Agenda item

Premises Licence: Original PFC, Ground Floor Shop Unit, 305 Mare Street, E8 1EJ

Meeting of Licensing Sub Committee E, Tuesday 5 July 2022 2.00 pm (Item 8.)

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 amendments:

The hours for licensable activities, shall be, as agreed:

Opening Hours:

Sunday to Wednesday 12:00 - 02:00 hours

Thursday to Saturday 12:00 - 03:00 hours

Late Night Refreshment:

Sunday to Wednesday 23:00 - 01:30 hours

Thursday to Saturday 23:00 - 02:30 hours

And the following additional conditions:

All staff shall receive training on induction and be given refresher training every six months for their role, in the relevant provisions of the Licensing Act and Premises Licence, acknowledging customers, serving customers in turn, explaining any delays in cooking times, monitoring customer conduct while waiting for their order or eating in the shop, ensuring no alcohol is brought into or consumed on the premises, avoiding conflict, monitoring the outside of the premises, discouraging people loitering outside and safeguarding children. A written training record shall be kept for each member of staff and be produced to Police or Authorised Officers on request.

Relevant notices shall be prominently displayed by the entry/exit door and servery as appropriate advising customers:

That CCTV is in operation;

Of the relevant provisions of the Licensing Act;

i) To respect residents, leave the restaurant and area quietly, not to loiter outside the premises and to dispose of litter legally;

ii) That no alcohol shall be taken into or be consumed in the restaurant at any time;

iii) Not to rev engines or play loud music while waiting outside the premises;

iv) That no unaccompanied children or young person under 18 shall be permitted in the premises or to be served after 23.00 and during permitted licensed hours.

A minimum of three (3) trained staff shall be on duty in the premises after 23.00 and during permitted licensed hours from Sunday to Thursday and a minimum of four (4) trained staff shall be on duty after 23.00 and during permitted licensed hours on Friday and Saturday.

All couriers and customers shall be instructed not to leave engines running, close car doors loudly or play loud music while outside the shop.

Customers shall not be allowed to bring alcohol into the restaurant or consume it on the premises at any time.

A written dispersal policy shall be drafted & regularly reviewed with copies provided to the Licensing Authority & Police Licensing Team.

From 23.00 until the end of permitted licensed hours, a member of staff shall be tasked to monitor the outside area of the restaurant to ensure that people do not stand outside the premises eating or loitering there. The staff member shall politely ask people loitering outside to quietly leave the shop frontage and vicinity immediately. At close the staff member shall ensure that all customers have left the shop frontage.

An ongoing Risk Assessment shall be undertaken on a daily basis by the Premises Licence Holder or a Manager/ Supervisor (nominated in writing by the Premises Licence Holder), taking into account any local knowledge or advice received from the Metropolitan Police Service to determine whether additional staff or SIA Licensed Door Supervisors need to be on duty during permitted licensed hours on any day. Details of the Risk Assessment shall be recorded in the Incident Book.

A Fire Risk Assessment and Emergency Plan shall be prepared & regularly reviewed. Staff shall be given appropriate fire safety training

No deliveries of goods to the premises or removals of rubbish shall take place between 23.00 and 05.00.

A phone number shall be clearly displayed to the front of the premises for residents to call with any concerns. Details of any complaints and the outcome shall be recorded by the Premises Licence Holder or duty manager in the appropriate section of the Incident Book.

The shop front shall be kept tidy at all times and swept at close. Adequate litter bins shall be provided for customer use and shall be regularly emptied.

Reasons for the decision

The application for Late Night Refreshment has been approved with the above amended hours and additional conditions proposed by the Applicant because the Licensing Sub-committee was satisfied that the licensing objectives would not be undermined.

The Sub-committee took into consideration that Environmental Enforcement agreed conditions in advance of the hearing with the applicant and withdrew their representation. The Sub-committee noted that there were no representations from local residents in the area, and apart from the Police objection there were no other objections from Responsible Authorities.

The Sub-committee took into consideration that the Metropolitan Police Service (“the Police”) maintained their objection that the proposed hours are excessive and does not comply with the Council’s Licensing Policy LP3 Core Hours. The Sub-committee heard that although the business wanted additional hours there were concerns about the potential for anti-social behaviour and disorder occurring. The Sub-committee noted that the capacity for the premises is 28.

The Sub-committee heard that the Applicant is seeking the additional hours due to customer demand and to make the business viable.

The Sub-committee took into account representations made by the Applicant’s representative and the Applicant that the premises hours were still less than other nearby late night premises and it is a family friendly premises, and there was no supply or consumption of alcohol on the premises.

After hearing from the Applicant, the Applicant’s representative, and from the Metropolitan Police Service, the Sub-committee was satisfied with the additional conditions proposed by the Applicant and agreed by the Police together with the reduced hours that the Applicant agreed to would mitigate any negative impact that granting the licence would have on the area. The Sub-committee also took into account that the Applicant provided a Dispersal Policy, and there was a condition that customers will not loiter outside the premises which is important late at night to prevent anti-social behaviour. The Sub-committee also took into account that SIA door security would be risk assessed.

The Sub-committee took into consideration that the Applicant demonstrated that they were a responsible operator who had addressed any concerns raised. The Sub-committee felt that the premises due to its size and capacity would have less of a negative impact on the area.

The Sub-committee took into consideration that each application is considered on its own merits.

Having taken all of the above factors into consideration, the Licensing Sub-committee was satisfied, when granting this amended application for Late Night Refreshment, that the licensing objectives would not be undermined.

Public Informative

The Applicant is encouraged to continue working with the Metropolitan Police Service to prevent any negative impact in the area.

The Applicant is strongly encouraged to use sustainable cutlery, plates, cups, food containers, and recyclable disposable materials to avoid using plastic disposable items to protect the local area, to prevent litter, and to protect the environment.

Minutes:

8.1 The sub-committee heard from the Principal Licensing Officer, the Agent for the applicant and the Metropolitan Police. During the course of submissions and a discussion of the application, the sub-committee noted the following:

· Since the publication of the report, the applicant had submitted additional information.

· The provision of late night refreshment had been amended to 03:00 hours on Friday and Saturday.

· It was confirmed that the applicant would be installing CCTV cameras and implementing further measures to address the police’s concerns relating to public nuisance and disorder.

· There had been no reported incidents or complaints relating directly to this premises and no representations had been received from Other Persons.

· The applicant could not agree to the police’s request to reduce the hours further as 03.00 hours would enable him to operate as a viable business and pay his expenses.

· The applicant was a responsible operator and had submitted further conditions to address the police’s concerns including reducing the opening hours, adopting a dispersal policy and employing SIA door security supervisors on Fridays and Saturdays following a risk assessment.

· The police representative expressed concern that the proposed hours exceeded the Council's Core Hours policy and that the later hours would encourage intoxicated customers to remain in the area longer leading to a rise in public nuisance and crime and disorder that would have a negative impact on local residents.

· It was confirmed that the capacity inside the premises was 28 seated.

· The applicant clarified that he would be operating a family and child friendly business that offered a healthy menu including chicken and salads.

· The agent for the applicant emphasised that the hours had been reduced from 04.00 hours to 03.00 hours to address the police’s concern and argued that a shop nearby was open until 04.00 hours had been attracting and keeping customers in the area until the early hours.

· The police’s representative clarified that she was not withdrawing her objections and although she welcomed the additional conditions they did not allay her concerns in relation to people remaining in the area beyond the core hours and a potential rise in anti-social behaviour, crime and disorder.

· Discussion ensued about the proposed hours and the applicant agreed to the opening hours from Sunday to Wednesday 12.00 to 02.00 hours and Thursday to Saturday from 12.00 to 03.00 hours, and late night refreshment from Sunday to Wednesday from 23.00 to 01.30 hours and Thursday to Saturday from 23.00 to 02.30 hours.

8.2 The parties made closing remarks.

RESOLVED:

The decision