Agenda, decisions and minutes

1.1  Cllr Gilbert Smyth was duly elected as the Sub-Committee Chair.

2.1  Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Susan Fajana-Thomas and Cllr Yvonne Maxwell.

3.1  There were no declarations of interest.

4.1  There were no minutes for consideration and approval at the meeting.

·  Hearing procedure Type A – Item 6

·  Hearing procedure Type C – Item 7

5.1  The meeting participants noted the hearing procedure for the meeting (hearing procedure type C).

6.1  Agenda item 6, Abney Chapel, was withdrawn from the meeting agenda and would be re-scheduled for a future Licensing Sub-Committee meeting.

6.1  Agenda item 6, Abney Chapel, was withdrawn from the meeting agenda and would be re-scheduled for a future Licensing Sub-Committee meeting.

The Licensing Sub-committee, in considering this decision from the information presented to them within the report and at the hearing today and having regard to the promotion of the licensing objectives:

·  the prevention of crime and disorder;

·  public safety;

·  prevention of public nuisance; and

·  the protection of children from harm,

That the premises licence for Simmons (Formerly The Viaduct), 83 Rivington

Street, London, EC2A 3AY be revoked.

The Reasons for the decision:

The Licensing Sub-Committee carefully considered the application for a review of the premises licence from the Metropolitan Police Service (“the Police”) and their legal representative supported by the Licensing Authority, and 13 Other Persons (local residents). They also carefully considered the representations from the current licence holder’s representative, the current licence holder, the previous licence holder’s legal representative and the supporting evidence presented by them. The Sub-Committee decided that revocation of the premises licence was an appropriate and necessary course of action, given the repeated failures to comply with the terms and conditions of the premises licence.

The Sub-Committee also considered the other options available to them, as detailed in the report. They were satisfied that none of these would adequately address the likelihood of public nuisance reoccurring. They felt that revocation of the licence was necessary to prevent the licensing objectives being undermined in the future.

The Sub-Committee considered the evidence that led to the review being called

by the Police. They also took into consideration all the evidence presented from

all the parties including the local residents.

The premises "Simmons" was formerly known as “The Viaduct" and before that

"Cargo". The premises licence was reviewed following the receipt of an application by the Police dated 29th October 2021. The licence holder appealed

against the decision to revoke the licence made by the Licensing Sub-Committee on the 14th December 2021. Following negotiations, which included

revised and additional conditions and reduced hours, the appeal was settled

and agreed by a Consent Order dated 9 August 2022. The previous licence

holder breached the conditions of the premises licence within seven months of

the consent order being granted.

The premises has been in possession of a premises licence since 24^th November 2006. The licence was transferred to Simmons Waterloo Limited on 24th March 2023. 

The Sub-committee took into consideration that there were 13 Other Persons (local residents) who supported the application due to the impact that the premises had on local residents. The Sub-committee also took into account that the Licensing Authority also made representations in respect of public nuisance and anti-social behaviour.

The Police made representations that they were seeking revocation of the premises licence due to serious concerns about the licensing objectives being undermined following a serious incident in February 2023 at the premises.

On Saturday 11th February 2023 at about 2300 hours an assault took place inside the premises between customers which resulted in a man sustaining serious injuries. The Police were informed of this incident on 13th February.

The Police investigation found on 11th  ...  view the full decision text for item 7.

 7.1  The Licensing Sub-Committee heard from Hackney Council’s Principal Licensing Officer (Acting), the legal representative on behalf of the applicant (the Police), responsible authorities (Licensing), the legal representative for the premises licence holder, other persons (in objection) and the legal representative for the former operator of the premises, the Viaduct.  The application was for the review of a premises licence for the Simmons, 83 Rivington Street, London, EC2A 3AY on the basis of the prevention of crime and disorder and public safety. The Licensing Authority had made representations on the grounds of the prevention of public nuisance while the other persons had 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.

7.2  The Sub-Committee noted that the premises Simmons was formerly known as The Viaduct and before that Cargo. The premises licence was reviewed following the receipt of an application by the Police dated 29 October 2021. The holder of the licence appealed to Magistrates against the decision to revoke the licence made by the Licensing Sub-Committee on 14 December 2021. Following negotiation, which included revised and additional conditions and reduced hours, the appeal was settled and agreed through a Consent Order.

7.3  There was a brief discussion between the legal representative for the premises licence holder and the legal representative for the former operator of the premises as to who would own the premises if the licence was revoked.  The former party claimed that if the Sub-Committee was minded to revoke the licence it would revert back to the former owner while the latter party disputed this and insisted that Simmons was now the owner of the premises.

7.4  During the course of the meeting there was a discussion where a number of points were raised including the following:

·  In response to a question about the Arch on site, the premises licence holder replied that it would operate as a restaurant, in which the sale of alcohol would not be sold, supplied, or consumed on site unless it was ancillary to a table meal. The founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Simmons rejected a suggestion about making the sale and consumption of alcohol ancillary to a table meal applicable across the entire premises;

·  Reply to a question about how local residents would contact the premises to address any concerns around noise and disruption, the founder and CEO of Simmons replied that he was keen to build a good relationship with neighbours and that, for example, the Designated Premises Supervisor’s (DPS) contact details would be made available. They added that they would not be able undertake this however, until they were informed of the outcome of the Licensing Sub-Committee;

·  The founder and CEO of Simmons agreed to hold meetings with local residents;

·  Some of the other persons were of the view that the premises had not made an effort to engage with local residents while others welcomed the opportunity to meet the founder  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.1  None.