MOVED
by Councillor Linda Bray, SECONDED by Councillor Jennifer
Brathwaite
RESOLVED: That Councillor Fred Cowell
be elected Chair for the meeting.
Councillor Jennifer Braithwaite had been appointed by the Chief
Whip as a Substitute Member of the Committee ahead of the Licensing
Sub-Committee and was eligible to sit as a committee member for
this meeting.
Under Standing Order 4.4, where any councillor has a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (as defined in the
Members’ Code of Conduct (para. 4)) in any matter to be
considered at a meeting of the Council, a committee, sub-committee
or joint committee, they must withdraw from the meeting room during
the whole of the consideration of that matter and must not
participate in any vote on that matter unless a dispensation has
been obtained from the Monitoring Officer.
Minutes:
Councillor Jennifer Brathwaite declared that in relation to
Theatro, (item 4c), she was a Gipsy Hill ward
councillor. However, she had no
involvement with the application.
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the
previous meetings held on 9 June, 12 July and 20 July 2021 be
approved and signed by the Chair as correct records of the
proceedings.
The
Sub-Committee was informed that this was an application for a new
premises licence. The Sub-Committee’s attention was drawn to
Chapters 2, 3, 8, 9, 10 and 16 of the Statutory Guidance, and to
Section 5, Policies 1 and 8, Appendices 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9 of
the Statement of Licensing Policy, as the ones particularly
relevant to this application. The options available to the
Sub-Committee were set out in paragraphs 5.10 and 5.11 of the
report on page 38 of the agenda papers.
The
Licensing Officer confirmed:
This
was an application for a new premises licence submitted by Liberty
Cheesesteak LS Ltd., at Unit 5, 22 Leake Street.
The
application was seeking permission for the provision of films,
indoor sporting events, live music, recorded music and sale by
retail of alcohol from Sunday to Thursday 10:00-00:00 and Friday to
Saturday 10:00-01:00.
The
application also sought late night refreshment Sunday to Thursday
23:00 to 00:00 and Friday and Saturday 23:00 to 01:00
The
premises proposed to open from 10:00 to 00:30 Sunday to Thursday
and 10:00-01:30 Friday and Saturday.
The
applicant had requested non-standard hours to 02:00 on New
Year’s Eve.
Three
representations had been received against the application from
residents, based on the prevention of public nuisance and crime and
disorder. The representations could be
found from pages 65 to 70 of the agenda papers.
Following publication of the papers, the applicant submitted
additional information which had been circulated to all parties and
Members ahead of the meeting. The
papers included an overview of the business, a dispersal policy,
amended application form with amended hours and
conditions, photographs of Leake Street, and a response to those who had made
representations.
The
applicant, their licensing agent and two residents who made
representations were in attendance.
A map
and photographs of the premises was circulated to
Members.
Presentation by the Applicant
In
response to questions raised by the Chair in relation to the hours
proposed and how issues raised by way of objections had been
responded to, Mr Tom Bushnell, the applicant’s solicitor
informed the Sub-Committee that:
Passyunkwas a
restaurant and bar celebrating the culture of Philadelphia - the
City of Brotherly Love - by providing traditional food for a range
of guests.
The
venue had attracted restaurant critics and was valued by its
customers.
The
applicant took his premises licence very seriously and had
established positive relationships with residents and housing
associations, noting the dispersal policy and conditions that had
been provided.
The
proposed terminal hours had been reduced by one hour, which was
earlier than the suggested terminal hours proposed in
Lambeth’s Licensing Policy being 02:00 on
Saturday. The proposed hours were also
in line with the preferred hour policy times of 00:00 on
Sunday.
He
suggested that some applicants would have insisted on keeping the
original times proposed, especially as no objections from the
responsible authorities had been received to the
application.
The
Sub-Committee was informed that this was an application for a
variation of the premises licence. The Sub-Committee’s
attention was drawn to Chapters 2, 3, 8, 9, and 10 of the Statutory
Guidance, and to Chapter 5, Policies 1, 3, 4, 8 and 16, Appendices
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the Statement of Licensing Policy, as
the ones particularly relevant to this application. The options
available to the Sub-Committee were set out in paragraphs 5.7, 5.8
and 5.9 of the report on pages 37-38 of the agenda
papers.
The
Licensing Officer confirmed:
This
was an application to vary the premises licence for Charcoal
Express, 266 Wandsworth Road.
The
premises currently operated as a restaurant and take-away until
00:00 and as a delivery service from 00:00 to 01:00 Monday to
Thursday and 02:00 Friday and Saturday.
The
application was seeking to provide late night refreshment until
04:00 allowing both deliveries and for customers to order
take-aways at the premises.
The
application was also seeking to extend the opening hours of the
premises until 04:00 Monday to Sunday.
Representations had been received from the Licensing Authority,
Public Protection Team, one resident and one local councillor based
on all four licensing objectives (prevention of crime and disorder,
public safety, prevention of public nuisance and protection of
children from harm). Copies of the
representations could be found on pages 103-109 of the main agenda
papers.
The
Licensing Authority conducted a visit to the premises on 12 June
2021 and identified four conditions that had not been adhered to by
the applicant. Details of the breaches
were listed on page 80 of the main agenda papers.
Mr
Iqbal Rana, applicant, Ms Bina Patel, Mr Oladayo Bello and Mr Chilton, resident, were in
attendance.
A copy
of the current premises licence could be found on pages 111-118 of
the main agenda papers.
No
issues had been received since the previous enforcement which
identified breaches on 12 June 2021.
A map and photographs
of the premises was circulated to Members.
Presentation by the Applicant
Mr
Iqbal Rana, applicant, informed the Sub-Committee that:
He did
not understand the original terms of his licence that had been
granted, in relation to the opening hours.
He
commenced his business in February 2021 but could not open properly
as a result of the pandemic. However,
Government restrictions had now provided him with an opportunity to
work with residents.
He had
previously applied for a terminal hour of 02:00 to provide good
customer service to the community and was willing to review how his
new business operated. However, he had
been granted a terminal hour until 00:00 and after that time
believed he could open the shop for delivery only but not
take-away.
On
being questioned further regarding his licence, the applicant
clarified that he believed his business could only operate as a
take-away service but did not realise he must operate as a delivery
service after 00:00.
Councillor Fred Cowell, Chair, confirmed that he was a resident
in Gipsy Hill ward but lived quite away from the premises and did
not consider himself conflicted in relation to his consideration of
this matter.
Presentation by the Licensing Officer
The
Sub-Committee was informed that this was an application for a new
premises licence. The Sub-Committee’s attention was drawn to
Chapters 2, 3, 8, 9, 10 and 16 of the Statutory Guidance, and to
Section 5, Policies 1, 3, 4, 8 and 16, Appendices 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
and 8 of the Statement of Licensing Policy, as the ones
particularly relevant to this application. The options available to
the Sub-Committee were set out in paragraphs 5.10 an 11 of the
report on page 38 of the agenda papers.
The
Licensing Officer confirmed:
This
was an application for a new premises licence for Theatro,69-71
Westow Hill.
The
application was seeking authorisation for live music, recorded
music, performance of dance, anything similar to music or dance and
the sale of alcohol for consumption on and off the premises from
Sunday to Wednesday 11:00-00:00 and Thursday to Saturday 11:00 to
01:00.
The
application also sought authorisation for the provision of
late-night refreshment Sunday to Wednesday 23:00 to 00:00, and
Thursday to Saturday 23:00 to 01:00.
·In addition to those hours, the applicant seeks
non-standard timings until 03:00 for Sunday over a bank holiday
weekend and from the start of permitted hours on New Year’s
Eve to the start of permitted hours on New Year’s
Day.
19
representations had been received in respect of the
application. Of this number, 14
objections were received from the
Licensing Authority; Police; Helen Hayes, MP and 11 members of the
public, with the balance supporting representations
coming members of the
public. The representations made were
based on all four licensing objectives, the prevention of public
nuisance, prevention of crime and disorder, public safety and the
protection of children from harm. The representations could be
found from pages 141 to 176 of the agenda papers.
-A revised operating schedule, including amended
hours;
-A sound engineer report;
-Letters of support; and
-Conditional Building Regulation Report and the Fire
Authority’s response.
Sally,
Stapleford, Rosemary Porter and Michelle Jarman also provided additional statements to their
representations. These had been
circulated to the applicant and Members ahead of the
meeting.
Arron
Curtis, who had been called as a witness by the applicant,
submitted a representation in support of the premises.
All
additional documents received in respect of the application had
been circulated to all parties and Members.
The
applicant and their licensing agent, four residents who made
representations, Miss Patel and PC Dave Watson were in
attendance.
A meeting of the Licensing
Sub-Committee has been convened as a result of an objection raised
by the Police regarding Temporary Event Notices (TEN). Section 105 (2)(a) (of the Licensing Act 2003
[part5]) requires a minimum of two days’ notice to be
given.
The Chair is of the opinion that
although the meeting has not been convened with at least five clear
days’ notice, it should proceed now as a matter of urgency to
consider the objections to the TEN because of the special
circumstances of the need to comply with the statutory requirements
of the Licensing Act 2003.