Agenda, decisions and minutes

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 5 March, 2 and 3 April 2019 be confirmed and signed.

None.

I am writing to everyone who made a relevant representation in respect of the application made by Frank Olaniran of the Local Authority’s Crime Enforcement department, for a Review of the Premises Licence, for Pizza 2 Night 26a Catford Hill SE6 4PX.

In the matter of this Premises Licence review,the Committee has considered all the relevant representations made by all parties.

The Committee has made the following determination with a view to ensuring the promotion of the licensing objectives in accordance with the provisions of the secretary of state’s guidance and the principles of our licensing policy:

With a view to ensuring the promotion of the licensing objectives, in accordance with the provisions of the statutory guidance and the principles of our licensing policy, the licensing hours were restricted as follows:

• The provision of hot food be restricted on Monday to Thursday until 01:00; and
• The provision of hot food be restricted on Friday to Sunday until 02:00

In coming to a determination the Committee considered the following matters;

1.      Members of the Committee considered the representations made by the Crime, Enforcement and Regulation Service under the grounds of the prevention of Crime and disorder and the prevention of Public Disorder.

2.      The Committee noted that the premises have been operating outside the licensed hours. There has also been a breach of their Annex 2 conditions which states that a staff member from the premises, who is able to operate the CCTV, shall be on the premises at all times when the premises are open to the public.  In addition, following an inspection of the premises the following breaches were also observed:

·         Failure to secure a premises licence or a certified copy at the premises or to prominently display a summary of the licence.

·         Failure to produce a premises licence or a certified copy.

3.      Members of the Committee also noted that following trading beyond licensing hours, officers had offered the premises licence holder advice on how to uphold the licensing objectives. However after three months of being granted a licence to serve hot food until 4am, there is evidence that the business is still unable to keep within the condition of the licence and exceeding the permitted hours..

4.      The Committee noted that licensing officers still have not received a copy of the CCTV footage as requested by officers in February 2019.

5.      Members of the Committee noted the representation made by the premises licence holder. He said that the hard drive had been taken by the Police for a separate investigation that took place outside the premises and had never been returned. It was also noted that this took place 18 months ago and he did not receive a receipt for any of the three hard drives that were taken.

6.      The Premises Licence Holder said that the CCTV is now in operation, and he had evidence of this on his mobile phone. Members noted that the premises licence holder claimed that the food orders had  ...  view the full decision text for item 8.

3.1      The Chair welcomed all parties to the meeting and introductions were made. She then invited Ms Hooper to introduce the application.

3.2      Ms Hooper said that members were being asked to consider the application for a review of a premises licence sought by the Crime, Enforcement and Regulation service. She outlined the current licensed hours and said that the application had been advertised in accordance with regulation 39 of the Licencing Act.  

3.3      Mr Olaniran said that the Crime, Enforcement and Regulation Service have concerns regarding Pizza 2 Night’s ability to uphold key licensing objectives namely the prevention of Public Nuisance and the Prevention of Crime and Disorder.

3.4      On 19 February 2019 at approx. 04:18, CER officers observed a male, suspected to be a delivery driver, leaving Pizza 2 Night with a hot food bag.

After further investigation, it was confirmed that Pizza 2 Night are only licensed till 04:00 Monday – Sunday.

3.5      On 25 February 2019, Mr Olaniran met a male who advised that there was no manager on site. Upon requesting access to CCTV footage, the male advised that he did not know how to operate the CCTV. This is a breach of condition 2 of Annex. A receipt was found, dated the 25 February 2019, confirming the acceptance of an order at 04:26. Mr Olaniran asked to see other receipts, to which the male advised that they were kept by the manager offsite. While officers tried to investigate further, it was noted that tablets for acceptance of online orders were not generating order history.

3.6      Mr Olaniran was given the details for the manager, Alan Rasheed. He sent him an email requesting access to CCTV footage. The premises has failed to comply with condition 1 under annex 2 of the licence. Effort was also made to contact another member of staff to obtain CCTV footage via email. On the 26 February 2019, an email was received advising that there was an error with the playback No attempts were made to rectify this matter. Mr Olaniran said that he is of the view that this amounts to obstruction under s179 preventing him from investigating any offences under the Act

3.7      In addition Mr Olaniran said that members should note that 6 months ago;

-          Officers from this service observed the provision of hot food at 03.20 during a time when there was only a license till 02:00 

-          The premises was in breach of s57(4) – failure to secure a premises licence or a certified copy of the licence or to prominently display a summary of the licence

-          The premises was in breach of s57(7) – failure to produce a premises licence or a certified copy of the licence

3.8      Mr Olaniran said that despite this, the licensing service provided education on the failings of the business as a means of supporting the business and allowed an extension of the business hours to prevent further breaches. The variation was granted in good faith, with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

In the matter of the application for the variation of a Premises Licence, the Committee has considered the relevant representations made.

The Committee has made the following determination:

With a view to ensuring the promotion of the licensing objectives, in accordance with the provisions of the statutory guidance and the principles of our licensing policy, the application for the variation of a Premises Licence, was REFUSED.

In coming to a determination the Committee considered the following matters;

1.   The Committee noted the representations made by residents.

·         They live in flats which are 15-20 metres away from the beer garden. They overlook the garden and patrons can see into their homes.

·         30 patrons can be in the garden at any one time and this number of people will make noise that cannot be managed by staff.

·         The proposal to close the premises at 10pm would mean that children living in these flats would be unable to sleep particularly during the summer months.

·         Residents’ homes are very close to the premises but the garden cannot be sound proofed.

·         At the rear of the premises there are double doors. When music is playing, the noise that escapes when patrons open these doors, affects residents’ quality of life.

·         The garden was open to the public for two weeks in 2018. During this time residents were subjected to distressing abuse from patrons. They felt vulnerable in their own homes.

2.   The Committee noted the representation made by the applicant. The venue had been a music venue but is now more geared to food and drink. There is background music inside the premises and there were plans to create a pleasant outdoor area for patrons. The garden is close to the car park rather than the flats.

3.   The Committee also noted the representation that the premises is already in a suburban area. There are already natural sounds in the area including emergency sirens, aeroplanes, and people talking. If the application was granted, the sound from the garden would not be heard above these natural sounds.

4.   The applicant said that he has considered the events that took place when the garden was open and the abuse suffered by residents would not be repeated. He would ensure that staff police the area. He has also listened to advice from licensing officers; he has closed the garden and applied for a variation of his licence.

5.   The Committee agreed that the applicant had not addressed the concerns of the residents and agreed that granting the application would not promote the four licensing objectives.

4.1      The Chair welcomed all parties to the meeting and introductions were made. She then invited Ms Hooper to introduce the application.

            Licensing Officer   

4.2      Ms Hooper said that members were being asked to consider the application for the variation of a premises licence for Dirty South P.H 162 Lee High Road SE13 5PR. She outlined the current licence and said that this application is for the change of layout and associated plan for the rear outside area of the premises with a pop up bar/fixed bar. All licensable activities on the current licence are to be permitted in all areas of the new plan. Representations have been received from 24 interested parties including one local councillor. There are concerns that the granting of the licence is likely to cause an increase in noise nuisance for local residents.

            Applicant

4.3      Mr Gough said that the application is to extend the licensing activaty to the North West of the site in the outside area and use it as a beer garden. This area has been chosen because it is light and it catches the sun for most of the day. There is an area at the front of the premises used by smokers but is a shady area. The area at the rear of the premises will be used during the day and early evening as an area where patrons can drink, eat food and converse. It will not be a noisy area; music will not be played outside. The application is for a licensed outside area until 10pm so that they can make the most of the daylight hours.

4.4      Mr Gough said that a few years ago, the premises operated as a live music venue but the focus of the business now will be on food. There will be some background music inside the premises and he would like to create a pleasant outside area for patrons.

4.5      Councillor Howard asked what time the outside area would close. Mr Gough said the garden would close at 10pm. Councillor Howard said that the garden will not be in sunlight at 10pm. Mr Gough said that the garden would only be open until 10pm in the height of the summer and food would be served outside. There will be a maximum of 30 patrons in the garden. Councillor Howard said that from the pictures, residents live very close to the garden area, and 30 people socialising in the area would have a detrimental effect on them. Mr Gough said that the premises is next to the car park not residents’ homes.

4.6      Councillor Howard said that the garden area could be open 7 days a week until 10pm in the good weather. This would be very intrusive for residents. Mr Gough said that patrons in the beer garden can see residents on their balconies and residents can see down to the garden. There is no intention to hold parties outside, it is more an area for eating and drinking.

4.7      Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.