Agenda and minutes

To agree the procedure rules for remote meetings.

RESOLVED -

THAT the guidance on remote meetings be agreed.

There were no apologies.

There were no declarations.

Broadcast of the Meeting

The Chair made the following announcement: “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 six months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available upon request.

If you have asked to address the meeting, you are deemed to be consenting to having your contributions recorded and broadcast, including video when switched on, and to the use of those sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes.”

Item 8 Resolved

The Chair stated that item 8, Zodiac, 119 Hampstead Road, had been resolved ahead of the meeting and would therefore not be considered by the Panel.

Supplementary Papers

The Chair stated that late papers had been submitted, in relation to items 6 and 7, and had been circulated to relevant parties since the publication of the main agenda. Following the licensing officer introduction for each application, parties who submitted late papers would have two minutes to set out to the Panel why they should be accepted.

There was no urgent business.

Report of the Executive Director Supporting Communities

This is an application to review a premises licence under section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003

Consideration was given to a report of the Executive Director Supporting Communities detailing an application to review a premises licence under Section 52 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Samina Khan, Licensing Officer, summarised the report. She explained that the application to review the licence had been lodged by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) because they did not believe the prevention of crime and disorder licensing objective was being upheld. Following several interventions by Police Licensing Team the premises had failed to address their concerns.

The Panel accepted the late papers submitted, document evidence bundles provided by the MPS and by the Premise License Holder, as relevant to the hearing.

Mark O'Brien O'Reilly, counsel on behalf of the MPS, accompanied by PC Joel Francis,, addressed the Panel. He stated that the Elephant’s Head was located in a busy night-time economy area and within a Cumulative Impact Area (CIA ), however the basis of the review related  to repeated failings of the premises in relation to crimes directly associated with the venue, as demonstrated within the crime reports. For the benefit of the Panel, PC Joel Francis answered several questions, and in addition to the information provided in the papers, the following points were made:

-       The nature and characteristics of the current operation and of the surrounding area, the grounds for review, the significant recorded offences during 2022, the stepped approached interventions, the failings of the venue, and the recommendations of the Police were outlined to the Panel.

-       Following an incidence, the premises should and was expected to contact the MPS at the earliest opportunity in order to manage a situation effectively, quickly and identify suspects.

-       The security team had failed to a report sexual assault to the MPS. The assault had been raised with staff by an under 18-year-old and was not acted upon which undermined the crime and frustrated the investigation. It had been made clear to the premises to call the Police in any incidence of this nature. The under 18-year-old being served at the venue breached condition 24 of the current licence (Challenge 25 policy), condition 36 (training in relation to sales of alcohol to underage customers), condition 57 (Police to be called all incidents of violence and/or disorder) and condition 71 (Children to be only allowed on the premises between 09.00 - 16.00 and must be accompanied by an adult).

-       CCTV footage was presented to the Panel showing an incident that occurred on 16 September 2022, included within the papers. This demonstrated the security not calling the Police in response to an incident. Throughout the footage, four Security Industry Authority (SIA) staff were ineffective at detaining a violent suspect, leading to the suspect vacating the area. A second clip of CCTV footage was presented, from later in the same evening, showing Police Officers at the scene responding to the incident. Whilst responding, the General Manager of the venue was trying to disperse people which meant they were not present to report their accounts  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

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 item was deferred to a future meeting and therefore not considered by the Panel.

Report of the Executive Director, Supporting Communities.

This is an application for a Temporary Events Notice (TEN) Licence in accordance with Section 100 of the Licensing Act 2003.

This item had been resolved ahead of the meeting and therefore was not considered by the Panel.

There was no urgent business.