Skip to content

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 4, Town Hall, Upper Street, N1 2UD

Contact: Jackie Tunstall  020 7527 3068

Items
No. Item

10.

Introductions and procedure

Minutes:

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

11.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

None.

12.

Declarations of substitute members

Minutes:

There were no declarations of substitute members.

13.

Declarations of interest

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.

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

14.

Order of Business

Minutes:

The order of business would be as the agenda.

15.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 81 KB

Minutes:

 

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2018 be confirmed as an accurate record of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

16.

Old Sessions House, 22 Clerkenwell Green, EC1R 0NA - New premises licence pdf icon PDF 719 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The licensing officer reported that there had been additional papers tabled from the applicant and the interested parties.  These would be interleaved with the agenda papers.  The noise officer was present for any queries regarding noise measurements if required.  The licensing officer reported that the applicant did not have the correct planning permission but it was accepted that the planning permission exceeded that required for the licensing application.  In response to a question, the applicant’s representative confirmed that they had been recommended by the planning officer that a certificate of lawfulness be applied for.

 

A local resident spoke against the application.  It was stated that the applicant had ignored the number of hours and the capacity which created a cumulative impact.  She considered that hours and numbers should be restricted.  Other premises in the area had restricted hours to 9pm and numbers to 200 people.  Dispersal would be difficult to manage as there would be a last minute dispersal at 11pm.  Prior to the introduction of the cumulative impact policy the premises, as a freemason centre, would have only a limited number of guests, a couple of dozen at the most and would hold only occasional hosted events. The premises were only 17 metres away from other premises, which was far closer than other licensed premises in the area.  She considered that the applicant had filed the application in order that it could be heard over the summer period. The applicant had not addressed the cumulative impact of the premises in the application. It was considered that a client bar from 9-11 pm was not necessary. Most offices managed without an alcohol licence.  There was a recently hosted fashion show and the impact of this on residents was horrific.  She considered that to rent out a few meeting rooms the applicant only needed the hours of 5-9pm only, there should be a cap on numbers of 200 people, there should not be any outdoor queuing or loitering or obstructions outside the premises. A second resident raised concerns about the acoustic assessment. He considered that the analysis was deeply flawed as it had included 5/6 people with only one of those talking loudly. Dozens or more people often inebriated would be the more likely scenario. He stated that the dispersal policy only allowed 5/6 people to exit at the same time but he considered that patrons would leave when they wanted to and mini cabs would be arriving for numerous people.

 

The applicant’s representative stated that the previous applications had been made by people who had lacked pride and vision in respect of the venue.  She stated that the company was a proven successful operator and this premises was to be their headquarters and flagship venue for the long term.  The building would be used for office space from the first floor and above, with four meeting rooms on the ground floor to hold events. There would be up to 80 events held each month during the day and evening with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

17.

Pizza Italian Cafe, 110 Fonthill Road, N4 3HT - New premises licence pdf icon PDF 11 MB

Minutes:

The applicant stated that this was a small Italian venue and he wanted to sell alcohol as part of the offering.  It was intended to sell small food plates with drinks.  He currently closed at 7pm but with an alcohol licence would stay open until later. Staff and CCTV would contribute to better security in the area.

 

In response to questions he agreed that tables and chairs outside be removed at 10pm.

 

RESOLVED

1)     That the application for a new premises licence, in respect of Pizza Italian Caffe, 110 Fonthill Road, N4 3HT be granted to allow:-

 

a)    The sale of alcohol, on and off supplies, Monday to Sunday from 11 am until 11pm (off supplies to be limited for delivery only) and

 

b)    The premises to be open to the public from 7am to 11pm.

 

2)     That conditions outlined on pages 93- 95 of the agenda be applied to the licence with the following amendment:-

 

Condition 21:- Outside tables and chairs will be cleared away or rendered unusable by 22:00 hours.

 

REASONS FOR DECISION

The Sub-Committee listened to all the evidence and submissions and read all the material. The Sub-Committee reached the decision having given consideration to the Licensing Act 2003, as amended, and its regulations, the national guidance and the Council’s Licensing Policy.

 

The Sub-Committee took into consideration Licensing Policies 2 & 3.  The premises fall within the Holloway Road and Finsbury Park cumulative impact area.  Licensing policy 3 creates a rebuttable presumption that applications for the grant or variation of premises licences which are likely to add to the existing cumulative impact will normally be refused following the receipt of representations, unless the applicant can demonstrate in the operation schedule that there will be no negative cumulative impact on one or more of the licensing objectives.

 

The Sub-Committee considered the possible exceptions set out in licensing policy 3 relating to the Holloway and Finsbury Park cumulative impact area and that the application met the criteria as the premises were not alcohol led and would be providing Italian food tasting. Furthermore, the Sub-Committee noted that the hours of operation were within the framework hours set out in licensing policy 6. 

 

The Sub-Committee noted the concerns of the local resident. The Sub-Committee also noted that the applicant had taken into account these concerns in their revised application and by agreeing to the conditions proposed by the police and the noise service. The Sub-Committee in considering licensing policy 21 relating to public nuisance decided that it was reasonable and proportionate to require outside tables and chairs to be cleared away by 10pm in order to minimise public nuisance. Furthermore, the applicant indicated that he was happy to accept this amended condition. 

 

The Sub-Committee concluded that there would be no negative cumulative impact on the licensing objectives.