Agenda item

The licensing officer reported that revised conditions had been tabled. These would be interleaved with the agenda papers.

The solicitor for the applicant reported that the hours for the sale of alcohol has been amended to 10:00 am to 23:00 hours.  A number of conditions had been proposed to control anti-social behaviour, sales of underage children, street drinking and staff training.

A local resident raised objections on the application based on the cumulative impact policy and stated that however good the management was, there would still be an increase of alcohol on the streets of the area. The residents should be protected from the resulting anti-social behaviour.

The legal advisor informed residents that there was not a blanket ban on applications in the cumulative impact area but the policy created a rebuttable presumption.

The police spoke against the application and asked that it be refused. He reported that there had been just less than 3500 recorded crimes in the area between April 2013 and March 2014 and this area was the second busiest in the Borough for the police. The police were tasked each weekend to this area in attempts to deal with crime and disorder.   The police had spoken to the applicant and was concerned that he had not demonstrated strong management skills.  This was an area of high crime with a large number of licensed premises and he considered that an increase in alcohol on the streets would increase alcohol related crime.

Christopher Rees-Gay solicitor, supported by Mustafa Has, the applicant, informed the Sub-Committee that the applicant had seven years’ experience and had operated at a licensed premises in Bethnal Green for the last four years with no problems. The applicant had given the local resident his email address should there be any issues.  The shop had been licensed for the previous nine years and recently until 01:00 am.

The premises was a small mini market and alcohol sales were required.  The applicant was a responsible operator, had met with the trading standards officer and had gone through the licensing policy and tailored the application in order that all licensing objectives were promoted.

He reported that the concerns raised in the licensing policy regarding the Angel area related to the late night economy and not for the hours that this application related to. The Holloway/ Finsbury Park area policy did mention street drinking but it had not been stated in relation to this area.  The terminal hour had been moved from 08:00am to 10:00am due to concerns of residents.  The hours applied for reflected those stated in the guidance and the premises would not be selling alcohol after midnight. All staff would be fully trained and would not serve people when drunk.  He did not believe that off licences would encourage pre-loading.  The representation from PS Walsh related to street drinking.  The applicant had met with the officer from trading standards in the afternoon and he was satisfied with the conditions proposed. Residents were unable to pinpoint problems to this one specific premises.

He considered that, with the conditions proposed, the application would not undermine the licensing objectives. There was the review process that the police could use if there were issues relating to the premises.

In response to questions it was noted that the applicant had run two other businesses but these were not for licensed premises.  His previous business was licensed.  In his licensed business he had maintained a good relationship with the police, had passed underage test purchases and had removed strong alcohol from his shelves voluntarily. He stated that alcohol sales were expected to be about 30-40% of his business and alcohol was stored on shelves around the walls and not in the centre of the shop.   The applicant’s solicitor accepted that conditions were added at a late stage but stated that this was as his other premises had no issues and the licensing authority in Tower Hamlets were happy with those conditions.

In summary, the police considered that he did not consider that alcohol in the premises would be stored discretely as it would be located on all sides of the shop.

The local resident stated that yet another outlet selling alcohol must increase the cumulative impact of alcohol in the area and anti-social behaviour still occurred on the street even when alcohol was purchased prior to 11pm.

The applicant stated that the cumulative impact policy in the Angel area was not specific to this type of premises.  Strict conditions were proposed which would prevent adverse impact on the licensing objectives. The licensing hours were to end at 11pm.  The applicant had four years of previous licensing experience with no incident and had met with trading standards officers.

RESOLVED

That the application for a new premises licence in respect of Milly’s Mini Market, 49 Upper Street, N1 be refused.

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 002.  The premises fall under the Angel and Upper Street cumulative impact area.  Licensing policy 002 creates a rebuttable presumption that applications for new premises licences that are likely to add to the existing cumulative impact will normally be refused, unless an applicant can demonstrate why the operation of the premises involved will not add to the cumulative impact or otherwise impact adversely on the promotion of the licensing objectives.

The Sub-Committee carefully considered the representations made by the local residents, the applicant and the police.

The local residents referred to anti-social behaviour in the area and high levels of crime.

The Police representative submitted that the area in question experienced 3499 recorded crimes between April 2013 and March 2014. The crimes included Assault, GBH, affray and sexual assaults. The Police submitted that the large number of licensed premises in the area impacted greatly on the resources of the Police and other emergency services.

The Police stated to the Sub-Committee that the conditions proposed by the applicant did not assist sufficiently to prevent a likely adverse effect on crime and disorder and public nuisance that the granting of the application would result in.

The Sub-Committee was concerned that the granting of the new licence would undermine the licensing objectives. In accordance with Licensing Policy 7, the Sub-Committee noted the cumulative impact that the proliferation of late night venues and retailers in the borough is having on the promotion of the licensing objectives.

The Sub-Committee concluded that the further availability of alcohol in an area where there was already a large number of licensed premises with associated anti-social and criminal behaviour would have an adverse impact on the licensing objectives.