Agenda item

The licensing officer advised that further conditions had been proposed and circulated to members. He advised that the applicant had reduced the hours requested and was no longer applying to commence the sale by retail of alcohol, off supplies from 07:00 each day during November and December. He stated that the application was in a cumulative impact area. The licensing authority was not asking for the application to be refused but did not consider that the standard opening hours should be waived.

The police stated that the applicant had been asked to provide their cumulative impact zone policy in their application and had not done this. No justification had been made for the hours requested being outside framework hours.

The applicant’s legal representative stated that Marks and Spencer was no longer requesting non-standard timings from 7am in November and December. He explained that usually Marks and Spencer applied to open and sell alcohol from 6am but was requesting 8am due to the premises being in a cumulative impact area and the recognition that there were issues in Archway. However, he stated that 8am was appropriate given the nature and character of Marks and Spencer and the customer base. As an example, he explained that the cost of 2 litres of cider from Marks and Spencer would be £6.80 and as a result Marks and Spencer did not have a problem with street drinkers and his view was that customers should not be disadvantaged by reduced hours. He also advised that the framework hours were guidelines only. To address concerns, he proposed that it could be conditioned that the licence was only valid while the licence was held by Marks and Spencer.

The applicant’s legal representative explained that there were other branches of Marks and Spencer at Finsbury Pavement, Chapel Market and Holloway Road. The Holloway Road branch was closing as part of a programme to close 100 non profitable stores in the next two years and most of the staff would transfer to the Archway branch, therefore the number of stores in the borough would remain the same. He advised that there were no planning conditions restricting deliveries and alcohol was delivered with the rest of the produce on trolleys with rubber wheels to minimise disturbance. Staff would keep the area outside the store clear of litter.

In response to concerns from members about the protection of children from harm, the applicant’s representative commented that Marks and Spencer invested in due diligence and the training of staff, operated a Challenge 25 policy, placed notices on displays, on staff badges and had reminders on till screens when customers bought alcohol. He stated that due to the level of diligence, greater challenge and the pricing of products, underage sales was not an issue faced by the store.

In response to members’ concerns about the quality of the application, the applicant’s representative stated that High Court authority stated that is was the decision of the applicant what to put in the application. He also stated that some authorities added conditions to all points put in the operating schedule which was considered unnecessary as Marks and Spencer was able to operate well without unnecessary conditions.

In summary, the licensing authority stated that the additional conditions were welcomed, however core hours were preferable.

In summary, the police stated that no justification had been made for the application for out of core hours, the area was saturated with licensed premises and there was a hospital and schools in the area.

In summary, the applicant’s representative stated that the nature of the shop was a relevant consideration.

RESOLVED:

That the application for a new premises licence in respect of Marks and Spencer, Hill House, 17 Highgate Hill, N19 5NA be granted

1)         To allow the sale by retail of alcohol, off supplies, from 09:00 until 23:00 Monday to Sunday; and

2)         The premises to be open to the public from 06:00 to 23:00 Monday to Sunday.

Conditions detailed on pages 32 - 34 of the agenda would be applied to the licence as would the additional agreed conditions as set out below:

1)    No super strength beers, lagers, ciders or spirit mixtures above 5.6%ABV (alcohol by volume) or above shall be sold at the premises except for premium beers and ciders supplied in glass bottles.

2)    All sales of alcohol for consumption off the premises shall be in sealed containers only and shall not be consumed on the premises or within the vicinity of the premises.

3)    No more than 15% of the sales area shall be used at any one time for the sale, exposure for sale or display of alcohol.

4)    No miniature bottles of spirits below 30cl shall be sold from the premises except where it is a mixed spirit with a non-alcoholic mixer.

REASONS FOR DECISION

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 fell within the Archway cumulative impact area.  Licensing policy 3 created a rebuttable presumption that applications for the grant or variation of premises licences which were likely to add to the existing cumulative impact would normally be refused following the receipt of representations, unless the applicant could demonstrate in the operating schedule that there would be no negative cumulative impact on one or more of the licensing objectives. The Sub-Committee took into account the views of the responsible authorities upon, in particular, the proposed hours for licensable activities. Concerns had been raised about a potential impact on the licensing objectives of crime and disorder, public nuisance and the protection of children from harm. The Sub-Committee noted that there were two secondary schools, three primary schools and a children’s centre in close proximity and that at 8am school children would be on their way to school.

Licensing Policy 3 - Paragraph 13 stated that applicants were expected to comprehensively demonstrate why a new licence would not add to the cumulative impact and were strongly advised to give consideration to mitigating the potential cumulative impact issues when setting out steps they would take to promote the licensing objectives in their operating schedule. Licensing Policy 3 - Paragraph 14 stated that as a general rule the licensing authority did not consider an argument that the premises would be well managed and run or that the applicant ran similar premises elsewhere without complaint as exceptional to the application of its special procedure. One of the main issues of concern in Archway was the number of off licences operating in the area and the impact that widely available alcohol was having on local residents in terms of nuisance and anti-social behaviour and public services dealing with alcohol related ambulance call outs and crime and disorder. In addition, under Licensing Policy 4 the Council had 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 created a rebuttable presumption that applications for the grant or variation of premises licences which were likely to add to the existing cumulative impact would normally be refused or subject to certain limitations, following the receipt of representations, unless the applicant could demonstrate in the operation schedule that there would be no negative cumulative impact on one or more of the licensing objectives.

Two objections from local councillors had been received referring to the risk of the licensing objective of protecting children from harm.  Representations had been made by the Licensing Authority and Metropolitan Police. Under Licensing Policy 5, where representations were received the Licensing Authority might seek to restrict the hours of opening where it was appropriate to promote the licensing objectives. Under Licensing Policy 6, the framework hours for shops selling alcohol in Archway were 9am-11pm and the police had recommended a starting time of 9am. The Council was not satisfied with the explanation given in the operating schedule showing the arrangements put in place to ensure that the premises would not add to the cumulative impact.

The Sub-Committee was satisfied that with the conditions proposed by the responsible authorities and those additional conditions agreed with the applicant and with the restriction on the hours of selling alcohol, there would be no cumulative impact on the licensing objectives and it was proportionate and appropriate to the licensing objectives to grant the premises licence.