Members are reminded to consider the categories of interest in the Code of Conduct for Members to determine whether they have an interest in any agenda item and any action they should take. For further details, please see the attached note from the Monitoring Officer.

Members are reminded to declare the nature of the interest and the agenda item it relates to. Please note that ultimately it’s the Members’ responsibility to declare any interests form and to update their register of interest form as required by the Code.

If in doubt as to the nature of your interest, you are advised to seek advice prior to the meeting by contacting the Monitoring Officer or Democratic Services

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 4^th October 2022 as an accurate record of the proceedings.

The minutes of the Licensing Committee held on 4^th October 2022 were agreed.

To note the rules of procedure relating to determinations of licenses for sexual entertainment venues.

The rules of procedure were noted.

The Licensing Committee considered an application by Jack Henry of E1/Studio Space, 110 Pennington Street, London, E1 (“the Venue”) for a waiver from the requirements of Schedule 3 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 in respect of sexual entertainment venue (SEV) licensing.

The Committee heard from Mr. Charalambides on behalf of the applicant. He spoke to the application and informed the Committee that the test was that whether or not we thought it unreasonable or inappropriate to require the venue to be licensed under the SEV regime. The Home Office Guidance on SEVs was “unhelpful” and our own SEV policy, which Mr. Charalambides submitted was concerned with lap-dancing venues and similar, was silent on the issue of a waiver. The Venue was not a lap-dancing club, and the issue was what to do in respect of adult entertainment and displays of nudity between consenting adults in a regulated space. The Venue was licensed under the Licensing Act 2003 and self-regulated by the management and by its patrons.

Applicant/Counsel

Mr. Charalambides outlined the difficulties with the definition of relevant entertainment and whether it covers consenting adults attending a closed space together. He explained that the Venue did not know if it did or did not carry on relevant entertainment. He gave an outline of the events put on by the different promoters that the Venue worked with and the different clientele they each attracted. This meant that the Licensing Authority needed to decide, on a case-by-case basis, whether a particular event would or would not fall within that definition.

Mr. Charalambides explained that the premises licence imposes a number of conditions, such as a restriction on under-18s attending, but that the Act otherwise envisages adult entertainment taking place on licensed premises. There is a difference between sexual entertainment and adult entertainment. In short, however, he emphasised that the Venue placed safeguarding at its core, that every event was risk-assessed, and that the regulator’s role was to ensure the safety of the events.

He spoke briefly to the equality and diversity issues and provided the Committee with some updated statistics from the 2021 census.

Members asked a number of questions of both Mr. Charalambides and the Licensing Officer. For brevity, the decision sets out the key issues discussed.

Mr. Charalambides emphasised that the venue was not a lap-dancing venue and that the issues arising in such venues did not arise here. The premises licence, which contained SIA, CCTV and numerous other conditions, all dealt with safety. There were trained guardians as well from within the community.

Members queried why the waiver was sought for seven days per week and whether it was intended to carry on such events every day. Mr. Charalambides explained that the venue was restricted by the premises licence, which required licensable activity to cease at midnight Sunday to Thursday. The venue was therefore mostly intending to put on such events at weekends. He referred to the need to assess the entertainment on a case-by-case basis. This  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.1