Agenda item

The licensing officer reported that conditions had been agreed with the police previously and noise conditions were agreed yesterday.  These had been amended from those in the report and had been circulated to members.  An email from the applicant had been sent to the interested parties.  None of them were attending the meeting but their representations had not been withdrawn.

The applicant’s representative stated the opening hours were from 7am to 11pm and the hours for the sale of alcohol were proposed from 8am until 11pm. He outlined the amended noise conditions which included a move towards using electric vehicles for deliveries to ensure there was no disturbance of neighbours. It was expected that there would be no more than 12 deliveries a day.  There were no remaining representations from the responsible authorities and he stated that the Sub-Committee consider licensing guidance which stated that the police were the main source of advice with regarding crime and disorder. Photographs in the agenda pack were provided to give an idea of the offering.  There was a large fresh produce section. This was a part of Iceland which were at the forefront of best practice. There were a number of training conditions and it was considered that products were healthy and affordable for low income families. Alcohol was ancillary to the business.  There were a number of conditions proposed to help prevent sales to street drinkers including alcohol strength and rules regarding the sale of small bottles of spirits. Conditions would help prevent anti-social behaviour.  Hours requested were within framework policy hours. Hours for Aldi were restricted by Sunday trading hours as a large store. With regard to the cumulative impact policy, a refusal of a licence must also undermine one of the licensing objectives. This was a national operator, with a bespoke operating schedule, there was agreement with the responsible authorities and there was a commitment and investment in the area. There were conditions applied which designed out the ability to attract street drinkers.

Swift was a supermarket concept from Iceland Foods which offered a range of frozen and fresh food. They provided food for the whole community including those on lower incomes and those with not so much storage space. Hours catered to people going to and from work. They had sustainability policies in place, were looking to a move away from internal combustion vehicles only and looked towards creating less waste. There were conditions relating to the list of alcohol products being made available to the Police.

In summary, it was stated that the decision must be evidenced and proportionate. The police and trading standards had withdrawn representations.  It was hoped that these measures would address concerns and would promote the licensing objectives.

RESOLVED

1)     That the application for a new premises licence, in respect of Swift Stores, 800 Holloway Road, N19 3JH, be granted to allow:-

a)   The supply of alcohol, off supplies only, Monday to Sunday from 9am until 11pm.

b)   The premises to be open to the public, Monday to Sunday from 7am until 11pm.

2)     That conditions detailed on pages 164 to 168 of the agenda be applied to the licence with the noise conditions replaced by those circulated at the meeting and as detailed below:-

• The delivery of licensable goods to the premises shall be restricted to the hours between 07:00 and 23:00 Monday-Saturday.
• No deliveries of licensable goods to the premises shall be made on a Sunday or Bank Holiday.

·         The collection of refuse shall be restricted to the hours between 07:00 and 23:00 Monday-Saturday. No waste collections shall be made on a Sunday or Bank Holiday

·         The premises will operate a no idling policy.

·         The licensee shall ensure that drivers do not park or loiter in the vicinity of residential premises

·         A policy regulating deliveries to customers from the premises will be devised and implemented, taking into account parking and other restrictions in place and ensuring that as far as practicable such deliveries do not cause a public nuisance. The policy will make reference to how the premises licence holder will move away from deliveries requiring internal combustion where possible and towards clean energy or similar delivery methods. The policy will be revisited and updated periodically a required to ensure it takes into account any changes relevant to it.

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 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 operating schedule that there will be no negative cumulative impact on one or more of the licensing objectives.

The Sub-Committee took into consideration Licensing Policy 4.  The Council has 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 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 or subject to certain limitations, following the receipt of representations, unless the applicant can demonstrate in the operating schedule that there will be no negative cumulative impact on one or more of the licensing objectives.

Objections had been received from the Better Archway Forum and a local ward councillor. Conditions had been agreed with the police and noise team.

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

The Sub-Committee heard evidence that extensive conditions had been agreed with the police and the noise team and that therefore there were no remaining objections from responsible authorities. The applicant’s representative stated that the premises would be a proper convenience grocery store with a large fresh offering. The company is at the forefront of responsible alcohol vending and a great deal of discussion had taken place with responsible authorities before the application was put in. The premises would not appeal to street drinkers and conditions had been agreed in this regard. Alcohol would not be displayed near the window, no more than 10% of the floor space would be given over to alcohol, there would be no super strength cider, lager or beer, spirits would be behind a kiosk and miniatures would only be sold as part of gift sets. The range, price and location of alcohol on the premises would be against street drinkers and would not fuel anti-social behaviour.

The applicant’s representative confirmed that due to the size of the premises Sunday trading laws did not apply to them as they might to nearby supermarkets. The applicant was an experienced trader with a bespoke and robust operating schedule and agreement had been reached with the responsible authorities.

The Sub-Committee concluded that the fact that the responsible authorities were satisfied with the application and the conditions agreed, together with the experienced nature of the operator and the applicants demonstration of its awareness of the issues in the Archway area was sufficient to show that the premises could fall within the exceptions to the cumulative impact policy.

However, the Sub-Committee remained concerned with the hours sought on the application in particular, the requested sale of alcohol from 7am even though the applicant was aware that licensing policy 6 provides framework hours of 9am-11pm in the Archway area. The policy raises concerns regarding street drinking and the proximity of the hospital and although the applicant had put forward conditions in relation to street drinking, the Sub-Committee was concerned that the earlier start time of 7am would add to cumulative impact in the area.