Members are reminded to consider the categories of interest, identified 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, see the attached note from the Monitoring Officer.

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

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

There were no declartions of interest made.

The rules of procedure were noted.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Licensing Sub-Committee held on 2^nd & 14^th September and 12^th October 2021.

The minutes of the meeting were agreed and approved as a correct record. 

At the request of the Chair, Mr Mohshin Ali, Licensing Officer, introduced the report which detailed the application for a review of the premises licence for Oval Space, 29-32 The Oval, London E2 9DT. It was noted that the review had been triggered by the Metropolitan Police and supported by Environmental Health.  

At the request of the Chair, PC Mark Perry, Applicant and representing the Metropolitan Police, explained that reviewing a premises licence was not taken lightly and that he had worked with the original premises licence holder when the licence was first granted. He explained that a serious incident took place on 26^th June 2021 when a stabbing had occurred outside the venue, police went to visit the premises and witnessed one victim who had suffered a stab wound to his leg and another who had a stab wound in his stomach. Officers entered the venue, asked to see the incident log and found 108 bags of drugs confiscated between 2020-2021. This was a large amount considering the premises had been closed during most of that period,and 50 of those bags were found inside the venue, raising concerns that there was a failure in searching, seizing and handing to the police, items which were seized. The searching techniques used had been witnessed by PC Leban, who believed it to be incredibly poor and weak. 

It was also noted that from having reviewed CCTV images, the correct dispersal policy had not been carried out, people were hanging around outside the venue, SIA accredited staff were not making any effort to help disperse customers, and SIA accredited staff were not wearing their badges .  

The refusal log was also checked, and found not to have been kept up to date. As a nightclub opened until 6am with 1000 guests, management are expected to exercise a duty of care towards its guests, yet there were no incident logs which was incredibly concerning, with no details of victims or perpetrators of crimes. PC Perry said that when Mr Splain (manager at the time of the incident) was asked if he would feel safe for his family or friends to come to the venue he said ‘No’ which was evidence that the premises were not safe.

PC Perry then referred to his statements on page 77 of the agenda which detailed a number of incidents that had occurred at the premises over the year such as a sexual assault, stabbing at the premises etc. He said that during his second visit to the premises on 26^th September 2021, there were no signs of improvements having been made, as officers witnessed customers so intoxicated that they were falling over and walking into walls. This was highlighted to management at the time but was not recorded in the incident log. It was also noted a further three bags of drugs were seen clipped onto the clipboard left in the office, and with the pending review it was hoped that management would have tightened  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.1

At the request of the Chair, Mr Mohshin Ali, Licensing Officer, introduced the report which detailed the application for a new premises licence for Nilly’s Café, 16 Bell Lane, London E1 7LA. It was noted that objections had been received by residents and by the Environmental Health Officer.

At the request of the Chair, Ms Fezal Yurdakul, representing the Applicant, explained that the premises was a small coffee shop selling sandwiches, English breakfasts etc and now wanted to introduce the sale of alcohol as an  addition to a table meal. It was noted that alcohol would be served to customers seated at a table by a waiter and waitress service. She also explained that the off sales element of the application was to enable alcohol to be served at the tables in the outside area. 

Ms Yurdakul further explained that the applicant was aware of the cumulative impact zone and the noise and anti-social behaviour in the area, and wanted to work with the community to help reduce this. With the conditions proposed, the applicant believed that the premises would not add to the cumulative impact upon the area. It was explained that staff would receive regular training, and training documents would be signed, kept and made available on request. Notices would be displayed around the premises asking customers to leave quietly, and would have the manager’s contact details available. Management would ensure that no customers congregate outside the premises, and would maintain an incident log, as well as operate a Challenge 25 policy. Together with the applicant’s experience and proposed conditions, it was believed that the premises could be managed without adding to the cumulative impact upon the area.

Members then heard from Ms Nicola Cadzow, Environmental Health Officer. She referred to her statement on page 233 of the agenda and stated that the premises was in the cumulative impact zone. She was aware that the premises would operate within the Council’s framework hours, but raised concerns about the impact upon the area of customers accessing and egressing. She also believed that there would be a great likelihood of disturbance to residential premises during the hours sought, and there was insufficient information in the operating schedule as to how the applicant proposed preventing public nuisance.

In response to questions from Members the following was noted;

-       The capacity for the premises was 34 people.

-       The premises were not alcohol led, but a coffee shop.

-       The applicant withdrew off sales from the application at this meeting, as he only wanted to sell alcohol to customers seated at the premises and those on the two tables outside the premises. It was confirmed by the Licensing Officer that the tables were included in the plans, and therefore those tables would be covered by a licence permitting on sales of alcohol.

-       The applicant was willing to have a condition for alcohol to be sold ancillary to a meal.

-       That there would be no vertical drinking.

-       The applicant would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.2

The Sub Committee may be requested to extend the decision deadline for applications to be considered at forthcoming meetings due to the volume of applications requiring a hearing.  Where necessary, details will be provided at the meeting.

Nil items.