Agenda item

A local resident was concerned that the application extended the hours of operation and also that alcohol could be sold off the premises without a substantial meal. He requested that the applicant consider a minimum spend of £15 for food which he considered may remove this concern to residents.

The applicant had been in the restaurant business for thirty years. He was in a dispute with the previous licensee who had not transferred the licence as promised. He stated that it was never his intention to change the business and did contact residents inviting them to discuss the application. It was likely that they would close at 10.30pm and had applied for extra hours due to the pandemic in the hope of recouping losses.  He proposed to only have the additional hour on Thursday to Saturday and would seriously consider the £15 minimum spend. They would follow all police and noise proposed conditions, would train staff to remind customers not to disturb residents. He noted that he did not have the correct planning permission.

In response to questions he stated that they used Deliveroo. They had good relations with them and they did not park outside the premises. He stated that he could be happy to have a minimum order value of £15.

In summary, the resident stated that, if the applicant took up the suggestion of the minimum order, he would be happy to remove his objection. His fears were related to the consumption of alcohol.

The applicant thanked the resident for his suggestion. The Licensing officer confirmed that the hours proposed would be midnight on Thursday – Saturday.

RESOLVED

1) That the application for a new premises licence in respect of Ekachia, Unit 2, 66 York Way, N1 be granted:-

a)        To allow the sale of alcohol, on and off supplies only, from 11am to 11pm Sunday to Wednesday, 11am until midnight Thursday to Saturday.

b)        The provision of late night refreshment from 11 pm until midnight Thursday to Saturday.

c)        The premises to be open to the public, Sunday to Wednesday from 11am until 11.30 and on Thursday to Saturday from 11am until half past midnight.

2) Conditions detailed on pages 251-254 of the agenda shall be applied to the licence with the following amendment to condition 24.

Alcohol shall not be sold or supplied, via delivery from the premises or take away, otherwise than to persons purchasing food to a minimum value of £15 and is ancillary to their meal.

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 Kings Cross 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.

Eight local resident objections had been received.  The Sub-Committee noted that conditions had been agreed with the police and the noise team.

The Sub-Committee noted that the local resident present at the hearing was willing to remove his objection if there was a £15 minimum for the sale of food connected to any off sale from the premises. The applicant indicated that he was agreeable to this condition.

The Sub-Committee noted that the applicant had taken over an ongoing business and with the proposed conditions was satisfied that there would be no negative cumulative impact on one or more of the licensing objectives.

The Sub-Committee considered the applicants amended application for extended hours on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Sub-Committee noted that the applicant would require planning permission to operate during these hours but was satisfied, in accordance with licensing policy 6, that the licensing objectives would be promoted.

The Sub-Committee concluded that the granting of the licence with the agreed conditions 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 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.