Agenda item

The licensing officer stated that at the time the report was written there were representations from responsible authorities but as conditions had been agreed by the applicant, these representations had been withdrawn. He advised that there was a contradiction between Conditions 10 and 26 and that that the Sub-Committee should consider this in their deliberations.

A resident welcomed the conditions agreed by the applicant. However, he raised concerns that there were already problems in the area related to drink and drugs and although these did not specifically relate to Dreamz Cafe, there was concern that another licence being granted would add to the density of licensed premises especially as two new licensed premises had opened nearby. Although the premises was not in a cumulative impact area, it was approximately 30ft from the Holloway Road and Finsbury Park Cumulative Impact Area.

The resident raised concern that the curtilage of the premises extended under his bedroom window and he was concerned about people smoking outside the premises as it led to a passive smoking issue. He stated that policy required that where patrons were outside premises, there should be a plan on how this would be managed and how the nuisance of smoke fumes to residents in close proximity would be prevented.

In response to a member’s questions, the resident stated that his bedroom was at the front of the property, there were no tables and chairs outside generally but there were burger stands on football match days. The resident stated that although this was not pleasant, he had not complained about it as it was only about 20 times per year. He confirmed that he and applicant had not engaged and did not know each other. The chair suggested that as the applicant was now aware of the resident’s concerns, he could try to address them. The applicant agreed to give the resident his mobile phone number so the resident could contact him in the event of any problems.

The applicant advised the Sub-Committee that he had bought the premises in May 2018. On match days he cooked burgers outside and put out tables and chairs. He agreed that there were issues with drugs in the area but these were not related to his café. There were other restaurants also offering food and drink including alcohol outside their premises.

The applicant stated that he would not be selling alcohol for the whole period he was requesting as the café closed at 3pm or 4pm most days. The hours would enable him to sell alcohol when he was selling burgers before and after football matches which often happened in the evening.

In response to a question from a member, the applicant stated that he would comply with the match day conditions.

RESOLVED:

That the application for a new premises licence in respect of Dreamz Café, 4 Hornsey Road, London, N7 7BP be granted

1)         To allow the sale by retail of on sales with off sales of alcohol only to outside tables only from 11:00 until 23:00 Monday to Saturday and from 11:00 until 22:00 on Sundays.

The conditions detailed on pages 140 - 142 of the agenda would be applied to the licence with condition 10 removed.

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 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.

Four local resident objections had been received. There had been representations from the Licensing Authority, Metropolitan Police, Noise Team and Trading Standards. Conditions had been proposed by all of these responsible authorities and had been agreed by the applicant so they had all been withdrawn prior to the hearing.

The Sub-Committee listened to the resident who attended and noted that the sale of burgers outside his window occurred on match days and was causing him nuisance already. The responsible authorities had agreed robust conditions with the applicant, however, and the Sub-Committee was satisfied that with these conditions granting the licence was proportionate and appropriate to the licensing objectives and the Sub-Committee noted that the hours sought were within the hours specified in Licensing Policy 6.