Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chair of Licensing Panel B for the 2024/25 municipal year.

Councillor Greenwood was proposed and seconded as Chair, therefore it was

RESOLVED –

THAT Councillor Lorna Greenwood be elected Chair of Licensing Panel B for the 2024/25 municipal year.

To agree the procedure rules for remote meetings.

RESOLVED –

THAT the guidance on remote meetings be noted.

There were none.

There were no such declarations.

Broadcast of the meeting

The Chair to announce the following: “In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record this meeting, I would like to remind everyone that this meeting is being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for at least six months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available on upon request.

If you have asked to address the meeting, you are deemed to be consenting to being filmed and to the use of those images and sound recordings for webcasting and/or training purposes. If you are addressing the Committee your contribution will be recorded and broadcast.”

Webcasting

The Chair announced that the meeting was being broadcast live to the internet and would be capable of repeated viewing and copies of the recording could be made available to those that requested them. Those participating in the meeting were deemed to be consenting to being filmed.

Supplementary Agenda

A supplementary agenda was published which included additional documentation submitted by Charlotte Street Association, in respect of Farmer Cafe.

Item 9 Resolved

The application for Item 9, Kairos, was resolved ahead of the meeting and would therefore not be considered by the Panel.

There was no urgent business.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 1 February 2024.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 1 February 2024 be approved and signed as a correct record.

Report of the Executive Director Supporting Communities

This is an application for a new premises licence under section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Consideration was given to a report of the Executive Director Supporting Communities detailing an application for a new premises licence under Section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003.

The Licensing Officer took the Panel through the report and advised the Police Responsible Authority had withdrawn their representation subject to amendments to the application and agreed conditions. Therefore, five relevant representations remained opposing the application.

The Licensing Officer advised that the application had been amended as follows:

a)    Sale by Retail of Alcohol (on and off the premises)

          Monday to Saturday 10:30 – 21:30

          Sunday 11:00 – 21:30

b)    Plays

          Friday to Sunday 14:00 – 22:00

c)    Films

          Thursday to Sunday 16:00 – 22:00

d)    Live Music

          Wednesday to Sunday 16:00 – 22:00

e)    Recorded Music

          Monday to Sunday 08:00 – 22:00

f)     Performance of Dance

          Friday to Sunday 17:00 – 22:00

g)    Opening hours

          Monday to Sunday 08:00 – 22:00

The Licensing Officer clarified that regulated entertainment for less than 500 people, taking place before 23:00hrs had been deregulated and no licence was required. Therefore, on this application the main activity to be licensed was the sale of alcohol.

The applicant confirmed there were no further amendments to the application.

Clive Henderson of the Charlotte Street Association (CSA) represented the Interested Parties and outlined their objections as stated in their written submissions.

Responding to a question, Clive Henderson confirmed that the CSA objection remained, despite agreement of the conditions outlined in the supplementary agenda, due to the use of the outside area. Clive Henderson explained that if the activities were inside only this would be acceptable, however live or recorded music in the outside area could be a nuisance for residents.

Usually, the CSA made an effort to meet with applicants to discuss concerns, however there had not been enough time to meet the applicant face to face prior to the hearing.

Responding to a point of clarification, Clive Henderson confirmed that condition 9, contained within the supplementary agenda which stated ‘the terminal hour for all licensable activities shall be the same as the terminal hour for the supply of  alcohol’ should be omitted as it was contradictory to the amended terms now applied for.  

The applicant, Vahid Mahdavi, summarised the amended application and responded to questions providing the following information:

• Efforts had been made to ensure that rubbish was cleared from the street and outside the premises every morning.
• Sale of alcohol for consumption on and off the premises had been applied for so the café could increase its offering to customers.
• The applicant would be responsive to complaints about the volume of music, if it ever became an issue.
• Regulated entertainment, such as dance performance was initially applied for in case a private party was booked at the venue.
• The applicant wanted to be able to have live music for the enjoyment of customers. However, music was always kept to an acceptable level and the premises only had two small speakers.
• Due to the building being listed,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Report of the Executive Director Supporting Communities

This is an application for a new premises licence under section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003.

This application was resolved ahead of the meeting and was therefore not considered by the Panel.

Report of the Executive Director Supporting Communities

This is an application for a new premises licence under section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Consideration was given to a report of the Executive Director Supporting Communities detailing an application for a new premises licence under Section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003.

The Licensing Officer took the Panel through the report and advised the Police Responsible Authority have withdrawn their representation subject to amendments to the application and agreed conditions. Therefore, five relevant representations remain in opposition to the application.

The applicant confirmed there were no amendments to the application.

The Interested Parties outlined their objections as stated in their written submissions.

The Licensing Officer clarified that as set out on page 137 of the agenda, the application was for sales of alcohol for consumption on the premises only.

Representing the applicant, Faraj Faraj, Head of Operations, summarised the application and responded to questions by providing the following information:

• Any music played at the premises would be background music, which was not a licensable activity.
• Neighbouring residents had been engaged with to ensure that the music did not cause them any nuisance.
• The applicant was in contact with residents and had provided their personal contact number so that residents could get in contact if the music was too loud.
• It was intended that any alcohol served would be in gelato based cocktails, rather than alcoholic drinks such as beer and cider.
• Alcohol was ancillary to the main offering of ice cream and gelato.
• The venue hosted private parties, such as gelato tasting events, including wine and gelato paring in some of the businesses other venues. These events took place in the evening.
• A private party was previously hosted at the premises using a Temporary Event Notice, which was a success and the premises therefore wanted to expand their offering to hold these events more often.
• The premises was open late at night to accommodate customers who wanted dessert after eating at nearby restaurants.
• The applicant was agreeable to amend the hours applied for to supply alcohol for consumption on the premises to 21:30hrs on Sunday, in order to accommodate a 30-minute wind down period.
• The applicant was also agreeable to a condition that stated alcohol could only be served with gelato and ice cream.
• There would be no seating available to consume products outside, the premises would be indoor seating only.
• Waste collection would be carried out by Camden Council by their contractors Viola and would be picked up from the refuse area across the road from the premises. 

The interested party and the applicant then made some closing remarks.

Decision and reasons

Panel Members confirmed that they had been able to follow and understand the submissions and discussion in relation to the application.

In deliberation, the Panel agreed that the application was well thought out and that the applicant’s representative, Mr Faraj, had alleviated their concerns in his presentation. All Panel Members were minded to grant the application.

The Panel noted that the applicant was agreeable to amend the terminal hour of the sale of alcohol to 21:30hrs on a Sunday, to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

There was none.