Agenda, decisions and draft minutes
Venue: The Council Chamber, Town Hall, Mulberry Place, 5 Clove Crescent, London, E14 2BG
Contact: Simmi Yesmin, Democratic Services Tel: 020 7364 4120, E-mail: simmi.yesmin@towerhamlets.gov.uk
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DECLARATIONS OF DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTEREST PDF 64 KB To note any declarations of interest made by Members, including those restricting Members from voting on the questions detailed in Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act, 1992. See attached note from the Monitoring Officer.
Minutes: There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest.
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To note the rules of procedure which are attached for information. Additional documents: Minutes: The rules of procedure were noted.
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ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION |
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Additional documents:
Minutes: At the request of the Chair, Ms Kathy Driver, Licensing Officer, introduced the report which detailed the application for a new premises licence for The Grocer, 4 Crispin Square, Crispin Place, London E1 6DW. It was noted that there had been objections from local residents and the Metropolitan Police.
At the request of the Chair, Mr James Anderson, Licensing Representative on behalf of the Applicant asked to amend the application to include a 20 minute drinking up time within the hours applied for.
Mr Anderson noted the Cumulative Impact Zone and the remits of the Policy and was aware this was against the introduction of new premises licences. However he explained that there was already an existing premises licence for this venue and therefore was not adding a new premises licence but merely replacing an existing licence.
It was noted that this was a different style of business and not a like for like application as the venue was a currently a restaurant. It was noted the application was for a public house with a strong emphasis on food.
Members were shown maps and photographs of the premises and explained that there would be little change to the plans except for an introduction of a new outside seating area called the northern terrace, having a capacity of 60 seats giving customers more opportunity to sit. He also referred to the noise impact report which considered that there would not be a significant noise impact arising from the change in use.
Members then heard from Mr Ed Turner, Applicant, who explained that he was in the process of applying for planning permission for the change of planning use from a A3 premises to A4 premises and was looking to run a good well managed company. He explained that he had invested a lot of money into the premises and would not want to jeopardise relations with local residents. He explained that It was not an entertainment venue or live music venue but would be selling good drinks and good food, and together with his 19 years of experience in the industry he was confident that it would benefit the community.
At the request of the Chair, PC Alan Cruickshank, Metropolitan Police explained that Crispin Place and the surrounding area was already very busy in terms of licensed premises and if this licence was to be granted it would be the first public house inside the market area. It was noted that pubs attract more people who are specifically there for drinking alcohol although some will also consume food. It was further noted that the saturation policy was intended to reduce the number of vertical drinking establishments in the CIZ. Since the introduction of the policy and the CIZ, licences have been granted in this area but the continuing introduction of new licensed premises in relation to pubs would only compound the problems in the CIZ. This would also give potential rise to crime and disorder and noise ... view the full minutes text for item 3.1 |
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Additional documents: Minutes: At the request of the Chair, Ms Kathy Driver, Licensing Officer, introduced the report which detailed the application for a review of the premises licence for Sweetpoint, 2 Old Montague Street, London E1 5NG. It was noted that the review had been triggered by Trading Standards and supported by Licensing Authority, Metropolitan Police and Local Residents.
At the request of the Chair, Mr Ian Mosely, Trading Standards explained that this premise had been subject to a previous review relating to instances of contraband goods being found on the premises, sales of age-restricted goods to underage persons and an observed sale of alcohol to an intoxicated person. As a result of that review the licence was suspended.
It was noted that on 23rd and 24th May 2014 the premises was visited and the Premises Licence Holder (PLH) was found to be in possession of a small amount of contraband tobacco on each occasion. Again on 19th August 2014 officers searched the premises and resulted in the discovery of 6720 cigarettes and 600g of hand rolling tobacco and 3kg of shisha tobacco all contraband and consequently not carrying the legal required warning statements etc.
Mr Moseley stated that it was apparent that the PLH continues to purchase and deal in contraband goods and therefore Trading Standards had no confidence in the management of the premises and are concerned that the PLH would continue to act in defiance of the law and may continue to obtain contraband goods, including both alcohol and tobacco.
Members also heard from PC Alan Cruickshank, Metropolitan Police and Mohshin Ali, Licensing Services who supported the review application and asked Members to note their representations contained in the agenda.
Members also heard from Jessica Wild, from Hopetown Hostel and Jon Shapiro, local resident, who also expressed grave concerns about the management of the premises, selling to extreme vulnerable persons who were often intoxicated and drinks sold on credit and selling to women from the hostel and to known street drinkers in the area.
It was noted that the PLH was not present at the meeting. The Clerk confirmed that the PLH had been sent notification letters and agendas within the prescribed timelines. However, he had emailed to say he wouldn’t be attending as he was intending to sell the business. The Licensing Officer had written to him asking him to attend as it related to his premises licence.
Members briefly discussed amongst themselves and the Chair stated that;
The Licensing Objectives
In considering the application, Members were required to consider the same in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (as amended), the Licensing Objectives, the Home Office Guidance and the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy.
Consideration
Each application must be considered on its own merits and the Chair stated that the Sub Committee had carefully considered all of the evidence before them and had heard representations from the Applicant, Trading Standards and all interested parties supporting the review. It was ... view the full minutes text for item 3.2 |
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Application to Review the Premises Licence for SD Retail, 2 Spey Street, London E14 6PZ PDF 91 KB Additional documents: Minutes: At the request of the Chair, Ms Kathy Driver, Licensing Officer, introduced the report which detailed the application for a review of the premises licence for SD Retail, 2 Spey Street, London E14 6PZ. It was noted that the review was triggered by the Metropolitan Police and supported by the Licensing Authority.
At the request of the Chair PC Mark Perry, Metropolitan Police explained that the Police had received many complaints from residents in and around Spey Street regarding anti-social behaviour caused by large groups of youth who congregated around the shops in Spey Street. He stated that the Police believed that the anti-social behaviour was linked to the off licence at 2 Spey Street. As complaints had been received alleging that the shop sold to those people responsible for the crime and disorder in the area.
It was also noted that a test purchase was conducted and a 15 year old female cadet was sold alcohol, and officers had also observed an intoxicated person being sold alcohol on credit.
It was noted that CCTV footage was not provided at request of a Police Officer, that there was no till roll and therefore no receipts given to customers, which described the nature of how the premises was run. There was little confidence that any further conditions on the licence would help as the shop was a magnet for anti-social behaviour and therefore urged Members to revoke the licence.
Members also heard from Mohshin Ali. Licensing Officer, who supported the review and detailed a list of complaints received against the premises and a number of conditions breached.
Members then heard from Mr Benjamin Burge, Counsel on behalf of the Designated Premises Supervisor, Mr Dhaka, who explained that the premise was a magnet for youth to congregate outside but not the cause of anti-social behaviour.
He explained that the test purchase was an isolated incident of an underage sale and that the employee who had sold the alcohol had been fined and has since been trained in selling alcohol responsibly and assured Members that such conduct would not happen again.
Mr Burge explained that due to the demographic of the area people were limited to what they could purchase due to affordability. He explained that Mr Dhaka has never caused problems and realised that the underage sale should not have happened. It was noted that it was a very small sized shop, had CCTV newly installed and Mr Dhaka would work with the Police to promote the licensing objectives.
Mr Burge concluded that Mr Dhaka accepted the seriousness of the breach of condition and realised the management of the business needed to be changed and would be happy to accept conditions to assist the shop in promoting the licensing objectives.
In response to questions the following was noted;
- That one full time staff and 1 part time staff worked at the shop. - That youth have often abused and attacked Mr Dhaka - Mr Dhaka ... view the full minutes text for item 3.3 |