Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

1.1  Cllr Gilbert Smyth was duly elected as Chair.

2.  Apologies  were received on behalf of Cllr Moema.

Members are invited to consider the guidance  which accompanies thismgenda and make declarations as appropriate.

3.1  There were no declarations of interest.

4.1  RESOLVED: That the minutes of the previous meetings held on 25 September 2023 and 7 December 2023 were approved as a true and accurate record of proceedings.

5.1  The Chair outlined the hearing procedure to be followed.

RESOLVED:

The decision

The Licensing Sub-Committee in considering this decision from the information presented to it within the report and at the hearing today has determined that having regard to the promotion of all the licensing objectives:

·  The prevention of crime and disorder;

·  Public safety;

·  Prevention of public nuisance; and

·  The protection of children from harm,

the application for a premises licence has been approved in accordance with the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and the proposed conditions set out in paragraph 8.1 of the report, with the following additional conditions:

·  The Sub-committee approved the application seeking to authorise the supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises, late night refreshment and regulated entertainment comprising plays, films, live music, recorded music, performance of dance and anything of similar description on Monday to Sunday as applied for regulated entertainment, and conditions as set out in the report. The hours of licensable activity applied for were approved without amendment.

The following conditions to be added to the Premises Licence:

·  The Premises Licence holder shall maintain a dedicated contact telephone number and email address that must be available at all times to all local residents, the Environmental Health Officers, the Licensing Authority, the Police, and any responsible authority or any person wishing to make a complaint. These contact details shall be included on the website of the premises and on display at the premises.

·  The Premises Licence holder shall hold and publicise 2 liaison meetings each year (at least every 6 months) with local residents to address any concerns or complaints about the premises from local residents to prevent public nuisance.

Reasons for the decision

The application for a premises licence has been approved because the Licensing Sub-committee was satisfied that the licensing objectives would not be undermined.

The Sub-committee approved the application as applied for regulated entertainment, late night refreshment and supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises Monday to Sunday and conditions as set out in the report with the above additional conditions agreed by the Applicant to be added to the premises licence. The hours of licensable activity applied for were approved without amendment.

The Sub-committee took into consideration that there were no objections from Responsible Authorities. 

The Sub-committee took into consideration that there were representations made by 7 Other Persons (local residents of Cosmopolitan House). The Sub-committee noted that the local residents maintained their objections to the club part of the premises only, and the local residents were not persuaded by the Applicant’s representations. The Sub-committee noted that the local residents had no objections to the application made by the hotel (Item 7 on the agenda).

The Sub-committee took into account that local residents made representations that there was no consultation on this application and that they had tried to contact the Environmental Protection Team, however, they were unable to get hold of them to check the noise limit. The local residents felt that there was no support provided for them when there were issues of noise nuisance.  ...  view the full decision text for item 6.

6.1  The Chair advised that agenda items 6 and 7 would be taken together as the applications and objections were from the same Applicant and other persons,

6.2  The sub-committee heard from the Acting Principal Licensing Officer, the Applicant’s Legal Representative and Other Persons. The sub-committee noted the additional information submitted by the Applicant and Other Person B4 which was circulated to all parties prior to the hearing.  It was clarified that the conditions at item 6 within the report applied to the rooftop terrace and the conditions at Item 7 applied to the bedrooms in the hotel. At the meeting the conditions at item 6 of the report would be considered.

6.3  The Applicant’s Legal Representative David Lockhart clarified that there was no change of use to the premises and that they were seeking two duplicate premises licences with minor changes for the hotel as there would be two tenants and it would be clearer for enforcement purposes and transparency in the event of any breaches.

6.4  During the course of submissions and a discussion of both applications, the following points were noted: 

·  The Applicant’s Legal Representative outlined the application seeking to authorise the supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises, late night refreshment and regulated entertainment comprising plays, films, live music, recorded music, performance of dance and anything of similar description on Monday to Sunday and in relation to the application at item 7 they  were seeking authorisation for the provision of late night refreshment provision of regulated entertainment and fail of alcohol on Monday to Sunday.  It was emphasised that there were no changes to the conditions and change of use and that they were seeking two premises licence for two tenants.  The Applicant has addressed the complaints relating to staff smoking outside and were looking at a different area away from Cosmopolitan House and that customers could not access the rooftop terrace after 00.30 hours and alcohol ceased at 00.00 hours.

·  The Other Persons made representations on the grounds of The Prevention of Crime and Disorder, Public Safety, Prevention of Public Nuisance and The Protection of Children from Harm. Representations from Other Persons in objection of the application were primarily about public nuisance, noise pollution, ASB including screaming and urination at night and as follows:

-  Blue Marlin Ibizia would be operating a different model from a hotel. The change in activities at the luxury party nightclub demonstrated a change of use.

-  The premises was in a predominantly residential area and the rooftop terrace was surrounded by residential properties.

-  The premises did not have adequate acoustic measures or a noise limiter in all sections of the premises. The retractable glass roof over the rooftop terrace at the restaurant did not provide adequate soundproofing, and the music and people shouting and screaming could be heard until 03.00 hours.  A condition that there should be no music played on the rooftop terrace was requested to prevent noise nuisance affecting residents and their families’ quality of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

RESOLVED:

The decision

The Licensing Sub-Committee in considering this decision from the information presented to it within the report and at the hearing today has determined that having regard to the promotion of all the licensing objectives:

·  The prevention of crime and disorder;

·  Public safety;

·  Prevention of public nuisance; and

·  The protection of children from harm,

the application for a premises licence has been approved in accordance with the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and the proposed conditions set out in paragraph 8.1 of the report, with the following additional conditions:

·  The Sub-committee approved the application as applied for regulated entertainment, late night refreshment and supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises Monday to Sunday and conditions as set out in the report. The hours of licensable activity applied for were approved without amendment.

The following conditions to be added to the Premises Licence:

·  The Premises Licence holder shall maintain a dedicated contact telephone number and email address that must be available at all times to all local residents, the Environmental Health Officers, the Licensing Authority, the Police, and any responsible authority or any person wishing to make a complaint. These contact details shall be included on the website of the premises, and on display at the premises.

·  The Premises Licence holder shall hold and publicise 2 liaison meetings each year (at least every 6 months) with local residents to address any concerns or complaints about the premises from local residents to prevent public nuisance.

Reasons for the decision

The application for a premises licence has been approved because the Licensing Sub-committee was satisfied that the licensing objectives would not be undermined.

The Sub-committee approved the application as applied for regulated entertainment, late night refreshment and supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises Monday to Sunday and conditions as set out in the report with the above additional conditions agreed by the Applicant to be added to the premises licence. The hours of licensable activity applied for were approved without amendment.

The Sub-committee took into consideration that there were no objections to this application from Responsible Authorities. 

The Sub-committee took into consideration the representations made by Other Persons (local residents), however, their objections related to Item 6 on the agenda a separate premises within the same building, and the local residents confirmed that they had no objections or concerns with this application.

The Sub-committee took into consideration the Applicant’s representations made by their legal representative that the applications for agenda items 6 and 7 was for the premises that was split into two parts: (1) a private members club, (2) a hotel.

There will be no change of use and that there would be two tenants in the premises. Each of the two separate parts will be operated by two different operators and they each will require a separate premises licence. Since mid December 2023 the premises has been operating using the existing premises licence and Temporary Event Notices. There were no issues arising.

The Sub-committee noted the  ...  view the full decision text for item 7.

7.1  This application was discussed together with the application at agenda item 6.  The application was seeking authorisation for the provision of late night refreshment, provision of regulated entertainment and sale of alcohol on Monday to Sunday.

RESOLVED:

The decision – to follow

8.1 There were no temporary event notices for consideration.