Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chair of the Panel for the 2021/22 Municipal Year.

RESOLVED –

THAT Councillor Richard Cotton be elected as Chair of the Panel for the 2021-22 Municipal Year.

To agree the procedure rules for remote meetings.

RESOLVED –

THAT the guidance on remote meetings be agreed.

To note the terms of reference of the Panel.

RESOLVED –

THAT the Terms of Reference for the Panel be noted.

There were no apologies.

Councillor Cotton declared for the sake of transparency that Item 11 “Hawley Wharf Food Hall” was located in his ward (Camden Town with Primrose Hill) and, although he had seen some correspondence, he had not been directly approached by the interested party or applicant.

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 on DVD 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.’

Order of Business

The Chair proposed and it was agreed that item 8 “Minutes” be taken after item 11. The remaining items were considered in the order in which they appeared on the agenda.

Supplemental agenda

Additional documents submitted by the applicants in respect of Item 9 “Monarchy” and Item 11 “Hawley Wharf” were published in a supplementary agenda on Monday, 26^th July 2021. The papers were received by the required deadline.

There was no urgent business.

To approve the minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 29^th April 2021.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 29^th April 2021 be approved 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 Panel noted that additional documents in respect of this application were published in a supplementary agenda on Monday, 26^th July 2021. The papers were received by the required deadline.

It was noted that following representations from the Police responsible authority, the application has been amended to include conditions agreed with the Police. On the basis that the agreed conditions are included in the application the Police have withdrawn their representation. The agreed conditions were contained in Appendix 4 on pages 137-139 of the agenda.

Michelle Hazlewood, of John Gaunt and Partners, representing the applicant said that following a meeting with the resident’s representatives, the applicant has amended the application as contained on page 15 of the supplementary agenda and set out as follows:

1)    The terminal time for the sale of alcohol, regulated entertainment and late night refreshment on Friday and Saturday had been reduced to 01:00 hours

2)    The closing time in respect of Friday and Saturday had been reduced to 01:30 hours

3)    The provision of entertainment externally would be of a background nature only.

4)    An additional condition would be added stating that off sales would cease after 23:00 hours

5)    That the existing licence would be surrendered if this application was granted.

Twenty-two relevant representations opposing the application had been received. One from the Licensing Authority Responsible Authority, one from a local Ward Councillor, three were from local resident associations and seventeen were from local residents.

Dennis Viechweg, Licensing Authority responsible authority, summarised the main points in his submission and answered questions as follows:

-       He noted that since the submission of the application, the applicant had amended to application with regard to the reduction in hours as set out in the supplementary agenda and above.

-       He had had discussed with the applicant regarding the additional storage space shown on the plans which the applicant had confirmed would be used for the storage of keg beer and would not increase the capacity for patrons on the premises.

-       The application mirrored the licensing activities in the existing licence.

-       The applicant has offered a list of conditions to promote the licensing objectives, which included CCTV provision, notices requesting that patrons be considerate to neighbours when leaving, SIA registered security, etc. The applicant had agreed additional conditions with the Police Responsible Authority.

-       The applicant has cited 6.29 of Camden's Licensing policy, stating the existing licence would be surrendered on successful grant of the new licence.

-       The premises were situated in the Camden Town Cumulative Impact Policy Area (CIPA) where there was a presumption to refuse all new and variation applications, although this presumption was rebuttable in exceptional circumstances and where the applicant had successfully demonstrated that the granting of their application would not contribute to the existing impact of licensed premises in that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

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 Panel noted that following representations from the Police responsible authority, the application had been amended to include conditions agreed with the Police. On the basis that the agreed conditions were included in the application the Police had withdrawn their representation. The agreed conditions were contained in Appendix 4, at pages 219-222 of the agenda.

It was noted that eighteen relevant representations opposing the application have been received from local residents, three of whom were attendance at the meeting to present their representations. The Chair confirmed that the representations submitted by the interested parties not in attendance would be taken into account when reaching a decision.

Alexey Smirnov summarised the main points in his representation and answered questions as follows:

-       There were restricted covenants attached to this building and Land registry stated that no trading activity was allowed from these premises apart from a surgery, a solicitor’s practice or architect’s office.

-       This would destroy the normal life of residents of the building particularly the hours of operation which ran from early morning until late at night.

-       The delivery vehicles would cause nuisance and pollution.

-       There was a bus stop across the entrance of the building and, if granted, the delivery vehicles would be dangerous to children and other users.

-       The premises were designed for underground parking rather than commercial use, and it would not be safe to accommodate this type of business which would be using it to store inflammable products.

-       Staff might be trained in fire safety and be on the premises during during the day, but residents were concerned about safety, particularly if there was a fire out of hours. There was a locked gate across the entrance of the building which would prevent access.

-       The building had 4 floors including the basement and there were 18 flats on one side and 4 affordable flats on the other side.

Catherine Marsh summarised the main points in her representation as follows:

-       The proposed use was for a delivery service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

-       It would cause disturbance to residents due to its long hours of operation and would increase traffic in the area.

-       Delivery vehicles would have to use the surrounding narrow streets to get to and from the building. Some of the streets, for instance Briardale Gardens were only able to accommodate one car and was already used as a short cut by many drivers.

-       The area had traffic restrictions imposed by the Council due to the danger traffic caused in the area.

-       It was not clear what vehicles would be used. There was inconsistencies in the applicant which mentioned bicycles and electric bicycles, but also referred to mopeds which were noisy and polluting.

-       Pollution was already a problem in the area which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

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 Panel noted that additional documents in respect of this application were published in a supplementary agenda on Monday, 26^th July 2021. The papers were received by the required deadline.

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 Panel noted that additional documents in respect of this application were published in a supplementary agenda on Monday, 26^th July 2021. The papers were received by the required deadline.

It was noted that following representations from the Police responsible authority, the application has been amended to include conditions agreed with the Police. On the basis that the agreed conditions are included in the application the Police have withdrawn their representation. The agreed conditions were contained in Appendix 4 on pages 137-139 of the agenda.

One relevant representation opposing the application had been received from a local resident, who was unable to attend the meeting. The Chair confirmed that his representation would be taken into account when reaching a decision.

Gary Grant, counsel, was representing the applicant Liam O'Hare, Labsgroup Jack Spiegler, solicitor, (Thomas & Thomas Partners) was also be present. Gary Grant summarised the application and answered questions as follows:

·         This application was an attempt to rationalise the foodhall licensing in Hawley Wharf. Licenses were granted for several individual units to be occupied by independent operators in 2019. The application was to replace the 11 primary licences plus 11 shadow licences with a far simpler and more effective one licence to cover the food hall.

·         There would therefore only be one licence and one DPS. The applicant was the owner of the premises and development.

·         The hours had not changed, licensable activities would still terminate at 21:00

·         Hawley Wharf also includes 200 service departments so the very nearest residents were those residents located in these premises, so it becomes elf regulating.

·         There was also 60,00 square feet of office space, so noise must be kept to a minimum for both residents and office workers.

·         There are also, shops, a cinema, market stall vendors, restaurants and food court. There were no bars or clubs and the food hall was food led.

·         Since 2019 when the individual licences were granted, the Covid pandemic happened which had had an impact on high streets and the retail sector. The applicant wanted the flexibility to bring in new independent vendors, no big brand names. It would allow each operate to come in and leave without having to apply for a licence or a transfer.

·         Mr Gohil, the local resident who had submitted representations, lived across the canal. The applicant Mr O’Hare and Jack Speigler, solicitor had engaged with him, the details of which were contained in the supplementary agenda on pages 68-78.

·         All of Mr  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

There was no urgent business