Agenda and minutes

Councillor Gary Poole welcomed everyone to the meeting and officers and members introduced themselves.  The procedure for the conduct of the meeting was outlined.

None.

There were no declarations of substitute members.

If you have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest* in an item of business:

§  if it is not yet on the council’s register, you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent;

§  you may choose to declare a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest that is already in the register in the interests of openness and transparency. 

In both the above cases, you must leave the room without participating in discussion of the item.

If you have a personal interest in an item of business and you intend to speak or vote on the item you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent but you may participate in the discussion and vote on the item.

*(a)     Employment, etc - Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain.

(b) Sponsorship - Any payment or other financial benefit in respect of your expenses in carrying out duties as a member, or of your election; including from a trade union.

(c) Contracts - Any current contract for goods, services or works, between you or your partner (or a body in which one of you has a beneficial interest) and the council.

(d) Land - Any beneficial interest in land which is within the council’s area.

(e) Licences- Any licence to occupy land in the council’s area for a month or longer.

(f) Corporate tenancies - Any tenancy between the council and a body in which you or your partner have a beneficial interest.

 (g) Securities - Any beneficial interest in securities of a body which has a place of business or land in the council’s area, if the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body or of any one class of its issued share capital. 

This applies to all members present at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

The order of business would be as the agenda.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 7 August 2018 be confirmed as an accurate record of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

The Chair paid tribute to Mumtaz Keshani, the legal officer, who had recently passed away.  He sent his condolences to her family and gave thanks for the service that she had given the Council and the Licensing Committee.

The Sub-Committee noted that conditions had been agreed with the responsible authorities prior to the meeting and the item had therefore been withdrawn.

The licensing officer reported that both the objectors lived in Whitecross Street.  All interested parties had been written to regarding the hearing.

It was noted that there were no representations from the responsible authorities. 

The applicant’s representative considered that the absence of representations from the responsible authorities was due to a comprehensive application. This would be a bar near to Old Street roundabout, with an 80 people capacity, owned and managed by the applicant.  The premises were purpose built and double glazed and planning consent had been granted for the hours requested in May/June 2018.  The hours allowed a 30 minute drinking up period for dispersal.  He was satisfied that it would not add to cumulative impact and fell within the possible exceptions in the licensing policy as it had mixed flexible use, would encourage people to stay in the area after work, was a small independent bar and waste and littering was restricted and sustainable and times for collections and deliveries were conditioned. He stated that members should consider licensing policy 2 and take matters into account including the views of responsible authorities, types of customers, a high standard of management and the physical suitability of the building. The applicant would be happy to join pubwatch or similar. Planning permission had been granted and in the decision given it had been stated that the premises would not give rise to a negative impact although he confirmed that licensing was not bound by this decision.  A dispersal policy was included in the report and he stated that the application was within framework hours for Friday and Saturday. The applicant stated that he had been 15 years working in the industry in the UK. He would serve the local community and this would be a cocktail bar/restaurant.  Ingredients would be seasonal.  He would want to employ local people.

In response to questions the applicant’s representative considered that the unusual concept would cater to those who lived and worked in the area. The landlord stated that he was looking for a restaurant to occupy the premises but was impressed after meeting the applicant.  The applicant’s representative stated that there would be a substantial food offering with drinks and the offer would support people visiting the area during the day and encourage people to stay in the area after work. He stated that the licensing assessment was carried out by someone with 20 years of experience who was well respected. Dispersal was not anticipated to be a problem. There would be CCTV at the premises and taxis would not be able to stop on Old Street as it was a red route. Staff would be trained to keep customers inside whilst waiting for taxis when necessary.  It was anticipated that customers would usually go home by public transport as it was near a tube station and buses would be regular. It was expected to be a source of amenity to the office workers in the building who would go home in their normal  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

RESOLVEDthat the exempt minutes of the meeting held on the 7 August 2018 be confirmed as a correct record and the Chair be authorised to sign them.