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Agenda and minutes

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

Contact: Jackie Tunstall  020 7527 3068

Items
No. Item

66.

Introductions and procedure

Minutes:

Councillor Khan welcomed everyone to the meeting, asked members and officers to introduce themselves and outlined the procedures for the meeting.

67.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillor Spall and Councillor Diner.

68.

Declarations of substitute members

Minutes:

Councillor Ngongo substituted for Councillor Spall and Councillor Gill substituted for Councillor Diner.

69.

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 Khan declared a personal interest in Item B4 – 424 St John Street as he is the ward councillor.

70.

Order of Business

Minutes:

The items would be considered in the order set out in the agenda.

71.

The Green House, 49 Green Lanes, N16 9BU - Application for a new premises licence pdf icon PDF 24 MB

Minutes:

The licensing officer tabled proposed conditions from the noise team which would be interleaved with the agenda papers. 

 

The noise officer reported that a number of complaints had been received during an event on the 10 October.  On the application form for a temporary event, regulated entertainment had not been ticked.  The officer stated that if the noise team had known that regulated entertainment was taking place they would have objected to the event based on the lack of sound insulation on the premises and the number of past complaints.  He asked that the licence be refused, but if it were granted, the tabled condition be used to replace condition 2 on page 101 of the report.

 

One local resident stated that there was no sound insulation on the premises.  The party wall was a garden fence and the roof was plastic.  Bedrooms were 6 metres away from the premises. At an event in early 2015 a metal band played until 10.30 at night creating disturbance.  A further local resident reported that he did not see how children could be protected from harm from the noise nuisance from the premises.  The premises could not contain the sound given the structure.  Residents could hear the noise arising from the sale of food in the evening. If films were shown there would be incredible noise escape.  It was reported that the premises was acoustically transparent and the business was concerned about making money at children’s expense. A local resident reported that the noise from coffee machines and dishwashers could already be heard.  The premises were unfit for purpose and residents had no confidence in the applicants.  The applicants had already received noise complaints and had shown a disregard for the community. The applicants had not stated how they would address problems. There was already a saturation of licensed premises in the area.  Residents understood the desire to maximise  revenue streams but stated that the premises was not suitable.

 

In response to questions it was noted that Leconfield Road was a quiet residential area with young families.  On one occasion, the music was so loud that a resident had to leave her house.  The only access to the main building was through the Greenhouse which had no soundproofing.  Patrons would be congregating in the loading bay area.

 

The applicant reported that they had held a consultation day for residents.  Hours would be until 11pm on weekdays. They would be holding supper clubs and controlled events rather than a bar.  They would hold family friendly, community events. It was accepted that an event on the 14 February caused problems.  They had given a third party permission to hold an event but did not police it themselves and had not held anything of that nature since.  Alcohol would be served with food rather than as a bar.  They did not want live music but intended to hold film screening and supper clubs for ticketed events.  They were happy to find a compromise.  The applicant was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 71.

72.

Old Friend, 277 Caledonian Road, N1 1ET - Application for a new premises licence pdf icon PDF 13 MB

Minutes:

The licensing officer reported that training documents, security procedures and age verification policy had been circulated.  These would be interleaved with the agenda papers. Two further conditions had been agreed with the police regarding drinking up time and the employment of a door supervisor after 9pm.  It was noted that the police and public health representation had been withdrawn after conditions had been agreed and also one resident representation had been withdrawn. 

 

The licensing authority welcomed the reduction in drinking hours and the employment of a door supervisor but reported that the premises was in a cumulative impact area and the presumption would need to be rebutted that the premises licence would not undermine the licensing objectives.  It was noted that the applicant had submitted training documents but had received a caution for selling alcohol previously without a licence.  There was no mention of the applicant’s previous training, joining pubwatch or of the maximum number of covers.  The conditions offered in the schedule were ambiguous with one stating that alcohol would only be sold to persons seated having a table meal while it was unclear if this was the case in the karaoke rooms. Conditions 3-5 contradicted conditions 6-8. Conditions needed to be clear and enforceable. He requested that a door supervisor be employed by an external company so they would not be subjected to management pressure.  It was noted that Menelik was the previous licence holder.

 

A local resident objecting to the application, stated that it had taken years for the previous licence to be revoked.  The noise from the premises had been horrendous.  It had a glass front and no soundproofing. She wanted regeneration in Caledonian Road but there were a large number of licences in the area. She also considered there would be noise disorder from the premises. A licence to 2 or 3 am was not acceptable as it was a residential area. 

 

The licensing officer stated that the licence was until 11pm during the week and midnight at the weekends.  The resident stated that the neon sign outside was far too bright.

 

The applicant’s agent referred the Sub-Committee to the training policies that had been circulated which should address concerns.  He would be referring to the Thwaites case.  Hours were reduced, the premises was a restaurant with discreet karaoke and was not a bar or nightclub.  The application now fell within the core hours.  The representation by the police had been withdrawn.  The applicant would enhance the dining experience.  The Home Office guidance stated that the police would be the main source of advice on matters relating to the crime and disorder objective.  The police were no longer objecting to the application and were satisfied that the application did not undermine the cumulative impact policy.  The noise officers were not objecting and staff would be checking that all windows and doors were shut. They had worked through the licensing policy, they were within framework hours, they had created bespoke policies regarding training and dispersal, they  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72.

73.

The Fig Tree, 35 Upper Street, N1 OPN - Application for a new premises licence pdf icon PDF 8 MB

Minutes:

The licensing officer reported that noise and police representations had been withdrawn as conditions had been agreed. A letter had been received from the applicant stating that this licence replaced a previously held licence.  The letter would be interleaved with the agenda papers.

 

A local resident reported that Upper Street was already saturated and was concerned regarding off sales.  There would be noise following the closure of the premises after 12:30 at night.  There was too great a concentration of licensed premises in the Angel area and the saturation policy should be applied.  She was very frustrated about the number of licenses being granted and stated that this would be another one that would add to the cumulative impact.

 

The licensing officer reported that this would be a licence for on sales only and the resident stated that this would be an improvement.

 

The applicant’s representative reported that the premises were acquired in 2003 for A3 use.  The applicant undertook his responsibility towards training.  In 2009, planning permission was granted for 3 residential units above and during construction work the premises caught fire.  The freeholder was ordered by the court to put them the applicant back in the premises.  He understood the saturation policy.  He advised that if there had not been a fire they would still be operating under the original licence and so would not have an additional impact.  This licence was for a restaurant which served alcohol only with a meal.  There was no bar area.  They had not any issues or complaints prior to the fire and hoped to join the local pubwatch. Training would be available for all staff. Opening times and conditions had been agreed and the applicant wanted to run the premises as it had been run previously.  The opening hours had been amended.  The applicant was a responsible operator and it was hoped that he would be given the opportunity to run the premises. 

 

RESOLVED

a) That a new premises licence in respect of The Fig Tree, 35 Upper Street, N1 0PN be granted:-           

i)      To permit the sale by retail of alcohol, on supplies only, Sundays to Thursdays from 11:00 until 23:00 and Fridays and Saturdays from 11:00 until midnight.

ii)     To allow late night refreshment, Fridays and Saturdays from 23:00 until midnight.

iii)    The premises to be open to the public, Sundays to Thursdays from 09:00 until 23:30 and Fridays and Saturdays from 09:00 until half past midnight.

 

b) Conditions as outlined in appendix 3 as detailed on page 183 of the agendashall 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 fall under the Angel and Upper Street cumulative impact area.  Licensing policy 2 creates a rebuttable presumption  ...  view the full minutes text for item 73.

74.

424 St John Street, EC1V 4NJ - Application for a new premises licence pdf icon PDF 737 KB

Minutes:

The licensing officer reported that the applicant was not in attendance.  A letter and email had been sent informing the applicant of the notice of hearing.

 

RESOLVED that the item be adjourned to a future meeting.