Agenda and minutes

To agree the procedure rules for remote meetings.

The Principal Committee Officer opened the meeting and invited nominations for the election of Chair of the Licensing Panel.

RESOLVED –

THAT:

·       Councillor Sylvia McNamara be elected Chair of the Panel for this hearing; and

·       the guidance on remote meetings be agreed.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Meric Apak.

The Panel was quorate with two Members present.

There were no declarations.

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 consent to having their contributions recorded and broadcast.

Supplementary Agenda

Since the publication of the agenda, there had been 2 supplementary agendas published:

Supplementary Agenda 1 – in relation to item 8, Swains, 15 Highgate contained additional information submitted by;

·       The applicant’s representative

Supplementary Agenda 2 – related to items 7 and 8 on the main agenda – Lord Southampton, 2 Southampton Road and Swains, 15 Highgate Road, London NW5 1QX.

Lord Southampton – the information related to conditions the applicant had agreed with the Police and Environmental Health Responsible Authorities – as a result both responsible authorities had withdrawn their objections to the application.

Swains - contained the new and old plans for the premises which had been omitted from the report on the main agenda.

There was none.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meetings held on 5^th October 2023 and 9^th November 2023.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meetings held on 5 October 2023 and 9 November 2023 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 the 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, Paru Bhudia, summarised the report. Highlighting that since publication of the main agenda, additional proposed conditions had been agreed with the Police and Environmental Health Responsible Authorities, these had been published included within the second supplementary agenda. As a result, the Responsible Authorities had withdrawn their representations.

The Licensing Officer informed the panel that the application was for the supply of alcohol for consumption on and off the premises. The hours for on licence were Monday to Thursday 11.00am to 11.30pm, Friday and Saturday 11.00am to midnight, and Sunday 11.00am to 10.30pm with 30 minutes drinking up time. For the Off Sale hours, they were Monday to Saturday 8.00am to 11.00pm and Sunday 10.00am to 10.30pm.  Recorded music was 11.00am to midnight – Monday to Thursday, 11.00am to1.00am Friday and Saturday and 11.00am to 10.30pm on Sunday. Opening hours 11.00am to 12.30 Monday to Thursday, 11.00am to 1.30AM Friday and Saturday and 11.00am to 11.00pm on Sundays.

13 representations objecting to the application had been received from residents and 1 representation had been received supporting the application.

In response to questions of clarification from the interested parties the Licensing Officer advised that:

·       The proposed premises openings hours were different from the proposed licensable activity hours which had been shortened. The applicant’s representative also reiterated the opening hours that had been highlighted in the Licensing officer’s summary of the report, clarifying that an opening time of 11.00am was being sought from Monday to Sunday and that recorded music should reflect the same closing hours for alcohol with the closing time being 30 minutes after the hours for licensed activities. The applicant was no longer seeking later hours for regulated entertainment.

·       In relation to whether the opening hours were similar to other pubs in the area, the officer did not have this information, the application was however required to be considered on its own merits.

·       Any problems that would have occurred at the premises in the past would have been noted by the Licensing Authority and included in a representation objecting to the application. However, in this case no objection or representation had been made by the Licensing Authority Responsible Authority which would indicate that no issues had been reported.

The Panel heard from 4 Interested Parties: Eilidh Nielsen, Stephanie Austere, Heather Roberts and Paul Reynolds.

They summarised their representations contained in appendix 3 of the main agenda.

The Interested Parties made the following points in their submissions:

• The proposed later closing time for the business compared to other establishments in the area would attract crowds looking for the last open pub. This would increase anti-social behaviour, crime and nuisance late at night in the area.
• Since the last time the premises was used as a pub, the residential nature of the area has changed with an increase in new apartments  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Report of the Executive Director, Supporting Communities.

This is an application to vary a premises licence under Section 34 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Consideration was given to a report of the Executive Director Supporting Communities detailing an application for a variation to a premises licence under section 34 of the Licensing Act 2003.

The Licensing Officer took the Panel through the report and stated that three relevant representations had been received from local residents, 2 opposing and 1 from a community group in support of the application.

The Licensing Officer informed the panel that the application to vary sought to update the plan of the premises in line with the plans attached to the application which could be found on the Supplementary Agenda 2 and to remove conditions 16,17 and 19 on the premises licence to allow the premises to operate as a traditional public house and to correct the wording of condition 22. The hours policy was engaged by the application in relation to the proposed end times for licensable activities, and the premises supplying hot food and drink between 11pm and 5am. The licensing objectives engaged by the application were the prevention of public nuisance and the premises was not situated within the cumulative impact policy area.

The applicant’s legal representative, Marcus Lavell, confirmed that the application for a variation had been amended to a starting time of 11am daily.

There were no questions to the applicant on the amendment.

John Slater outlined their objections to the application, as in their written submission.

Dan Outram representing Swains Lane Retail Forum, outlined their reasons for supporting the application, as in their written submission.

The interested parties answered questions as follows:

In clarification the objectors to the application felt that alcohol should not be sold at the premises before 10am.

The applicant’s representative, Mr Marcus Lavell outlined their application and responded to questions providing the following information:

• It was not expected that there would be a high demand from people wanting to have a drink of alcohol at 8am in the morning, however in the event of a very limited number of people wanting to have a quick drink in the morning this would have no impact on school children walking past.
• The application to vary and remove three conditions was because the premises had been used as a restaurant which had failed. The freeholder wanted to invest in a sustainable business that met local demand and was in the interest of customers.
• The intention was to have a traditional muddy boots pub somewhere where local residents could have a drink. The intention was to have gentle background music to enhance the atmosphere in the premises rather than have live based performances.
• The applicant operated 7 other pubs in and around northeast London, these were family friendly Sunday roast lead pubs, which were well run pubs without any issues. The pubs also had policies similar to Camden’s ‘Ask Angela’ policy as well as efficient and effective dispersal policies.
• The applicant was an experienced operator, was well aware of the licensing objectives with well trained staff to manage the premises and promote the licensing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Report of the Executive Director, Supporting Communities.

This is an application to vary a premises licence under Section 34 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Consideration was given to a report of the Executive Director Supporting Communities detailing an application for a variation to a premises licence under section 34 of the Licensing Act 2003.

The Licensing Officer took the Panel through the report and stated that one relevant representation had been received from a residents’ association opposing the application.

The Licensing Officer informed the panel that the application to vary sought additional hours for licensable activity:

Supply of Alcohol (For consumption on the premises)

Monday - Friday       12:00 – 22:00
Saturday                 11:30 - 23:00
Sunday                    11:30 - 22.00

The licensing objectives engaged by the application were the prevention of public nuisance, and the premises was not situated within the cumulative impact policy area. The hours policy was not engaged by the application. The premises policy engaged by the application were restaurants, cafes and coffee houses.

In response to questions of clarification from a Panel member the Legal Officer advised that:

• The role of the Panel was to concern itself only with the licensing objectives, planning matters would be dealt with by the Planning Authority.

In response to a question of clarification from the interested party (Mr Linus Rees on behalf of Charlottee Streets Residents Association) the Licensing officer advised that:

·       They would check if the current licence included women safety protocols; if indeed this had been included in the current licence, it would be added to the variation application if granted.

The applicants legal representative Mr Jeremy Phillips clarified that the only variation that was being applied for was for Sunday evenings 5pm to 10pm.

The Panel heard from the Interested Party (Linus Rees on behalf of Charlotte Street Residents’ Association).

They summarised their representations contained in appendix 4 pages 220 to 223 of the main agenda.

The Interested Parties made the following points in their submissions:

·       The restaurant had an existing premises licence to allow 6 evenings a week to trade. There was the need for a balance between allowing a business to go ahead with increased commercial activity and also the right of residents to have the enjoyment of their homes and some peaceful downtime during an otherwise busy week.

·       It was reasonable to ask the Panel to refuse the application to extend the licensable activity hours beyond 5pm on Sunday as the area was quiet on the weekends.

·       There were more than 60 households immediately next to the premises, the intention was to maintain the area as attractive for residents.

There were no questions to the interested parties.

The applicant’s legal representative, Mr Jeremy Phillips accompanied by Caroline Abbot outlined their application and responded to questions providing the following information:

• It was a very modest change to permit this restaurant to serve alcohol on Sunday evenings between 5pm and 10pm.
• The reason the 5pm terminal hours had previously been opposed was because of a restriction on the existing planning permission. A meeting had taken place between the applicant and residents in March 2022 before the original application was made that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

There was none.