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Agenda and minutes

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Items
No. Item

236.

Introductions and procedure pdf icon PDF 44 KB

Minutes:

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

237.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Valerie Bossman-Quarshie as a member of the Sub-Committee. However, Councillor Bossman-Quarshie was present at the meeting as an observer for training purposes.

238.

Declarations of substitute members

Minutes:

Councillor Gary Poole substituted for Councillor Bossman-Quarshie.

239.

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.

240.

Order of Business

Minutes:

The order of business would be as the agenda.

241.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 131 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 30 March 2021 be confirmed as an accurate record of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

242.

The Mall,359 Upper Street, N1 0PD - New premises licence pdf icon PDF 9 MB

Minutes:

The licensing officer stated that there was no further information to be added to that contained within the report.

 

The licensing authority stated that she was satisfied with the conditions put forward in the papers.

 

The applicant’s representative stated that the written submission was detailed on pages 55 – 65 of the report. All 32 conditions had been agreed as detailed at pages 166-169 of the report. Photographs of the storefront were also included in the report, a statement from Amazon and evidence from an expert witness who had visited two other Amazon stores and had stated that the grant of the licence was unlikely to add to the cumulative impact. The store would be situated in a fine building, alcohol would be displayed in no more of 10% of the floor area and restricted to the area hatched in red on the plan detailed at page 39.  Planning consent had been granted. Planning and Licensing were separate regimes although regard could be given to their view. The grant of the licence was unlikely to add to the cumulative impact and this application fell within the recognised exceptions.  There would be a small display area and would allow customers to purchase alcohol to have with their dinner. Hours were restricted to framework hours. All customers would be registered through technology, the alcohol display was always supervised allowing age verification to the alcohol area which would be a major deterrent to troublesome drinkers. The premises were not alcohol led and had an alcohol display area of no more than 10%, customers would already be in the area and should the application be refused, a licence could go to a less regulated applicant.  The premises did not sell tobacco or super strength alcohol and would therefore be unattractive to a problem drinker. Hours were limited to 11pm and the exception was engaged. There were 32 proposed conditions. The police and environmental health had not objected. The licensing authority did not call for refusal. Objections were from interested parties and the ward councillor.

 

In response to questions, it was noted the alcohol range was generally laid out similarly to Tesco/Sainsbury stores. If they wished to display more alcohol they would need to apply for a licence variation. There would be a minimum of three members of staff on duty. The expert witness stated that customers would need an account. The alcohol was in a separate area which was supervised by a member of staff and was in a very controlled environment upholding the licensing objective, the protection of children from harm. Anyone could download the app for free with a registered credit/debit card. All members of staff had to pass a Challenge 25 exam online and this was followed by practical training on site.

 

RESOLVED

1) That the application for a new premises licence in respect of The Mall, 359 Upper Street, N1 be granted:-

a)   To allow the sale of alcohol, off supplies only, Monday to Sunday from 8am until 11pm.

b)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 242.

243.

City Gaming - Caledonian Road, N1 1BB - New premises licence (Gambling Act) 2005 pdf icon PDF 17 MB

Minutes:

The licensing officer reported that four document bundles, a skeleton argument and policies and procedures had been circulated following agenda publication.

 

The licensing authority noted the condition offered by the applicant which made provision for two floor staff to be on duty for the first three months and this to be reviewed with input by the licensing authority and the police. A condition regarding engagement with community groups was also noted.  She had not withdrawn the representation and stated that this was an area of high deprivation with high crime levels and was the second highest in the Borough and the third highest in London. She raised concerns regarding the lone working policy and drew attention to the procedure on page 221 of the circulated documentation which stated that staff would be alone until another trained person arrived and they would need to ask for help. There were benefits in having two staff dealing with a situation. She also noted that people suffering from addictions had been omitted from the safeguarding policy statement. She raised concerns that the Licensing Consultant had visited the Adult Gaming Centre (AGC) in Chapel Market during the day when there is a busy shopping area outside. He had not attended in the evening or at a vulnerable time for staff. She said that the Sub-Committee should make their decision based on the applicant submissions and the concerns of residents and councillors.

 

In response to questions, the Licensing Authority stated that the premises could be attractive to offenders released from prison and was concerned that the applicants had not taken into account vulnerable adults with addictions. This was a high crime area. She considered that there should be no lone working as there was a duty of care to staff and this had not been addressed in the documentation. Staff should work in pairs in order to tackle aggressive people.

 

The local resident stated that the premises would not protect vulnerable people from harm and would be a hub for anti-social behaviour. Residents were seriously concerned about the destructive effect of gambling. There was a  primary school and adventure playground nearby and the premises normalised gambling behaviour. The Caledonian Road area was a local shopping area with a high level of deprivation with high numbers using local food banks or street drinking. The presence of an AGC would negatively affect these residents and was believed to be a source of crime and disorder and gang related harm.

 

The ward councillor, Paul Convery, stated that he wished to speak to the large number of documents circulated on Friday and stated that the assertions contained within these documents were untrue. He stated that this part of the Borough had one of the highest numbers of crime and disorder and disadvantage. He stated that the evidence detailed on page 28, paragraph 23, from the Licensing Consultant was incorrect. He had looked at the data and had seen that this part of Caledonian Road around premises No. 310 had a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 243.

244.

Ekachia, Unit 2, 66 York Way, N1 9AG - New premises licence pdf icon PDF 4 MB

Minutes:

A local resident was concerned that the application extended the hours of operation and also that alcohol could be sold off the premises without a substantial meal. He requested that the applicant consider a minimum spend of £15 for food which he considered may remove this concern to residents.

 

The applicant had been in the restaurant business for thirty years. He was in a dispute with the previous licensee who had not transferred the licence as promised. He stated that it was never his intention to change the business and did contact residents inviting them to discuss the application. It was likely that they would close at 10.30pm and had applied for extra hours due to the pandemic in the hope of recouping losses.  He proposed to only have the additional hour on Thursday to Saturday and would seriously consider the £15 minimum spend. They would follow all police and noise proposed conditions, would train staff to remind customers not to disturb residents. He noted that he did not have the correct planning permission.

 

In response to questions he stated that they used Deliveroo. They had good relations with them and they did not park outside the premises. He stated that he could be happy to have a minimum order value of £15.

 

In summary, the resident stated that, if the applicant took up the suggestion of the minimum order, he would be happy to remove his objection. His fears were related to the consumption of alcohol.

 

The applicant thanked the resident for his suggestion. The Licensing officer confirmed that the hours proposed would be midnight on Thursday – Saturday.

 

RESOLVED

1) That the application for a new premises licence in respect of Ekachia, Unit 2, 66 York Way, N1 be granted:-

 

a)        To allow the sale of alcohol, on and off supplies only, from 11am to 11pm Sunday to Wednesday, 11am until midnight Thursday to Saturday.

b)        The provision of late night refreshment from 11 pm until midnight Thursday to Saturday.

c)        The premises to be open to the public, Sunday to Wednesday from 11am until 11.30 and on Thursday to Saturday from 11am until half past midnight.

 

2) Conditions detailed on pages 251-254 of the agenda shall be applied to the licence with the following amendment to condition 24.

 

Alcohol shall not be sold or supplied, via delivery from the premises or take away, otherwise than to persons purchasing food to a minimum value of £15 and is ancillary to their meal.

 

REASONS FOR DECISION

This meeting was facilitated by Zoom.

 

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 Kings Cross cumulative impact area.  Licensing policy 3 creates a rebuttable presumption that applications for the grant or variation of premises  ...  view the full minutes text for item 244.

245.

I Tre Barili, 139 Holloway Road, N7 8LX - New premises licence pdf icon PDF 7 MB

Minutes:

The licensing officer reported that additional papers had been circulated following the publication of the agenda.

 

A local resident raised concerns regarding the toilet access with entry to it via a private space in the rear courtyard area, noise from music emanating from the mezzanine level which had been built in the premises and the cumulative impact which had not been addressed with concern about street drinking in the area.

 

The applicant stated that this was a father/daughter business. The access to the WC was to be covered by CCTV and had a security keypad.  There was no regulated entertainment with only background music and no licence for this was required. There would be 20-23 covers available in the cafe. A mobile telephone number and an email address could be provided for any issues. Conditions proposed on pages 284-286 limited the operation of the premises which would have to operate as a delicatessen/café.  Restrictions would make it unattractive to street drinkers. Other off licences would sell alcohol at a higher price point. Alcohol would be served ancillary to food, dispersal would be quiet and safe. Records of incidents would be kept including action taken. A condition stated that no noise could emanate from the premises.  It was not a bar.

 

In response to questions it was stated that conditions had been agreed with the police and the noise team. This was a small operation, alcohol was served with food and customers would be seated with waiter/waitress service and the applicant considered this to be an exception to the cumulative impact policy. There had been no representation from the licensing authority which indicated that they were satisfied with the application. The applicant stated that she would be closing at around 11pm to allow customers to finish their food. In response to a question about the noise emanating from the mezzanine level it was stated that condition 15 would mean that any noise issue, if considered a nuisance, would need to be addressed. The toilet was external to the premises and a member of staff would show the customers to it. Deliveries of alcohol were not planned and the applicant agreed to a condition that did not permit deliveries of alcohol.

 

In summary the local resident stated that she welcomed the responses but concerns regarding the toilet still remained and considered that a door from the premises straight through to the toilet would be more sensible.

 

The applicant asked that the Sub-Committee agreed the application and stated that if they could come up with a solution regarding the toilet they would.  They considered that CCTV and the keypad would be sufficient control.

 

RESOLVED

1) That the application for a new premises licence in respect of I Tre Barili, 139 Holloway Road, N7 be granted;

 

a)        To allow the sale of alcohol, on and off supplies only, Monday to Sunday from 10am until 10pm.

b)        The premises to be open to the public, Monday to Sunday from 10am to 11pm.

2)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 245.