Agenda and minutes

To agree the procedure rules for remote meetings.

RESOLVED –

THAT the guidance be agreed.

Apologies had been received from Councillors Nina de Ayala Parker and Mathew Kirk.

There were no 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.”

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.”

Supplementary Agenda

A supplementary agenda was published which included a late paper submitted by the Captain Flinders Applicant.

There was no urgent business.

(a)  To approve the revised version of the minutes of the meeting held on 4^th May 2023.

(b)  To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 13^th July 2023.

RESOLVED –

THAT Members agree the following minutes be approved and signed as a correct record:

1.    the revised version of the minutes of the meeting held on 4 May 2023

2.    the minutes of the meeting held on 13 July 2023

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.

Samina Khan, Licensing Officer, summarised the report.

PC Rachel Aldis, Police responsible authority, summarised their representation included within the main agenda (pages 84-87). In their summary, they stated that the premises was located in a Cumulative Impact Area (CIA) in close proximity to number of late night venues, therefore there was a presumption for any new premises application to be refused. The premises had itself recently complained to the Police about drunk disorder resulting from neighbouring venues and there was already a high level of recorded crime in the area, therefore increasing the consumption of alcohol in the area would contribute to further incidents. Camden High Street was not a suitable location to offer ‘bring your own bottle’ (BYOB) alcohol promotion. If no alcohol was to be consumed in the premises the Police would not object to the application, however in the current form it was the the view of the Police that the application should be refused in its entirety.

In response to a question from the Applicant asking if the Police would support the application if alcohol consumed in the venue was not allowed into the street, the Police stated they could not due to the encouragement of irresponsible drinking; customers would not appreciate drinks being confiscated from staff at closing time and they may down their remaining drinks before leaving the venue and entering Camden High Street. There was no way for the restaurant to monitor which drinks contained alcohol.

Jawid Rashidi, Applicant, summarised their application. The following points were made:

-       Customers of the premises had never in past caused disturbance on the high street.

-       There were many neighbouring venues who had later licenced hours than applied for, therefore it would follow suit if Blacklist Restaurant was granted later hours. Camden High Street was a busy area and there would always be many businesses in the area.

-       The main concerns from the Police rooted from issues occurring from other venues, and not from Blacklist Restaurant itself.

-       Blacklist Restaurant was not applying for an alcohol licence and would not be an alcohol-led venue, however they wanted to cater for the few customers who wanted to drink. Customers would normally attend the premises for around two hours for a meal, and they were not the type of customer to contribute to crime and disorder in the area.

In response to questions, the Applicant clarified and outlined the following points:

-       The front of house staff would assist in preventing customers from taking their drinks outside and to leave the drinks at the bar.

-       The majority of customers attending the premises would book in advance and upon arrival would be greeted by the front of house. The admittance of customers would be regulated, preventing drunk people entering the venue.

-       The premises would not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

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.

Samina Khan, Licensing Officer, summarised the report. It was confirmed that the Police had withdrawn their representation and had agreed conditions with the Applicant (detailed on page 111 of the agenda).

Matthew Griffin, objecting interested party speaking on behalf of Bristol House Limited, summarised their representation included within the main agenda (pages 172-177). In their summary, they outlined the following points: Bristol House was a residential building located directly above Holborn Food Hub and KFC and it was anticipated that if the later was granted in this application, KFC would follow suit; since Holborn Food Hub had been open, the building smelled of meaty, fatty and spicy odours which could not be attributed to  KFC because they had their exhaust filtered above and around the corner of the building, compared to Holborn Food Hub pumping their exhaust and fumes into the middle of the building lightwell; noise from the premises permeated into the building, exacerbated due to the old age of the building; the later hours applied for indicated an intent to increase the number of late night deliveries which would further disturb local residents; already before an increase in deliveries, delivery drivers in the area obstructed the entrances to the building with their bikes which caused safety concerns for residents; and that Southampton Row was already a high crime area and later operational hours of premises would increase the risk of crime in the area.

Ian McKinnell, objecting resident interested party, summarised their representation included within the main agenda (page 142). In their summary, they outlined the following points: Holborn Food Hub opened later than their current licenced opening hours, therefore any further conditions applied to the Applicant were not certain to be adhered to;  because their bedroom was directly above the premises and already experienced the odour in the building, they feared increased odour if the operating hours were extended later; and residents already face a number negative impacts from the premises and any extended hours would worsen the situation.

William Whitcombe, objecting resident interested party, summarised their representation included within the main agenda (pages 187-190). In their summary, they outlined the following points: Holborn Food Hub was already noncompliant with their current licence, where between April and July 2023 it had been observed on several occasions they operated and served later than 23:00pm; a table of the restaurant had obstructed an entrance to the building, which affected the elderly and disabled residents gaining access, however the practice had stopped days before the hearing; advertising signage for the premises had been glued to the entrance of Bristol House and later removed ahead of the hearing; and that the pattern of the premises noncompliance to their current licence proved they were not responsible enough to manage any granted extension.

Susan Lovell, objecting resident interested party, summarised their representation  ...  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.

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.

Samina Khan, Licensing Officer, summarised the report.

The Panel agreed to accept the late papers submitted by the Applicant, central London food menu, which were published in the supplementary agenda.

Councillor Edmund Frondigoun, objecting ward councillor interested party, summarised their representation included within the main agenda (page 214). In their summary, they outlined the following points: although the premises was not in a CIA, there were still eight pubs in the area and an additional late night would contribute to the cumulative effects of a high number of licenced premises in an area; it was a concern that customers would walk through residential areas when travelling to the premises from other venues; and there were concerns over customers congregating on Doric Way instead of Eversholt Street.

In response to questions, the interested party clarified and outlined the following points:

-       The area was busy on match days with people who travelled into London from other parts of the country. People often wanted one last drink before travelling home, and most venues in the area closed at 23:00pm. An issue in relation to this application and match days was that the quickest route to this premises for travelling customers was through the residential area.

-       The area was also usually busy on non-match days from the number of existing alcohol-led premises in the area and another premises would add to the busyness.

Nigel Connor, Legal Director and Company Secretary, accompanied by Tom Young, Area Manager, summarised the application. The following points were made:

-       The Applicant intended to surrender the current licence if a new licence was granted.

-       The Applicant agreed the Police conditions who then withdrew their representation.

-       Captain Flinders had the following characteristics: the floor plan was smaller than the standard Wetherspoons, having a total of 840 sites in the UK; there was a single customer entrance to the venue on Eversholt Street; no music would be played in this venue, therefore noise levels would be minimised; there were no time led promotions e.g. happy hour; the Applicant did not recognise that the dispersal would impact the residential area; and there would be further restrictions on customers allowed outside.

-       Wetherspoons venues in general had the following characteristics: food sales were crucial to the operation as they were tied to drinks offers; digital CCTV was installed in the premises; Wetherspoons had a broad customer base and were family friendly; the company had operated for 43 years; the company already ran a number of pubs close to the main London stations; there was regular training of staff; everyone working at a Wetherspoons was employed directly; Wetherspoons had monthly meetings with the Police and participated in Pub Watch; ‘Ask for Angela’ was already a policy in the chain; the pub chain was already experienced in managing matchday conditions; and Wetherspoons  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

There was no urgent business.

Should the Panel wish to go into closed session, it will take the following resolution:

THAT the press and public be excluded from the proceedings of the Licensing Panel on 17 August 2023 during consideration of the respective item on the agenda on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, that were members of the public to be present, there would be disclosure of exempt information as defined in Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Specifically -

Publicity in respect of item x would be likely to lead to the disclosure of information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings by virtue of Category 5 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).