, where there is a presumption to refuse. Whilst the sub-committee are pleased that the applicant has agreed a suite of conditions with the responsible authorities, during the course of the meeting, the applicant advised the sub-committee the proposed vending machines for the guest room floors had been specially built for the hotel and the applicant intended to install them for “a bit of fun”. 

 

The alcohol available in these vending machines would be high value and would be priced with a significant mark up. However, when asked, the controls in place were considered unacceptable to the sub-committee: purchases would be by credit/debit cards, despite debit cards account being held by under 18’s.  The suggestion that the purchase should be made by key cards was not accepted by the applicant, despite the machines being specially built specifically for the hotel.  There was also no control of guests and members of the public accessing the different floors.  No challenge 25 (or 21 in this case) could be undertaken, nor any control to prevent a sale of alcohol to the intoxicated. This evidence heard by this licensing sub-committee outweighed the conciliation achieved between the applicant and trading standards and it is for this reason the applicant is not permitted to have alcohol within the vending machines.  The purchase of such high value alcohol could be made via room service or a gift shop, where the necessary controls are in place, which would of limited inconvenience to the applicant.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appeal rights

 

The applicant may appeal against any decision:

 

a)  To impose conditions on the licence

b)  To exclude a licensable activity or refuse to specify a person as premises supervisor.

 

Any person who made relevant representations in relation to the application who desire to contend that:

 

a)  The  licence ought not to be been granted; or

b)  That on granting the licence, the licensing authority ought to have imposed different or additional conditions to the licence, or ought to have modified them in a different way

 

may appeal against the decision.

 

Any appeal must be made to the Magistrates’ Court for the area in which the premises are situated. Any appeal must be commenced by notice of appeal given by the appellant to the justices’ clerk for the Magistrates’ Court within the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which the appellant was notified by the licensing authority of the decision appealed against.