Agenda, decisions and minutes

1.1  Councillor Peters was duly elected as Chair.

2.1  There were no apologies for absence.

3.1  There were no declarations of interest.

4.1  RESOLVED – that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 26 September 2017 be AGREED as an accurate record.

5.1  The Chair set out the hearing procedure, as set out on page 5 of the agenda.

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;
• The protection of children from harm,

the application has been approved in accordance with the Council’s licensing statement and the proposed conditions set out in paragraph 8.1 of the report, with the following amendments:

·  Opening hours of the premises:

Mon – Sun  12:00 – 22:30

·  Hours for licensable activities:

Supply of Alcohol   Mon – Sun   12:00 – 22:00

·  Conditions 8 and 9 to be deleted.

·  Condition 11 be amended to read ‘After 10pm there shall be no more than 4 patrons and/or smokers outside the venue at any one time’.

·  Condition 12 be amended to read ‘The maximum capacity of the premises at any one time will be 50 excluding staff’.

·  Condition 27 be amended to read ‘The primary use of these premises shall be as a gallery, displaying and selling artwork. Alcohol shall only be sold to guests attending a ticketed organised event at the premises that is ancillary to its use as a gallery, and which event is operated by or on behalf of the applicant, Lara Florentino’.

and the following additional conditions:

·  The licensee, DPS or a member of staff will always be present at the venue whenever alcohol is being served or sold.

·  The outside area to the rear of the premises is not to be used by any customers/visitors or patrons at any time.

·  Deliveries will only take place on any day between 07:00 and 20:00 hours

·  The Licensee’s premises are situated in an area within which refuse may only be left on the public highway at certain times (time bands). If the Licensee’s waste carrier cannot or does not comply by collecting the refuse within an hour after the close of any time band imposed by the waste authority, the Licensee must remove the refuse from the public highway and/or keep it within the premises until such time as his/her waste carrier arrives to collect the refuse’

Reasons for the decision

The application has been approved, with the above amendments and additional conditions, as the Licensing Sub-Committee was satisfied that the licensing objectives would not be undermined. 

The Licensing Sub-Committee considered that, given the location of the premises and the acute problems suffered in this particular area of the Dalston SPA, as described in the representations from the responsible authority and other persons, the reduced operating and licensable hours, as detailed within the decision, are both proportionate and appropriate. The applicants were reminded of the opportunity to use Temporary Event Notices (TENs) to operate later hours, if required, and that the hours granted would allow the licensee to effectively demonstrate her ability to manage the premises with alcohol sales now being included as a regular feature, which was not the case before, without undermining the  ...  view the full decision text for item 6.

6.1  Mike Smith, Principal Licensing Officer, introduced the application for a premises licence. Mike Smith advised that the Police had withdrawn their representation following an agreement that all licensable activities would cease at 23:30 hours and agreed conditions and Venue Management Policy. He added that conditions 8 and 9 within paragraph 8.1 of the report be deleted, as they were repeated elsewhere.

6.2  Mike Smith advised that the Other Person had submitted some additional information, which was previously circulated to members.

6.3  Matthew Lauezzari, Agent, introduced the application on behalf of the applicant. Mr Lauezzari stated that the licence applied for would include the basement area of the building, which since September 2015 had been operating as an art gallery. There was no intention to sell alcohol every day and alcohol sales would be ancillary to the operation of the premises as an art gallery.

6.4  Mr Lauezzari stated that the Applicant was an established artist and her partner had 20 years experience of working within the hospitality industry. A number of meetings had taken place between the various responsible authorities, including discussions with local residents. The Police had since withdrawn their representation.

6.5  The premises had received no complaints from other responsible authorities and the Agent stated that the Applicant was a responsible operator and was a good neighbour. The Applicant confirmed that the outside area would not be used by customers/visitors or patrons at any time.

6.6  Channing Riviere, Principal Licensing Officer, set out the representation from the Licensing Service. Mr Riviere stated that the main concerns surrounding the venue were the location of the premises within the Dalston Special Policy Area (SPA) and the cumulative impact an additional licensed venue would have on the surrounding area. He was also concerned about the legacy of the licence going forward, especially if the Applicant was to move on.

6.7  Mr Riviere suggested that the premises should have a closing time of 10.30pm, with alcohol sales finishing at 10pm. If the Applicant wished to operate later, on occasion, they had the opportunity to apply for Temporary Event Notices (TENs). He referred to a previous application for an alcohol licence submitted in 2014 which had been refused. The Agent subsequently advised that this was a separate operator and was not connected to the Applicant.

6.8  Julian Izzo, Other Person, outlined his objection to the application. Mr Izzo referred to a recent planning application for the site, which was granted permission in February 2017. He was concerned about the scope for expansion of the premises and any future development.

6.9  Mr Izzo suggested that the Applicant had no experience of operating a licensed premises and questioned why the use of TENs was not considered as an alternative, especially as only one TEN was used last year.

6.10  Mr Izzo believed that the hours being applied for were too late and would generate noise nuisance and disturb neighbouring residents. He referred to some photos which had been previously circulated, which showed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The application was deferred at the request of the applicant.

7.1  The application was deferred at the request of the applicant.

8.1  There were no Temporary Event Notices to consider.