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

The environmental protection officer addressed the sub-committee.  Members had questions for the environmental protection officer.

The planning officer addressed the sub-committee.  Members had questions for the planning officer.

All parties were given five minutes for summing up.

The meeting went into closed session at 10.45am. Prior to going into closed session the chair informed the parties that they would be informed of the full decision in writing.

The meeting resumed at 11.18am. The chair did not read out the decision as none of the parties were present.

RESOLVED:

That the application made by George Nwachukwu for a premises licence to be granted under the Licensing Act 2003 in respect of the premises known as Unit 2, 777 Old Kent Road, London SE15 1NZ  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 and the following additional conditions agreed by the sub-committee:

1.  That alcohol shall not be sold or supplied for consumption on the premises otherwise than to  persons taking substantial table meals and for consumption by such persons as ancillary to their meal.

2.  That a dispersal policy will be implemented and maintained to assist with patrons leaving the premises in an orderly and safe manner and all staff will be trained in the contents of this policy and made aware of any changes. A copy of the dispersal policy shall be made available to the licensing officer and the police on request.

3.  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 25 scheme in operation at the premises. A record of such training shall be kept / 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 signature of the trainee, the signature of the trainer, the date(s) of training and a declaration that the training has been received and updated every four months.

4.  There shall be a maximum capacity of 80 seated or waiting customers at any one time.

5.  There shall be a maximum of five smokers outside the front of the premises at any one time.

6.  That there shall be a designated personal supervisor or personal licence holder on the premises at all times alcohol is available for supply for the purpose of supervising such sales.

7.  The rear exit shall be closed at all times with the exception of emergencies.

Reasons

The reasons for the decision are as follows:

The licensing sub-committee heard from the applicant who advised that the application had been amended to read that the Saturday sales of alcohol would be between 11:00 and 01:30 the following day.  Furthermore, the applicant no longer sought off sales or recorded music.  There would also be a capacity of 80 seated covers and training would be provided every four months.

The applicant also produced a dispersal policy in addition to an acoustic report and four photographs.  Contrary to Southwark’s statement of licensing policy, the applicant stated that the premises was not in a residential area, but a largely commercial area.  Any issues relating to parking, would  be addressed by the arrangement the applicant had with Toys R Us who would provide additional parking to patrons of the premises, beyond the normal two hours.

Licensing as a responsible authority objected to the premises licence application based on the prevention of crime and disorder and the prevention of public nuisance licensing objectives. They referred the licensing sub-committee to the council’s statement of licensing policy 2015-2020 in that the operating hours applied for were not consistent with the council’s licensing policy; the licence should reflect those specified in the in the licensing policy.  The representative from licensing also requested that the applicant provide an accommodation limit and a dispersal policy.

The environmental protection team informed the licensing sub-committee that their representation was based on the prevention of public nuisance licensing objective and suggested an earlier closing time on Saturday and Sunday. Furthermore, they advised that more specific plans should be made to prevent noise escape from the premises to avoid the operation causing a statutory nuisance to nearby residents.

The licensing sub-committee heard from the planning service who objected to the application based on the prevention of the public nuisance licensing objective and advised that the proposed operation of the premises could have a detrimental impact on the residential properties to the rear of the site through associated noise, disturbance through parking and congregation of people in the vicinity of the premises.  Furthermore, the premises had planning consent for hot food/take away between the hours of 07:00 to 23:00 Monday to Saturday and 08:00 to 22:00 on Sundays and Bank holidays.  Two planning applications had previously been made to extending the hours to 05:30 and 04:30, both of which had failed.  There were also proposed developments in the area that would be affected by the premises.

The licensing sub-committee noted the written representation from the public health directorate.

The licensing sub-committee considered very carefully both the oral and written representation from all the parties.  The primary point in dispute was the proposed operating hours, which exceeded those specified in Southwark’s Statement of Licensing Policy.  The applicant was of the view that the premises was not located in a residential area and produced photographs as evidence.  However,  on considering the plan of the area (page 41 of the agenda), the sub-committee were satisfied that this was a residential area given that there were residential premises at Sylvan Terrace, Bowness House and Ullswater House all of whom could be affected by noise and the late night dispersal  from the premises.  The licensing sub-committee were not satisfied that the issue of parking and parking disturbance was sufficiently addressed, when Sylvan Terrance already have parking problems.  The parking at Toys R Us was in fact public parking, offering two hours free parking.  In the circumstances, the licensing sub-committee felt it could not digress from the licensing policy.

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.