Agenda and minutes

Councillor Nick Wayne welcomed everyone to the meeting and officers

and members introduced themselves. The procedure for the conduct of the

meeting was outlined.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Alice Clarke-Perry and Councillor Angelo Weekes. The Chair advised that Councillor Weekes had been newly elected and was in attendance to observe the meeting.

Councillor Nick Wayne was substituting for Councillor Clarke-Perry and Councillor Flora Williamson was substituting for Councillor Angelo Weekes.

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 Flora Williamson declared that she was married to Councillor Toby North, a ward councillor in St Peters ward. Items B1 and B2 were both in this ward.

The order of business would be as the agenda.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 April 2021 be confirmed as an accurate record of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

The licensing officer stated that additional submissions from the applicant’s representative had been forwarded to all parties.

The Licensing Authority stated that the premises was in a cumulative impact area with a high number of alcohol outlets. The Licensing Authority had concerns about the street population using the raised covered area outside the premises and advised that there had been complaints from residents. It was recommended that the licensing authority’s concerns be considered. In response to a question from the Chair, the Licensing Authority confirmed that Licensing Policy 4 in relation to cumulative impact areas was central to the representation.

A local resident raised concerns about anti-social behaviour and public safety and stated that there had been ongoing issues with the street population. She passed the premises most days and was on the St Peters ward panel so she was aware of the issues. The local resident stated that the raised area with a wall in front of the premises was used by street drinkers as well as those who had bought items from the premises and congregated there. The local resident questioned how Challenge 25 would operate in practice and reported that she had frequently observed one member of staff working at the counter at any given time and also other workers sleeping at the back of the store. Concerns were raised during 2018/19 that there had been instances when was the door was locked at night to prevent certain individuals from entering as staff were concerned about safety. Concern was raised that selling alcohol would exacerbate this as refusing alcohol to some customers could lead to them becoming aggressive. The local resident raised concern about litter outside the premises and the sale of high sugar content food and drink items which she linked to lifestyle issues relating to drug abuse.

The applicant’s representative stated that the business had traded for 24 hours a day for the last 14 years and the police had agreed the conditions in the application. The proposed starting time for selling alcohol was 10am following a police recommendation. This meant that the business would only start selling alcohol once children were in school. The applicant’s representative asked for confirmation that the decision of the 2019 hearing would not impact upon the decision of the Sub-Committee. The Chair replied that he was the Chair of the last Licensing Sub-Committee hearing. However he confirmed this was a fresh hearing and the application would be decided on its merits. The applicant’s representative stated that in line with the conditions, no more than 15% of the store would be allocated to the display of alcohol and this condition meant the business could not become alcohol-led. The applicant’s representative stated that the applicant had agreed to install till prompts that could not be by-passed in order to comply with Challenge 25. Also, the applicant was prepared to install metal, lockable shutters so there would be no temptation to try and access alcohol when it was not being sold. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 113.

The licensing officer reported that there had been no representations from the responsible authorities.

A local resident spoke and confirmed that she lived directly adjoining the premises and so shared a party wall with the premises. She stated that her only concerns related to the licensed hours requested and any noise that might be generated as a result of those hours in the evenings.

The Chair asked the licensing officer to outline the status of the planning application. The licensing officer stated that a planning application had been submitted and the operating hours requested were in line with the licensing application. The Chair stated that usually the licensing application was determined after the planning application had been determined, in the circumstances the Sub-Committee was content to decide the licensing application on its merits.

The Chair asked the applicant’s representative to confirm the hours of operation and type of business for the local resident. The applicant’s representative stated that the business was a small coffee shop. Alcohol would be served only with a table meal. The hours being sought were Monday-Sunday 10am-9pm although the applicant would accept reduced hours if required.

In response to a question from a member about why the hours 10am-9pm were being sought, the applicant stated that they wanted to be able to serve a shot of alcohol in a coffee if requested, ancillary to meals. This would include with breakfast and brunch. The applicant stated that although they had applied to serve alcohol until 9pm, the coffee shop was family run and would close by 5pm on Sundays and 7pm Mondays-Saturdays. The applicant stated that if granted a licence, the business would remain as a family run coffee shop. The applicant advised that if the resident had any concerns, these could be raised with him. He stated that he also lived nearby. He advised that he would not sell cheap beers. He had run an off-licence on Essex Road and after selling it, the new owners asked him to continue to run it. He stated that if there was ever a problem created by selling alcohol, he would stop selling it. 

In summary, the resident stated that the applicant had answered her questions. Her only remaining concern was that there was a nearby health centre that dealt with people with issues with alcohol. She confirmed that the applicants had been in constant communication with her and that she trusted them to abide by any conditions set.

The applicant’s representative stated that although the applicant had sought to sell alcohol up until 9pm, they would only be open until 7pm.

RESOLVED:

1) That the application for a new premises licence in respect of Kellys Cafe, 200 New North Road, N1 7BJ, be granted to allow:-

a) the sale of alcohol, on supplies, Monday to Sunday from 10am until 9pm.

b) The premises to be open to the public, Monday to Sunday from 10am to 9pm.

2) Conditions detailed on pages 82 to 83 of the agenda shall  ...  view the full minutes text for item 114.