Agenda item

The licensing officer noted that the applicant was not present at the meeting. It was stated that a letter inviting the applicant to the meeting had been hand delivered to the applicant on Friday 30 August. It was advised that officers had previously observed the premises trading without a licence for late night refreshment and representations from local residents had been received in relation to the application.

The licensing authority advised that the applicant had not engaged with the application process. It was noted that the premises only had planning permission to trade until 23.15, yet was seeking a premises licence for late night refreshment until 2:00.

An interested party commented that the premises had a strong smell of cooking oil and noisy extractor fans which impacted on the amenity of local residents. In response to a question, it was confirmed that these matters had not been raised with local authority environmental health officers or the premises owner. The interested party explained that they had been unable to raise these matters with the owner as they were not on site and the shop was staffed by employees. 

RESOLVED:

a)    That the application for a new premises licence in respect of SA PFC, 181 Blackstock Road, N5 2LL be granted to allow the provision of late night refreshment Monday to Sunday from 23:00 to 23:15;

b)    The conditions detailed in Appendix 3 on pages 77 and 78 of the agenda pack shall be applied to the licence, with the deletion of Police Condition 2(g), which relates to the sale of alcohol and is not relevant in this instance.

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 applicant did not attend the hearing and the Licensing Sub-Committee decided to proceed in their absence. It was noted that the applicant had not responded in writing to the representations made by local residents. The Sub-Committee noted the submission from the Licensing Authority that the applicant had not engaged with them.

The Licensing Sub-Committee noted that the premises were not in a Cumulative Impact Area. The Licensing Sub-Committee also noted the planning permission conditions attached to the premises.

The Licensing Sub-Committee noted the representations from local residents and that the conditions proposed by the Police and the Noise Service were agreed by the applicant.

The Sub-Committee had some concern about the management of the premises in light of the out of hours operation that had been observed by licensing officers. However, as the applicant had accepted the conditions proposed by the Responsible Authorities, the Licensing Sub-Committee decided it was reasonable and proportionate to grant the application. In considering the terminal hour, the Licensing Sub-Committee referred to Licensing Policies 1 and 6. In accordance with Licensing Policy 1, the terminal hour 23:15 was in line with planning permission currently in place. The hours agreed by the Licensing Sub-Committee were within the framework hours set out in Licensing Policy 6.

The Licensing Sub-Committee were satisfied that the agreed conditions were reasonable and proportionate and the licensing objectives would be promoted. The Sub-Committee noted in particular that the conditions would promote the licensing objective to prevent public nuisance, and in line with Licensing Policy 21, would address the concerns raised by the Noise Service and local residents.