Agenda item

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.

 

Paru Bhudia, Licensing Officer, summarised the report.

 

The Panel agreed to admit the late papers included within the supplementary agenda.

 

Since the main agenda publication, the following additional conditions proposed by the Police had been agreed by the Applicant:

 

1. No persons carrying visibly open or sealed alcohol vessels shall be admitted to the premises at any time that the premises are open for licensable activities.
2. Police must be called to incidents of violence and/or disorder.

 

PC Rachel Aldis, Police responsible authority, spoke to their representation. The following concerns were raised: the premises was situated within a Cumulative Impact Area (CIA) and this premises did not demonstrate any exception to Camden’s Licensing Policy’s rebuttable presumption to refuse a new application, therefore granting this new licence would undermine the promotion of the licencing objectives; regardless of the proposed licence being limited to dry-sales, the premises could become a flashpoint for incidences involving people leaving other late night venues and staying in the area; and that despite the Applicant claiming that 20 TENs had been held without incidents, during this period there were no conditions requiring the premises to report incidents to the Police.

 

In response to questions, PC Rachel Aldis confirmed there had been no incidents of crime reported to the Police in relation to the premises during the period Wendy’s had been operating until 02:00hrs firstly without a licence and then the granted TENS which followed.

 

Esther Jones, Licensing Authority responsible authority, spoke to their representation. Esther Jones explained their objection was due to the premises being located in the CIA and the application should be refused on that basis.

 

Paul Newton, Wendy’s Regional Operations Manager, accompanied by

Michael Clarke, Wendy’s Managing Director U.K. & Europe, spoke to their application. The following points were made:

 

·       It relation to the Licensing Authority’s representation, it was confirmed the Applicant had already accepted the proposed conditions relating to the women’s safety principles and retaining CCTV for 31 days. The premises already had three refuse areas across the floors which were regularly changed.

·       As stated in proposed conditions 15-17, there would be security on the ground floor entrance and the first floor who would be present longer than the licensable activities took place. There were currently 13 security cameras in the interior of the premises, and Applicant was happy to install more to the exterior of the building if requested.

·       It was confirmed that it was a mistake of the premises during the period this Wendy’s site was operating without a licence and trading until 02:00hrs. During that period of nearly 12 months, there had been no incidents (including antisocial behaviour) recorded internally or to the Police.

·       As a business, Wendy’s wanted to be a part of the community and be an offering of late night refreshments. The premises wanted to prevent litter and did not want drunk people carrying alcohol into the venue. Wendy’s were willing to comply with everything reasonable to help the smooth running of the premises.

 

In response to questions, the following points were clarified:

 

·       The premises had been trading since 22 April 2023 and during that period had been operating until 02:00hrs on Fridays and Saturdays. Once it was realised a licence was required, the premises applied for 10 Temporary Event Notices (TENs) for the same hours as previously operating.

·       Wendy’s used a third-party company to electronically record incidents which escalated to a Risk Team based in the US who would then use the data to analyse themes of incidents promptly. There had been no incidents since the premises opened.

·       It was confirmed that the premises had not contacted any local residents alongside the application, although they knew they made deliveries to local residents. Wendy’s worked with Streets Kitchen Camden (UK and Ireland grassroots group who organised food kitchens for the homeless community) who were located opposite the premises. Wendy’s tended to donate food rather than cups to prevent litter.

·       In relation to truck deliveries to the restaurant, it was confirmed that there were four food and drink deliveries per week which all took place overnight and were delivered by a third-party through a side door to inside of the restaurant.

·       In relation to current system of refuse, it was confirmed the refuse was taken outside and collected between 05:00-06.30hrs everyday.  External refuse was stored in separate wheelie bins (food waste, recycling and general waste) and was not left in plastic bags on the street.

·       To mange rubbish in the immediate area, it was confirmed that staff litter picked outside of the restaurant and they were happy to increase the frequency of inspections. Within the restaurant, dining customers used trays and tended to dispose of their own rubbish in one of the two bins upstairs or one bin downstairs which were regularly emptied.

·       There was no seating on the ground floor.

 

In their closing remarks, PC Rachel Aldis stated that granting this licence would increase the cumulative impact of licensed premises in the CIA and would result in additional pressure on resources for the Police and other authorities. In their view there was no evidence to show this premises should be an exemption to Cadmen’s Licensing Policy.

 

In their closing remarks, Esther Jones stated that if the Panel were minded to grant the application, further litter picking policies should be considered when considering the warmer months of the year.

 

Decision and Reasons

 

In their deliberations, Panel Members acknowledge that the premises was located in a CIA and the application engaged the crime and disorder and public nuisance objectives.  The area was a sensitive to location in the borough for licenced venues, particularly as it was located next to a tube station. By reducing current proposed late-night hours on Friday and Saturday nights, the risk would be reduced of negatively impacting the licencing objectives and straining the resources of responsible authorities.

 

Panel Members understood the venues reluctance to reduce their operation to framework hours and acknowledged that the Applicant had agreed nearly all of the conditions proposed by responsible authorities and seemed to be willing to work with Licensing Officers improve their operation. Panel Members were reassured that the venue had operated without incidences during their TENs and since operating in Camden.

 

The Panel did not not want to impose additional waste and delivery conditions because the current system seemed to operate well and there had not been any complaints.

 

Panel Members advised the venue to converse with local residents going forward. The premises could apply for extended hours at a later date when they could evidence responsible operation with a licence terminating at 01:00hrs on Friday and Saturday nights.

 

RESOLVED –

 

i)               THAT a licence be granted for:

 

a)   

 

23:00 – 00:00 Sunday to Thursday

23:00 – 01:00 Friday to Saturday

b)   

 

08:00 – 00:00 Sunday to Thursday

08:00 – 01:00 Friday to Saturday

 

ii)              THAT the following conditions be added to the licence:

 

Conditions consistent with the operating schedule

 

1. Our establishment uses CCTV surveillance systems placed strategically to cover key areas of our premises.

 

2. This monitoring helps prevent and detect incidents, ensuring the safety and security of our customers and staff.

 

3. CCTV is placed to capture patrons head and shoulders as they enter the building, and throughout.

 

4. There are security personnel present at the restaurant from 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays until close.

 

5. At least one member of staff on duty whilst this licence is being used shall be trained in the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003 in terms of the licensing objectives, offences committed under the Act and conditions of the premises licence. Such person shall be competent to ensure offences are not committed and that the premises shall be run in accordance with the licence.

 

6. Our push-pull restaurant doors self-close, and we try to encourage our customers to be considerate to our neighbour’s and to limit noise both when ordering their food and on leaving the local area.

 

7. Notices shall be prominently displayed at each exit from the premises asking customers to be considerate to neighbour’s when leaving.

 

8. Policies and procedures shall be put in place for collection of street litter generated by the premises and such policies shall be implemented by staff whenever the premises are being used under the terms of this licence.

 

9. All staff members are required to complete a late-night security module upon commencing their employment.

 

10. This course outlines essential guidelines, including specific instructions for late-night shifts, emphasizing what not to do to maintain a secure environment.

 

11. Patrols of the area outside the premises shall be undertaken every 1 hour during the use of the licence and any litter attributable to the premises cleared.

 

12. At least one member of staff on duty whilst this licence is being used shall be trained in the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003 in terms of the licensing objectives, offences committed under the Act and conditions of the premises licence. Such person shall be competent to ensure offences are not committed and that the premises shall be run in accordance with the licence.

 

13. No alcohol is allowed to be served or sold on the premises.

 

14. Where the premises are open for licensable activities on Fridays, Saturdays and Bank Holiday Sundays from 2200 hours, a minimum of two (2) SIA-registered door supervisor shall be employed at the premises until 30 minutes after close with a log sheet to be kept (and available immediately to the Police upon request) showing who was working on any given night that the Police visit the venue.

 

15. A minimum of one (1) SIA will be on the first-floor seating area at all times that licensable activities take place.

 

16. A minimum of one (1) SIA will be situated at the main entrance of the venue at all times that licensable activities take place.

 

17. The venue shall not engage the services of street promoters to encourage clientele to attend the venue.
    
    
18. An incident log shall be kept at the premises, and made available on request to an authorised officer or the Police, which will record the following:

a)      all crimes reported to the venue.

b)      all ejections of patrons.

c)      any incidents of disorder and violence

d)      all seizures of drugs or offensive weapons

e)      any faults in the CCTV system or searching equipment or scanning equipment.

f)       any refusal of the sale of alcohol to include date, time, and staff member.

g)      any visit by a relevant authority or emergency service.

 

19. CAD reference numbers where Police are called.

 

20. The licensee will ensure that staff are trained, as appropriate, in respect of relevant Licensing Law; crime scene best practice. Training shall be written into a programme of going review and will be made available for inspection by Police or other responsible authority, upon request.

 

21. The premises licence holder shall ensure that CCTV cameras and recorders are installed at the premises and are of a standard acceptable to and approved by the Police.

 

22. The CCTV system shall be maintained in good working order and at all times the premises is open to the public, be fully operational covering both internal and external areas of the premises to which the public have access.

 

23. The CCTV camera views shall not be obstructed.

 

24. At least one CCTV camera shall be placed no more than seven feet above floor level near to each point of entry and exit in order to capture clear facial images of all persons entering and leaving the premises.

 

25. The medium on which CCTV images are recorded shall be of evidential quality; stored securely; shall be retained for a period of 31 days; and be available for inspection by the police or authorised officers on request.

 

26. When the premises are open for the purposes of licensable activities, a suitably trained member of staff shall be present to assist the police or authorised officers in obtaining the CCTV footage.

 

27. Copies of any CCTV image shall be made available within 48 hours of the request to the police or local authority.

 

28. The facility to transfer the images to a compatible, removable format shall be held on the premises.

 

29. Staff working at the premises shall be trained in the use of CCTV and a log must be kept to verify this.

 

30. Signs must be displayed in the customer areas to advise that CCTV is in operation.

 

31. If the CCTV is inoperative or not installed and working to the satisfaction of the police, the licence holder shall notify the Police within 48 hours and give an estimate of the repair timescale. The licence holder and staff shall comply with all reasonable requests from the police.

 

32. Notices shall be prominently displayed at each exit from the premises asking customers to be considerate to neighbours when leaving.

 

33. No noise generated on the premises, or by its associated plant or equipment, shall emanate from the premises nor vibration be transmitted through the structure of the premises which gives rise to a nuisance.

 

34. The premises shall ensure their staff are trained in WAVE, details of this are available on our website or they could contact my colleague Ms Sarah Williams for further details on licensing@camden.gov.uk mark the email for the attention of Ms Sarah Williams.

 

35. Suitable and sufficient refuse receptacles shall be provided to the premises such that they are capable of accommodating all the waste that may be generated by the premises and collection, storage and disposal of refuse can be done in a timely manner.  This should be incorporated into the policy referred to in the application for the collection of street litter.

 

36. No persons carrying visibly open or sealed alcohol vessels shall be admitted to the premises at any time that the premises are open for licensable activities.

 

37. Police must be called to incidents of violence and/or disorder.

 

ACTON BY: Executive Director Supporting Communities