Skip to content

Agenda and minutes

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

Contact: Jackie Tunstall  020 7527 3068

Items
No. Item

49.

Introductions and procedure

50.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

None.

51.

Declarations of substitute members

Minutes:

None.

52.

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:

None.

53.

Order of Business

54.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 90 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 21 May 2019 be confirmed as a correct record and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

55.

J&T Foods Ltd., 10-12 Highbury Park, London N5 2AB - application for a new premises licence (Highbury East Ward) pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Minutes:

The Licensing Officer had no updated information to share with the Sub-Committee.

 

The applicant stated that he had noted the objections to the licence application. However, he managed five other shops and the premises next to this one was operating as an off-licence.  He could not see any problems with selling alcohol.  If a customer looked younger than 25 years of age, they could be challenged. There was a system on the tills in the premises to prompt staff to check this when making sales of alcohol or tobacco. He did not understand residents’ comments that he was selling “cheap alcohol” as he bought only from wholesalers.

 

A member of the Sub-Committee asked the applicant how he would manage the sale of alcohol on Arsenal match days.   The applicant replied that he would set up a rule for his staff to refuse alcohol to anyone who was already intoxicated.  He would permit only one or two customers onto the premises at any one time.  If necessary, customers could be refused alcohol and the premises door would be closed.

 

Noting that the applicant also ran a number of other shops, a member of the Sub-Committee asked whether any of them sold alcohol, indicating that the applicant would be used to holding an alcohol licence and to selling alcohol. He highlighted the fact that Islington Council had a rigorous system for monitoring the sale of alcohol in premises in the Borough and that the Council’s Licensing Sub-Committees were used to considering applications, from residents or the Police, proposing revocation of a licence.  The Council was robust in monitoring the sale of alcohol and in taking action against premises licence holders who did not abide by the conditions of their licence. He asked the applicant whether he was sure that he could meet the Council’s high expectations in this regard.

 

The applicant confirmed that he could meet the Council’s expectations with regards to compliance with licensing objectives.  The applicant added that he had managed this particular shop for three years. He would have to think carefully when running it as an off-licence also. He appreciated that the Council’s Licensing Team could inspect his premises at any time to carry out test purchases, or to check his stock.

 

A member of the Sub-Committee pointed out that the application was not very detailed and made little reference to the objectives of the Council’s Licensing Policy.  He could find no reference to the maintenance of a Refusals Book and asked whether a Refusals Book was available in one of the other off-licences. The applicant confirmed that there was a Refusals Book available in his off-licence and that he complied with all the conditions of his premises licence.

 

RESOLVED:

(a) That the application for a new premises licence in respect of J&T Foods Ltd, 10-12 Highbury Park, London N5 2AB, be granted to allow:

i) the sale of alcohol from Sunday to Thursday, from 09:00 hours to 22:00 hours and on Friday and Saturday,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55.

56.

Co-operative Food Group, 94-98 Turnmill Street, London EC1M 5QP - application for a new premises licence (Clerkenwell) pdf icon PDF 930 KB

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee noted that all representations had been withdrawn and that therefore this application was no longer for consideration.

57.

The Drapers Arms Public House, 44 Barnsbury Street, London N1 1ER - premises licence variation application (Barnsbury Ward) pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Minutes:

The Licensing Officer had no new information to share with the Sub-Committee.

 

The applicant described the geography of the premises, stating that it was situated in a residential street and south facing.  Trade took place over the ground floor, a first floor dining room and a small rear terrace. Although there were three doors at the front of the building, two of the smaller doors had to be kept shut and only the middle door could be opened. The large windows on the upper floor could be opened.  He appreciated the fact that living next door to a pub was not the same as living next to regular neighbours.  Drinking was not allowed outside the front of the premises. The premises manager monitored the floor each night and all staff were trained to bring patrons back onto the premises if they ventured outside with their drinks. The rear garden area closed at 10.00pm.  Patrons were encouraged by staff to order their taxis from inside the premises and to remain inside until they arrived, to mitigate the affects of any noise and nuisance on residents.  

 

He said that, during hot weather, the premises became very hot as it was south-facing.  Evaporation coolers had been tried but, without circulation of air, they created very humid air, without much cooling, which was very unpleasant for the pub’s patrons and staff.   It had not been possible to install pipes in the ceiling for air conditioning as there was no space.  In addition, a fan had been installed in one of the windows but, due to listing, had to be removed and a sash window reinstated. He had applied last year for a variation to the premises licence to permit them to open the front doors until 20:00 hours, but this had been refused due to objections from local residents.  This latest variation application sought permission to open the front doors until 18:00 hours for ventilation purposes on days when temperatures were in excess of 21 degrees centigrade, although he would be grateful for any hours later than this if at all possible.  Most of the drinking at the premises comprised wine being drunk with meals and this comprised 65% of alcohol sales.  He described the premises as “moderate” and he suggested that it was a reasonable request for the variation in order to manage the temperature in the building.

 

He went on to say that the representations circulated with the agenda pack referring to people drinking outside and making noise were not from his premises, but from others in the vicinity.   He did not tolerate people singing, vomiting, or being rowdy.  His premises appeared in the Michelin Guide.

 

In response to a question about the steps he had taken to reach out to residents living in the street, the applicant stated that he had invited them to talk. He had made changes by stopping the playing of music, one year after taking up management of the premises. After two years, he had stopped hosting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57.