Agenda item

The Licensing Officer was asked to provide updates to the Committee. In response the Licensing Officer stated that there was no additional information and that one representation had been withdrawn.

There were no responsible authorities or interested parties, so the Chair moved to ask the applicant to summarise their case. In response, the applicant stated that the premises had an unusually large garden to the rear, for the area. The applicant stated that present arrangements for customers to purchase drinks was either through table service or going back inside the premises and that this application for an external bar would relieve pressure on the internal bar as well as improving the customer experience.

The applicant stated that they would continue to abide by the conditions on their licence, that the premises was popular and had received no issues or complaints in the time that it had been operating.  The applicant told members that there was no intention to change the style of operation, and their customer base was largely a mature, after-work crowd, that was predominantly female.

Members of the Committee asked the applicant how long they had been operating, inclusive of the external area, to which the applicant advised it had been six months. The applicant stated that in that time they had received feedback to say that it had taken too long to get a drink from the internal bar.

The applicant confirmed that there was no intention of altering the garden in any way to the accommodate the bar other than some tables and chairs and there was no intention to change the model of operation other than providing an additional point of sale. 

The applicant confirmed that they do intend to put screens up for the football, and plans were in place to manage what was anticipated to be a busy period.

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The applicant confirmed that the external bar was mobile and could be moved by staff if necessary.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the Sub-Committee has decided to grant the application for a premises licence variation in respect of The Fence, 67-69 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6BP to:

a.    To vary the layout of the premises in accordance with the new plans submitted.

b.    To add a small external bar in the external area, to sell alcohol and other drinks until 22:00 daily. 

2)    That all licensable activities, permitted hours, opening hours and conditions to remain the same as existing.

REASONS FOR DECISION

This was an application for a variation to an existing licence. The application in essence was to amend the planned layout of the premises and to enable the sale of alcohol from a small bar at the back garden of the premises.

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 Clerkenwell 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 operating schedule that there will be no negative cumulative impact on one or more of the licensing objectives.

The hours requested for the sale of alcohol from the bar were within the policies core hours.

There were no representations from any of the Responsible Authorities. There were initially two written representations from members of the public. One was subsequently withdrawn.

The applicant’s representative informed the LSC hat the reason behind the application for the variation was to enable customers occupying the garden to purchase their drinks from the garden bar as opposed to having to go back inside the bar and wait at the inside bar to be served. Customers in surveys had raised this as a concern.

The Sub-Committee concluded that the granting of the variation with the agreed conditions would promote the licensing objectives. The Sub-Committee noted that the hours sought were within the hours specified in licensing policy 5 and 6.  The Sub-Committee was satisfied that the operating schedule demonstrated high standards of management and that the proposed use, meant that the premises would not add to the cumulative impact.

The Sub-Committee was satisfied that granting the variation to the premises licence was proportionate and appropriate to the promotion of the licensing objectives.