Agenda item

The licensing officer presented their report.  Members had no questions for the licensing officer.

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

The meeting adjourned at 10.40am to allow the licensing officer to get details of the temporary event notices relating to the premises.  The meeting reconvened at 11am.

The licensing officer representing the council as a responsible authority then addressed the sub-committee.  Members had questions for the licensing officer.

The public health officer then addressed the sub-committee.  Members had questions for the public health officer.

All parties were given five minutes for summing up.

The meeting adjourned at 11.38am for the members to consider their decision.

The meeting resumed at 12.11pm and the chair advised all parties of the sub-committee’s decision.

RESOLVED:

That the application by Londoner Kebabs Limited for a premises licence issued under the Licensing Act 2003 in respect of the premises known as Londoner Kebabs, Arch 975, 23 Duke Street Hill, London, SE1 2SW is granted as follows:

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 during the conciliation process and the following additional conditions agreed by the sub-committee:

1.  That the dispersal policy shall be kept at the premises and be made available for the authorised officers and police officers and that staff shall be trained in the policy.

2.   That all staff be trained in conflict management.

3.  That signs shall be clearly displayed informing patrons of the toilets in London Bridge Station.

4.  That from midnight on Thursday to Saturday a minimum of one SIA door supervisor shall be employed to control the queues at the premises and for the dispersal of customers from the premises.

5.  That from 23:00 the premises staff shall clear the immediate vicinity of the premises of any waste or refuse arising through the operation of the premises at least once per hour and 15 minutes after closing

6.  That a temporary barrier be erected when there is a queue outside the premises subject to the applicant obtaining a street furniture licence.

Reasons

The reasons for the decision are as follows:

The licensing sub-committee heard from the licensing officer who drew the committee’s attention to the fact that the police had conciliated with the applicant and agreed conditions but there were still outstanding representations from licensing and public health. He also drew the committees attention to a premises which had been missed off the list of premises in the locality at paragraph 19 and distributed their licensing hours.

The committee then heard from the applicant who stated that they had had 20 temporary event notices (TENs) granted and there had been no incidents during the TENs. The shop is small and has a capacity of three to four customers and would operate a one in one out system to ensure it did not get too crowded. The premises had been operating for 10 years without any issues with customers, and had been dealing with patrons leaving number one bar opposite during this time. They believed that the sale of late night refreshments from their premises would assist with help patrons to be less intoxicated, for example by selling soft drinks alongside food to help with dehydration. The stated that they are not in a residential area and so any noise would not affect any local residents. They can also assist customers by calling mini-cabs for them as they do now, as mini-cabs operate locally to them. There is also the 24 hour night tube on Friday and Saturdays which would help patrons leave the area quickly. They also told the committee that they had conciliated with the police to include CCTV cameras at the premises which will assist in preventing crime and disorder. They are also aware of the women’s charter and have displayed posters in the premises dealing with anti-social behaviour and harassment and staff have been trained in the women’s charter.

The chair requested an adjournment for the licensing officer to review the position regarding TENs as there was no mention of TENs in the report. The licensing officer returned and gave the committee a list of TENs applied for and it became clear the applicant had applied for seven TENs over multiple days. The officer noted that there had been no complaints when the TENs were in operation.

The sub-committee questioned the applicant on how he would deal with people queuing outside who needed to use the toilet, as the premises was small and did not have one. The applicant responded that London Bridge Station provide toilet facilities, as did Number one bar where most of their patrons came from. The committee were concerned with customers waiting for food outside and loitering and the risk of anti social behaviour. The applicant stated that they currently clean outside the premises, and that there had been no anti-social behaviour during the TENs. They stated that they were considering SIA security and barriers at the moment.

The sub-committee then heard from the licensing officer, who stated that the premises was in a cumulative impact zone and she did not believe that the applicant had no rebutted the presume the licence should not be granted but appreciated that they had drafted a dispersal policy at her request. She was concerned that the premises would encourage revellers to stay in the area for longer. She noted that the hours applied for were in excess of policy hours. She stated that if the committee were minded to grant the application should would like to see a condition regarding SIA security staff and that the dispersal policy be available at the premises for officers and that officer be trained in the policy. The committee questioned the officer, and asked whether the premises not being in a residential area, and staff patrolling the queue and outside area assisted with her concerns. She stated that she would prefer to see at least one official SIA staff to control crowds of patrons. She stated the security would most likely be required in the later hours, and that requiring security early in the evening would put a financial burden on the applicant. She agreed with the chair that conflict management training would assist the staff in the shop to prevent issues escalating.

The committee then heard from public health who stated that the premises were outside of the policy hours in a cumulative impact zone an was concerned about crowds leaving the club and encouraged the committee to keep in line with the policy hours. He also was concerned that people would like Number 1 bar to get to the premises before they closed, and that a later opening hour of the premises would mean people would leave number 1 bar later and be more intoxicated.

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.