Agenda and minutes

Councillor Troy Gallagher welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced officers and members.  The licensing officer introduced herself and the interested parties. The procedure for the conduct of the meeting was outlined.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Michelline Safi-Ngongo.

Councillor Phil Graham substituted for Councillor Michelline Safi-Ngongo.

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.

There were no declarations of interest.

The order of business would be as the agenda.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 December 2020 be confirmed as an accurate record of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

The licensing officer reported that further comments from the interested parties had been circulated separately.

The interested parties spoke against the application. Concerns were raised regarding the noise from the courtyard which was only a few metres from bedrooms. The noise team had been contacted on a number of occasions. Staff still remained outside. Customers could be heard swearing. The local pub garden was vacated at 9pm and this premises should be vacated as soon as shows finished. There was also concern regarding the smell from the fire outside. It was stated that half of the outside space was taken up by the public house and the other half by the Big House. The public vacated the public house garden at 9pm. The buildings surrounding the courtyard were tall and sound echoed around the space. The sound from crowds impacted on sleep. There was no objection to the licence but noise in the courtyard should be controlled. Patrons would have to leave at the end of the show and there was a concern about noise when alcohol was included.  One resident raised concerns about a metal door which caused the whole house to vibrate when shut. On occasion, this had been 20 times in one hour. This had been for over a year and nothing had been done. The applicant had stated that this was to do with the wind but it was considered that it got worse in the wind but also happened on less windy days. One resident accepted there would be some disturbance but raised concerns regarding external hires as these were not always so easy to control. 

In response to questions, a resident stated that she had emailed the applicant on a number of occasions regarding the use of the outside space.  She did not always consider that dispersal happened before 21:45 pm.  The applicant had informed her that smokeless fuel had been purchased for the fire but she was still able to smell the fire. Bedrooms were only five metres away from the courtyard.

The Director for the Big House stated that they had received overwhelming support. She understood the concerns about the gate but this had been exacerbated in high winds. She did not think it was fair to say it slammed 20 times as she had been keeping an eye on it. It was not their property and she needed to ask the owner if there was anything they could do.  There had been no complaints about the shows in the building. There had been an occasion when they had the doors open but following a resident request had shut the doors. Young people were allowed only one drink. There had been no instances of drunk behaviour and 95% of people were out of the building by 9.50pm.  They had run over this time on occasion. There were signs up and patrons were asked to be mindful. It was jubilant noise and residents could hear people whispering. The fire pit was used to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 97.

The licensing officer reported that there had been no further submissions from the applicant.

The licensing authority stated that the premises was in an area that was saturated with off licence premises and had a large number of vulnerable residents.  The conditions proposed were the minimum conditions they would expect. There was no proposal that the premises would offer specialist goods and the application should be refused unless the applicant could demonstrate that the premises would not add to the cumulative impact in the area.

The applicant’s representative stated that he had consulted with the noise team and the police and conditions had been agreed with these responsible authorities.  Conditions agreed were detailed in the report and they included conditions about CCTV and deterring street drinking such as no sale of miniatures, single cans or high strength beers. He stated that the applicant had been living in the area for five or six years. The premises at 91-93 Seven Sisters Road used to be a textile shop but had closed in March. The family had 15 years’ experience. Hours were to be reduced to 9am to 9pm. The applicant would robustly promote the licensing objectives in the cumulative impact area.

In response to questions, it was noted that the application had been made by a manager in the company. In response to questions asking the applicant whether he understood the cumulative impact area, and to explain the cumulative impact area and how the premises fit into any of the exceptions, the applicant stated that he was aware this was a high crime area. He would work with the police and try his best. His family had 15 years’ experience. He was not asking for long hours. He stated that to deter street drinkers they would not sell strong beers or single cans. He would train his staff, he would obtain his personal licence and get full training from his representative. He said he would challenge those that looked to be under 25 and would write in the refusal book. He had CCTV if the police needed evidence. The applicant’s representative stated that he had consulted with the police and the noise team but had not communicated with the Licensing Authority.

In summary, the licensing authority stated that conditions were mainly standard conditions with the exception of the condition relating to the selling of single cans. It seemed a very large shop and the recommendation of refusal remained the same.

The applicant’s representative stated that there were a large amount of conditions which offered complete control of the premises. The applicant knew the licensing objectives. The shop was divided into two shops, one textile shop and one off licence. Training was being offered to all staff so that they understood the licensing objectives. If there were breaches of the licence they could be reviewed.

RESOLVED

That the application for a new premises licence, in respect of J and T Food and Wine, 91 Seven Sisters Road, N7 6BU, be refused.

REASONS  ...  view the full minutes text for item 98.