Agenda item

The licensing officer reported that the representations from the ward councillor and the Better Archway Forum had been withdrawn, leaving one resident representation outstanding.  Over 75 letters of support had been received and forwarded by the applicant.

The two applicants stated that the concern detailed in the representation was mainly around teenagers hanging around outside the premises. The café had been open as a takeaway and their clients would be mainly young professionals. There would be no vertical drinking. This was a food led and not alcohol led premises. The food menu would change weekly and there was a limited drinks menu. There were 24 seats inside and 12 seats outside. There were conditions regarding CCTV and fire safety. At least one of them would be on the premises each day.  They were expecting to be open in the main Thursday to Saturday, with a last order of 10pm. They were a café with a small drinks offering and had received a lot of support from local residents. He considered that the opening of the café had prevented drunken behaviour outside. Neighbours had commented that this was the case. It was stated that alcohol would be served as a complement to the food. This was a restaurant and not a bar. They had both worked in restaurants for a long time. There were no similar places on the road currently. They would be serving wine and their customer base would be young professionals or older.  They did not really want teenagers as their customers.

In response to questions, it was noted that the applicant had applied for all week as he wanted to cover himself if required.  It was hoped that if things went well they would extend to Tuesdays and Wednesdays if they could.  They could use temporary event notices for events. This was not going to be a late night venue. They wanted to be flexible and give the opportunity to other chefs who might want to do promotional events or as a pop-up on a Wednesday. Events would be ticketed and would be held to showcase chefs. There would still only be seating inside for 24 covers. These would not be held regularly. They wanted to have three or four main evenings.

RESOLVED

1)        That the application for a new premises licence in respect of Normans Cafe, 167 Junction Road, N19 5PZ be granted:-

a)   To allow the sale of alcohol, on supplies only, 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 9am to 11pm.

2)           That conditions detailed on pages 31 to 34 of the agenda shall be applied to the licence.

REASONS FOR DECISION

This meeting was held under regulations made under the Coronavirus Act 2020 and it 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 Archway 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 operation schedule that there will be no negative cumulative impact on one or more of the licensing objectives.

The Sub-Committee noted that conditions had been agreed with the police and the noise team.

Representations had been received from one local resident, one local ward councillor and the Better Archway Forum.  The Sub-Committee noted that the representations from the ward councillor and the Better Archway Forum had been withdrawn before the meeting. The Sub-Committee also noted the letters of support submitted on behalf of the applicant.

The Sub-Committee noted that the hours sought were within the hours specified in licensing policy 6.

The Sub-Committee heard evidence that the applicants intended to operate as a café/restaurant and not a bar. The alcohol licence had been applied for to enable the applicants to have a small drinks offering to go with food. The intention was to open until 10pm Thursday to Saturday only, but with the flexibility to have ticketed promotional events showcasing chefs possibly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The Sub-Committee heard evidence that, in the last five months while the premises had been operating as a takeaway, they had helped to prevent drunken behaviour outside the premises. The Sub-Committee noted that there would be no vertical drinking, that alcohol would be ancillary to food and that the premises had only 24 covers inside and 12 outside.

The Sub-Committee concluded that, with the conditions agreed and the framework hours sought, the granting of the licence would not add to the cumulative impact and would promote the licensing objectives.

The Sub-Committee was satisfied that the operating schedule demonstrated high standards of management and that the proposed use, with the extensive conditions agreed, meant that the premises would not add to the cumulative impact.

The Sub-Committee was satisfied that granting the premises licence was proportionate and appropriate to the promotion of the licensing objectives and in the public interest.