Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director Supporting Communities

 

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. The report was summarised by the Licensing Officer, who informed the Panel that, the Police Responsibility Authority and Licensing Responsible Authority had withdrawn their representations on the basis that their conditions had been agreed by the applicant. 

 

The applicant Richard Bottomley confirmed that they had agreed to the   conditions from the Licensing Responsible Authority and the Police Responsible Authority as set out on pages 131-132 of the agenda. The applicant also stated that he believed the café would not generate significant noise, but they were happy to and discuss further noise reduction measures.  

 

The Interested Parties attending the meeting were Councillor Stephen Stark, a local ward Councillor and Dr Geraldine Bloustein, a local resident.

 

Councillor Stephen Stark described Hampstead as a quiet place. He wanted the premises to carry out measures to reduce noise before they opened for business. He also requested that any tables and chairs outside the premises should not be there too early, to avoid creating additional noise early in the morning.    

 

Dr Geraldine Bloustein, expressed her concerns about public nuisance caused by alcohol and noise, that would disturb local families and children. She was concerned that this was yet another premises in the area selling alcohol from early in the morning until late at night . Intoxicated people were already causing problems in the area and this premises would add to the issue. The applicant had described the café as family friendly but the layout plans and happy hour made the premises look a wine bar. Local residents were also concerned about the noise that would be generated by people sitting outside the café and the litter caused by smokers.

 

Other interested parties had not been able to join the meeting, but the Chair confirmed that the Panel had read all the representations submitted in response to the application.  

 

The applicant Richard Bottomley attending with Konstantin Rzhebaev and  

Guru Bahl summarised the application as follows:

 

·       Café Brera was a café not a bar. There were six premises of the same name that had been established over the last 30 years. They provided quality produce in an atmosphere that prided itself on the quality of their service. As a business they did not have a record of complaints 

·       40% of sales at the café would be  food, 60% drinks and 10% of the drink sales would be alcohol. The alcohol would primarily be for customers who wanted a glass of sparkling wine

·       The food was cooked off site. On site staff would consist of 6-10 people including 3 trained barista, 2 chefs for food preparation and front of house staff 

·       It was not a late-night alcohol led premises and the applicant would agree to alcohol only being sold after midday.  There would be no vertical drinking, the focus of the business model was coffee and cake  

·       The applicant would be happy to meet with Councillor Stark to discuss sound proofing. The windows to the premises would be shut at 

9pm. Only background music would be played and if required the applicant would agree to limiting the hours it was played

·       The other Café Brera premises were clean, all of them had 5 out of 5 star hygiene ratings

·       This was a small premises, not in a Cumulative Impact Policy Area,  they had taken the concerns and objections seriously and had agreed to all the conditions that had been proposed by the Responsible Authorities. The applicant was experienced in making businesses successful and was happy to speak to local residents   

 

The following information was provided by the applicant in response to questions: 

 

·       The bar area on the plan would be used for the storage of alcohol, cold drinks and a servery area for food. All alcohol would be served by a waiter/waitress. There would be no bar service

·       The kitchen area on the plan would be used to prep food for serving. Most of the food would be made off site and would be delivered from Battersea  

·       The premises would comprise of 50 covers and there would only be one chef on duty  

·       The applicant had thought very carefully about noise and sound issues at the premises, windows at the premises would be closed at 9pm. They would agree to no alcohol being served before noon and it would only be served with food. The alcohol served would usually be a glass of wine or champagne with cake, it was an additional offer that customers enjoyed  

·       These premises were the same proximity to residential properties as the Café Brera premises in Battersea and there had not been any complaints from residents there    

·       The applicant would agree to tables and chairs outside the premises not being used before 8am Monday to Friday and not before 9am on Saturday and Sunday

·       Any issues with rubbish or litter were not anticipated given the hygiene ratings at the other Café Brera premises 

·       It was too early to confirm if the premises would have a defibrillator on site

 

All parties summed up the points they had made in their representations.    

 

 

 

 

 

Decision and Reasons

 

In deliberation, Panel Members discussed the representations made by the Interested Parties and local ward councillor about the application. They considered the information provided by the applicant and confirmation that there would be no vertical drinking, alcohol would only be served ancillary to food and not be available before noon. They also noted the measures that had been taken about sound at the premises and the measures to reduce any noise. 

In addition the applicant had agreed to a number of conditions from the Police and Licensing Responsible Authorities. The Panel noted in particular the steps taken to address the concerns of the interested parties and welcomed the discussions that had taken place between all parties to try and resolve matters. On this basis, the Panel agreed that granting the application, with the conditions below, would uphold the licensing objectives of the prevention of public nuisance and the prevention of crime and disorder.

 

RESOLVED

 

THAT the application, for a new premises licence, be granted as follows 

 

a) Supply of Alcohol (For consumption on and off the premises)

12:00 – 21:00 Sunday to Wednesday

12:00 – 22:00 Thursday to Saturday

 

b) Recorded Music

07:00 – 21:00 Monday to Wednesday

08:00 – 21:00 Sunday

07:00 – 22:00 Thursday to Saturday

 

c) Opening hours

07:00 – 21:00 Sunday to Wednesday

07:00 – 22:00 Thursday to Saturday

 

i)               The windows of the premises to be closed by 9pm.

 

ii)              Tables and chairs outside the premises to not be used before 8am Monday to Saturday and not before 9am on Sunday.

 

iii)            That alcohol will not be served before midday. 

 

 

Summary of conditions consistent with the operating schedule 

 

1.   A Challenge 25 Proof of Age scheme will be in place.

2.   CCTV will be in operation.

3.   An incident log shall be kept at the premises.

4.   Alcohol shall only be served during Licensing hours.

5.   A Challenge 25 policy shall be in place.

6.   Sale of alcohol shall be refused to people who are drunk.

7.   Specially trained staff will dispense alcohol.

8.   Customers will be asked to leave quietly and to give due regard to the    neighbours.

9.   Trained staff will be on duty to defuse any issues- and will seek the services    of a security company in extreme instances.

10.  No sale of alcohol to anyone underage.

11.  Staff will check identity if in doubt.

 

 

Conditions agreed with the Licensing Authority Responsible Authority

 

1.     Alcoholic beverages shall only be sold to customers seated at tables and only when taking a table meal.

2.     Orders for food and beverages can only be sold to and consumed by customers outside the premises when sat at a able covered by a tables and chairs licence where required.

3.     Alcoholic beverages can only be sold to and consumed by customers outside the premises when sat at a table covered by a tables and chairs licence where required.

4.     The contact telephone number of the premises shall be circulated to the local residents.

5.     Customers smoking outside the premises shall not be permitted to cause  an obstruction.

6.     Any External areas shall be monitored and supervised by management and staff during the hours of operation .

 

Conditions Agreed with the Police Responsible Authority

 

Conditions Agreed with the Police responsible Authority

1.     CCTV shall be installed operated and maintained ,to function all times that the premises is open for licensable activities The CCTV will comply with the following criteria:

a)     The Premises Licence holder /DPS will ensure that the system is checked every two weeks to ensure that the system is working properly and that the date and time are correct.

b)     A record of these checks, showing the date and name of the person checking, will be kept and made available to the Police or other authorised officer on request.

c)     The Police will be informed if the system will be operating for longer than one day of business for any reason.

d)     The system will record in real time and recordings  will be date and time stamped.

e)     Recordings will be kept for a minimum of 31 days and downloaded footage will be provided free of charge to the police or other authorised officers on request (subject to the Data Protection Act requirements) within 24 hours of any request.

f)      CCTV to cover all entry and exit points of the building.

g)     CCTV will be of good quality, a standard approved by the Police/ Council licensing Officers.

2.     The Premises Licence holder shall ensure that staff are trained , as appropriate in respect of relevant Licensing Law, crime scene best practice and upon the sale of alcohol to drunks and to persons underage. Training shall be written into a programme, on-going review and will be made available for inspection by Police or other responsible authority, upon request.

3.     No person carrying visibly open or sealed alcohol vessels shall be admitted to the premises at any time that the premises are open for any licensable activity.

4.     The venue shall not engage the services of street promoters to encourage clientele to attend the venue.

5.     Police must be called to incidents of violence and or serious disorder.

6.     There shall be no vertical drinking. Alcohol will only be sold by Waiter /waitress service to customers seated at tables. Alcohol sales will be ancillary to a table meal.

7.     All off sales of Alcohol, should either be sold ancillary to food /or to customers that have had a substantial meal already and are now leaving the venue  and wish to purchase alcohol.

 

 

To Note: All

Action By: Executive Director Supporting Communities

 

 

The Panel had a brief adjournment and the meeting resumed at 11.35a.m.