Agenda and minutes

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

None.

There were no declarations of substitute members.

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.

Councillor Nick Wayne declared he was the ward councillor for Canonbury ward.  He had not expressed a view regarding Item B2, Myddleton Arms.

The order of business would be as the agenda.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 15 July 2024 be confirmed as an accurate record of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

The licensing officer reported that additional submissions from the applicant and responses from the interested parties had been circulated.  The planning team had also stated that they had no further concerns with the application and had no objections.

Four residents spoke in objection to the application. They raised concerns regarding the 10-metre proximity to residential properties. The residents heard noise from people entering and leaving the building, light pollution and vehicle noise traffic.  The premises would be open for 24 hours a day and the use would be detrimental to the enjoyment of the residents. The street was quiet and residential, and residents were concerned about the noise and public nuisance from the building. One resident proposed conditions that doors and windows remain closed, and alcohol be consumed indoors only and not on the terrace. One resident raised concerns about the planning application and stated that the website indicated that the roof would be used for event space.  The website had not been updated to indicate that this would not be the case and the Sub-Committee were asked to reject the application. A resident stated that this street was not suitable for this type of business as it was very residential, and the building was only 10m away from residential premises.

In response to questions, it was noted that, although the premises was not operating at the current time, there was a lot of noise being created during the refurbishment. Residents  stated that lights were currently being left on overnight and if there were events, customers would spill onto the roof top. It was accepted that there would be some degree of noise even if the premises were used for office space only with no alcohol licence. Residents stated that there would be a very different noise level from people inside the premises to those outside on the roof terrace. Automatic blinds should be operating overnight but this planning condition had been breached for a number of weeks now and had not been rectified despite complaints made. The applicant had not engaged with the residents.

The applicant stated that this would be a vibrant office space where people could work in a contemporary workplace as the primary use, with events such as conferences and networking events. The vast majority would work during normal office hours but it would be open for 24 hours so some could work later into the evening. The letter sent to residents was to engage following the representations received although there was no opportunity to set up a site meeting.  The marketing material was misrepresentative, but it was decided not to make changes to the website at this stage. The applicant, Techspace, had not been involved with the planning process. This application was not a re-run of the planning application. It was proposed that the terraces would not be used after 6pm. The application was within core hours and all conditions including additional proposed conditions were agreed. They would be happy to have residents over  ...  view the full minutes text for item 129.

The licensing officer reported that additional comments from residents had been circulated and five additional conditions tabled. Four of these additional conditions had been agreed by the applicant. One resident representation had now been withdrawn.

One resident, who lived next door to the premises, stated that there was already a high level of noise from the premises which was making her living situation unbearable every day of the week. She could also hear noise from the bathroom. She did not want anything added to the licence when the noise was already loud.

In response to questions, it was noted that the resident had moved in about a year ago. The resident was advised that a condition had been agreed with the noise team that, should there be a substantiated noise complaint the licensee would need to take action to deal with the noise. The resident stated that they had not made any noise complaints as they wanted to build a relationship with the business but had walked in a few times and raised the issue with a member of staff. This had not improved the situation. They would raise issues with the Council in the future.

The applicant stated that they intended to open up the upstairs dining room which would seat a maximum of 30 people. It would not be loud or boisterous. The premises was in the middle of a residential area and many regulars were local residents. They had hosted wedding receptions and wanted to create a small intimate place for diners.  They would take steps to curtail the noise and monitor patrons outside the front of the premises.  The husband of the local proprietor had not heard about any complaints and stated that there was noise from the park opposite the premises. He stated that they had a good chef and were trying to improve the property.  There had been no money on the premises spent by previous owners. One of the residents had withdrawn their objections. Their licence was until 2am but they did not use these hours and did not want to stay open late or be a football pub. Following the works the bathroom would not be in the same position. He said that the resident could contact him directly if there were any issues.

In response to questions regarding the suggested condition ‘no drinks be taken outside after 10pm’ as there would be more people accessing the Myddleton Arms, the applicant stated that he did not think this was necessary as staff would be monitoring this area, however he asked that the time be extended to 11pm, should the Sub-Committee require. The area was being monitored and they would like the flexibility. He considered much of the noise disturbance was from gatherings in the park. The dining room was likely to be used Thursday to Saturday evenings and for Sunday roasts. They hoped to have Xmas parties and expand their business with good quality food. This was a small pub and had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 130.