Agenda and minutes

Councillor Alice Clarke-Perry 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.

There were no declarations of interest.

The order of business would be as the agenda.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 16 December 2021 be confirmed as an accurate record of proceedings and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

The licensing officer introduced the applicant and applicant’s representative. She stated that three resident representations had been made but no residents were in attendance. Conditions had been agreed with the noise team and the police.

The applicant’s representative stated that the premises would be operating as a café. The off licence was being sought to cover deliveries and takeaways and alcohol would only be sold for consumption off the premises with a food order.

In response to a concern raised in one of the resident representations about the premises being open until 11pm, the applicant’s representative stated that several premises in the area were open until 11pm or later and in the City of London there were few places open in the evening for residents.

In response to questions from members, the applicant’s representative confirmed that alcohol would only be delivered with a food order and measures such as a training manual, alcohol not being sold without food and a refusals book would be in place. Delivery companies would only be used if they had procedures and policies in place for dealing with deliveries of alcohol.

DECISION

1)       That a new premises licence in respect of The Black Olive, 5 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, EC1M 7AN be granted to allow:

a)     the sale of alcohol, on and off the premises, Monday to Sunday from 9am until 11pm.

b)     the playing of recorded music, Monday to Sunday, from 9am to 11pm

c)     the premises to be open to the public, Monday to Sunday from 7am to 11pm.

2)       That conditions detailed on pages 36 to 39 of the agenda be applied to the licence.

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 Bunhill cumulative impact area.  Licensing policy 3 creates a rebuttable presumption that applications for the grant or variation of premises licences which are likely to add to the existing cumulative impact will normally be refused following the receipt of representations, unless the applicant can demonstrate in the operating schedule that there will be no negative cumulative impact on one or more of the licensing objectives.

The Sub-Committee took into consideration Licensing Policy 4.  The Council has adopted a special policy relating to cumulative impact in relation to shops and other premises selling alcohol for consumption off the premises.  Licensing policy 4 creates a rebuttable presumption that applications for the grant or variation of premises licences which are likely to add to the existing cumulative impact will normally be refused or subject to certain limitations, following the receipt of representations, unless the applicant can demonstrate in the operating schedule that there will be no negative cumulative impact on one or more of the licensing objectives.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 138.

The licensing officer introduced all parties. She stated that additional documents from the licensee had been circulated and that on 24 February 2022 an application had been made to transfer the licence.

The Trading Standards officer reported that this review had been brought following a visit to the premises on 2 August 2021 during which a large quantity of illicit tobacco and cigarettes were found on the premises. The cigarettes and tobacco were not in plain packaging and had been hidden in a sophisticated way in the till as well as in a bread bin and behind the counter.  Nearly 200 packs of 20 cigarettes were found. The Trading Standards officer suggested that this would indicate sales of illicit cigarettes and tobacco had been occurring for some time and the management did not expect this to be discovered.

The Trading Standards officer stated that the person in charge of the premises at the time of the visit said that she did not work there and was only looking after the shop, but this seemed implausible as she knew her way around the shop. She would not give her details to the officer.

The Trading Standards officer stated that the DPS for the premises claimed to have no knowledge as to what had happened because she had been away, which again seemed implausible. The Trading Standards officer confirmed that they had zero confidence in the DPS, who had applied for the licence to be transferred to her, and that in the view of Trading Standards, the licence should be revoked.

The Police advised that they first became aware of the current management of the premises in May 2020, but none of the proper notifications had been given. The management had been encouraged to engage with the Police and the licensing officers. The Police visited the premises again in November 2020 and again encouraged the management to engage with responsible authorities. In January 2021, the licence was transferred to Alands International Market Limited but it was noted that the premises was not being run in accordance with the licence and the management was encouraged to seek a variation. In March 2021, the DPS changed to the current DPS after she obtained her personal licence. The DPS was again encouraged to seek a minor variation. When the minor variation application was eventually made it was rejected as it included an attempt to extend the operating hours to 2am. The Police again asked the DPS to put in a variation request but this was not done.

The Police stated they had asked for CCTV footage to be submitted which was in line with a condition of the licence. However management had stated that the CCTV was not working and so they were unable to provide footage. Management were also unable to provide the full name of the person in charge of the premises at the time of the Trading Standards visit. Management had failed to engage with the Police since. The Police stated they  ...  view the full minutes text for item 139.