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Agenda and minutes

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

Contact: Jackie Tunstall  020 7527 3068

Items
No. Item

123.

Introductions and procedure

Minutes:

Councillor Nick Wayne welcomed everyone to the meeting and officers and members introduced themselves. The procedures for the conduct of the meeting wee outlined.

124.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Received from Councillor Marian Spall.

125.

Declarations of substitute members

Minutes:

Councillor Flora Williamson substituted for Councillor Marian Spall.

126.

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:

Councillor Nick Ward declared an interest in agenda item B4 – Mediterranean Food Centre, Unit 2, St Paul’s Road, N1 – as a Canonbury Ward councillor.

127.

Order of Business

Minutes:

The order of business would be as stated on the agenda.

128.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 143 KB

Minutes:

 

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 14 April 2016 be confirmed as a correct record and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

129.

Popeseye Steak House, 36 Highgate Hill, London N19 5NL - Premises licence variation pdf icon PDF 1019 KB

Minutes:

The Licensing Officer drew attention to an email of 31 May 2016, from James Hutchinson, the owner of Popeseye, responding to the representations which had been received to the application for a variation to the premises licence and copies of which had been provided to members of the Sub-Committee.

 

The Sub-Committee had noted that no representations had been received from the Local Authority or the Police.

 

The applicant stated that his response to the representations received were contained in the email of 31 May 2016. No reports of public disorder at the premises had been made to the Police. He thought that many of the representations were unfair. The premises was in a quiet area and there would be no heavy drinking.

 

In response to a question as to why the applicant had applied to operate until 00:00 on Mondays, which was outside the recommended core hours, the applicant said that, firstly, it was to maintain parity with the existing approved operating hours for the premises from Tuesdays to Sundays.  Secondly, there was a large room at the back of the premises which he hoped to be able to hire out for private functions. He saw this as a selling point for the business. In response to a further question about how much the business was likely to be affected if the hours were not extended, the applicant queried the grounds upon which that might be possible, since the premises already operated until 00:00 from Tuesdays to Sundays.

 

In response to a question as to why no adverse affect in granting this variation to the premises licence would occur, given its location in the Archway cumulative impact zone, the applicant maintained that there was no current impact on the area and he failed  to see how extending the opening hours to include Mondays would cause an adverse impact.

 

The applicant stated that his was a sophisticated but informal establishment, selling steak and wine, and not part of a chain. The menu and wine prices would not attract the type of clientele who would cause trouble.

 

RESOLVED:

1.That the application for a premises licence variation in respect ofPopeseye Steak House, 36 Highgate Hill,  N19 5NL., be granted to allow:

i) the provision on sales of alcohol and recorded music on Mondays from 11:00 until 00:00

ii) the provision of late night refreshment on Mondays from 23:00 to 00:00

iii) opening hours on Mondays from 11:00 until 00:00

 

2.That the conditions outlined in appendix 4 and detailed on page 40 of the agenda  be applied to the licence.

 

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 Policy 2.  The premises fell under the Junction area of Archway cumulative impact area.  Licensing policy 2 created a rebuttable presumption  ...  view the full minutes text for item 129.

130.

72 St John Street, London EC1M 4DT - New premises licence pdf icon PDF 619 KB

Minutes:

The Licensing Officer referred to the second bullet point on page 61 of the agenda and circulated to Members of the Sub-Committee a copy of the plan indicating by hatching the area of the premises where alcohol would be supplied and consumed prior to a meal in the bar area, by up to a maximum of twelve people at any one time.

 

The Sub-Committee noted that there had been no representations from the Licensing Authority or the Police, although the premises was situated within the Bunhill Cumulative Impact Zone.

 

The Applicant’s agent outlined the application, which was for the offer of alcohol alongside food on Mondays to Saturdays. All of the responsible authorities were satisfied that the granting of a new premises licence would not impact adversely on the area. Although the original application had sought agreement to the supply of alcohol up until 23:00, this had been reduced to 22:30 in response to representations from the Council’s Noise Team and local residents, as detailed in the “Statement for Other Parties” which had been circulated to members of the Sub-Committee. In addition, the applicant had agreed to an additional condition that “There shall be no collections of refuse or deliveries between the hours of 22:00 to 08:00” to reduce the noise impact on residents. He suggested that most of the representations referred to a noisy and boisterous establishment, which this was not.  The applicant proposed to run a high quality wining and dining experience, along the lines of an Italian “cicchetti” restaurant. The applicant was a qualified sommelier who ran a successful establishment nearby, for which he had an alcohol licence and had experienced no problems.

 

In response to a question from a member about the management of potential queues outside the restaurant, the applicant’s representative explained that a limit of 50 people would be allowed in the pre-dining area. The applicant himself added that the restaurant’s kitchen was small. The manager would plan in advance and would know if it were possible to accommodate all their clients, most of whom would have booked in advance and this would prevent queues building up outside the premises.

 

RESOLVED:

1. That the application for a new premises licence in respect of72 St John Street, London EC1M 4DT be granted to allow:

i)the supply alcohol for consumption on the premises from 12:00 until 22:30 on Monday to Saturday

ii) the premises to be open to the public from 12:00 until 23:00 on Monday to Saturday

 

2.The conditions outlined in appendix 3 and detailed on page 74 of the agenda to be applied to the licence

 

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 Policy 2.  The premises fell under the Bunhill cumulative impact area.  Licensing policy 2  ...  view the full minutes text for item 130.

131.

Passengers, 19 Green Lanes, London N16 - New premises licence pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Minutes:

 

The Licensing Officer drew members’ attention to eight further conditions which had been circulated. In response to a question from members, the applicant’s representative confirmed that these were conditions with which the applicant would comply.

 

The Sub-Committee noted that no representations had been received from the Responsible Authorities.

 

The applicant’s representative stated that the application was solely for the sale of alcohol on the premises and that the hours of operation were within those recommended in the Licensing Policy. Alcohol would be served with food, as in a traditional restaurant. In fact, the sale of alcohol would be for an hour less than the closing times recommended in the Licensing Policy on Fridays and Saturdays. . The premises had been licensed in the past but the licence had been revoked, so the current applicant could not use that licence.

The application for an opening hour of 08:00 when the premises would be open to the public was to cater for the breakfast trade.  There had been problems associated with the premises historically, but this was no longer the case. The applicant’s representative said that the concerns of the resident above the premises about noise would be addressed by the additional conditions and the hours of operation of the premises.

 

 

Following the identification of a discrepancy on page 1 of the report of the Service Director for Public Protection which indicated that the application was for the sale of alcohol from Mondays to Sundays from 11:00 until 22:00, whereas the actual application (page 86) requested sale of alcohol from 11:00 on Sundays to Thursdays and 11:00 to 23:00 hours on Fridays and Saturdays, the Licensing Officer apologised for what appeared to be an officer error. She suggested that there had been no consequent affect on the notification to the Responsible Authorities, since her records indicated that the correct operating times had been notified to them.

 

In response to questions, the applicant confirmed that he had held the lease for the premises for six months and had not traded any later than 19:00 hours for a number of months.

 

 

RESOLVED:     

That the application for a new premises licence in respect ofPassengers, 19 Green Lanes, London N16 9BS be granted to permit:

i) the sale by retail of alcohol, on supplies only, on Sunday to Thursday, from 11:00 until 22:00

and 11:00 to 23:00 on Friday and Saturday

ii) the premises to be open to the public from Sunday to Thursday from 08:00 until 22:00 and from 08:00 to 23:00 on Friday and Saturday

iii) the conditions as outlined in appendix 4 and detailed on page 106/107 of the agenda and the eight additional conditions as agreed by the applicant.

 

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.

 

Following the identification of a discrepancy  ...  view the full minutes text for item 131.

132.

Mediterranean Food Centre, Unit 2, St Paul's Road, N1 - review of premises licence pdf icon PDF 7 MB

Minutes:

 

 

Councillor Nick Wayne pointed out to the applicant and his representative that he had declared an interest in this item at the beginning of the meeting, as one of the local Ward councillors for Canonbury.

 

The Licensing Officer circulated to members coloured versions of photographs of the inside of the premises, which had previously been circulated in black and white.

 

The Trading Standards Officer described the circumstances which had led to the review. In December 2013, shortly after having taken over the business, the premises licence holder had sold alcohol, without proof of age being requested, to an 18 year old who was working with Trading Standards.  This was a breach of condition 10 on the premises licence. A similar occurrence had happened in December 2015. At that later visit, the Trading Standards Officer had carried out a comprehensive check of the alcohol and tobacco in the shop, during which a large amount of spirits was identified as non-UK duty paid and seized. The premises licence holder had informed Trading Standards that he had bought the alcohol from an acquaintance, whose own shop had closed.  No proof of purchase had been available. Subsequent checks by Trading Standards with the local authority where the closed premises had been situated proved that the premises licence holder had relayed the position accurately to Trading Standards. The premises licence holder had subsequently attended an interview and had given honest answers. He had attended training at the first available opportunity. Trading Standards officers had visited the premises on a later occasion and had found things to be in order.  They had viewed CCTV footage and noted that no alcohol had been on sale at the premises for a period of time. In the circumstances, the Trading Standards Officer suggested that a period of suspension might be appropriate, to emphasise the seriousness of the matter and to act as a deterrent to the premises owner and other licensees against future mis-management. However, he suggested that it would also be legitimate for the Committee to consider the premises owner’s self-imposed suspension to be sufficient for these purposes and that, subject to the imposition of the additional conditions in Annex 3, the licensing objectives would be met.

 

The Licensing Authority noted the seriousness of the incidents which had taken place in December 2013 and 2015 and how the position seemed to have improved since that time. It was noted that the premises licence holder had attended training sessions and passed the associated tests.  The Licensing Authority concurred with the view of the Trading Standards Officer and suggested that, with the addition of the additional conditions, the Committee might consider that there was no need for a suspension of the licence on this occasion.

 

The Police Authority’s representative stated that there had been no problems of crime and disorder associated with these particular premises, though there were ongoing problems around the Marquess Estate generally.  The Police expected high levels of management from all premises licence holders but,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 132.