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 Procedures were noted.
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ITEMS FOR CONSIDERATION |
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Application for Premises Licence for Sonos Studios, 7-9 Old Nichol Street, London E2 7HR PDF 85 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: At the request of the Chair, Mr Alex Lisowski, Licensing Officer, introduced the report which detailed the application for a new premises licence for Sonas Studios, 7-9 Old Nichol Street, London E2 7HR. It was noted that there had been an objections from local residents and a Local Resident Group.
At the request of the Chair, Mr Jeremy Bark, Legal Representative on behalf of the Applicant made amendments to the application by reducing the number of live events from 24 to 12 per calendar year and reducing the maximum capacity of 175 instead of 200. As well as this there were further reductions in the number of events for other activities.
He explained that Sonas Studios was a studio and art centre. That it was for regulated entertainment only with no ability to sell alcohol. He explained that regulated entertainment was ancillary to the main purpose of the premises which was for promotion and sale of hi-fi equipment and technology and to help promote the brand.
He explained that careful thought went into the process and design of the premises, the location of the venue etc. he explained that they were on border line of whether to apply for a licence, whether it was needed or not but as a precautionary measure a licence was applied for and having a licence would help keep safeguards in place. It was noted that that having consulted with the Police and Licensing Authority, conditions had been agreed.
It was noted that the premise was in the cumulative impact zone however this did not apply to the application as there was no application for late night refreshments or sale of alcohol. Mr Tom Panton, Applicant had met with residents and made amendments to the application, these amendments were not necessary but more of a goodwill gesture for residents. It was noted that planning permission was granted in November 2014 and certain issues raised by residents had been dealt with and conditioned via Planning permission.
Mr Bark explained that conditions had been proposed to control every eventuality, he said that they would operate a non-smoking policy. Where customers will be asked not to smoke and if they wanted to smoke they would not be allowed re-entry to the premises. He said that the conditions were comprehensive and level of thought, care and control was given to them.
Members then heard from Mr Brad Lochore, local resident who stated that he had lived and worked in the area for 20 years and was involved in the community. He explained that the premise was opposite the Boundary Estate, a residential area. He expressed concerns about the area being used as a car park, noise nuisance especially when people are leaving the premises, and potential for anti-social behaviour, he explained that as a result of anti-social behaviour, good families were leaving the area. He also expressed concerns about the number of events and number of people attending the premises.
Members then heard from Mr Johnathan ... view the full minutes text for item 3.1 |
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Additional documents: Minutes: At the request of the Chair, Mr Alex Lisowski, Licensing Officer, introduced the report which detailed the application for a review of the premises licence for The New Globe, 359 Mile End Road, London E3 4QS. It was noted that the review had been triggered by the Metropolitan Police.
At the request of the Chair, PC Mark Perry, Metropolitan Police explained that there had been a serious number of assaults and disorder in and round the premises. It was noted that the premises is always very busy and all assaults take place after 11pm at night. PC Perry had requested management for a reduction in the licensable hours, but management had said no as most of their trade was after 11pm.
He explained that this was a late night venue where people go to after events. It was noted that events of disorder on 15th April and 15th June 2014 were under a previous management. He then detailed the specific incidents of disorder and suggested that it was clear from reports that suspects and witnesses were often from the pub. However management were refusing to accept responsibility.
PC Perry concluded that to remedy the issues the hours should be reduced to framework hours and conditions imposed, it was noted that if the hours were not changed then there would be more assaults and more serious incidents.
Members then heard from Mr Munuwar Hussain, Premises Licence Holder who agreed that some incidents had occurred but not all and they were certainly not promoting incidents of disorder. He said that he was co-operating with the police and have called them when there have been incidents. He explained that steps had been taken and management controls were in place. They had also stopped karaoke nights, and would not allow entry after 12 midnight and no alcohol to be taken outside the premises. He explained that since the steps have been in place there have been no incidents over the past 3 months. Mr Hussain stated that there was a 24 hour off licence and that’s where anti-social behaviour was starting from.
Members also heard from Mr Gary Smith and Mr Terry Beyer, Managers of the premises who explained that the area was a hotspot for disorder, that they had helped the police by supplying CCTV footage when requested, that if any person is caught causing problems they were barred from the premises. That there were new controls in place, these improvements have made changes and there hasn’t been any problems since these controls have been in place.
In response to questions it was noted that inebriated customers are not served, that majority of the students came in after 10pm and therefore there was a need to stay open beyond 12 midnight.
Members retired to consider their decision at 4.00pm and reconvened at 4.10pm.
The Licensing Objectives
In considering the application, Members were required to consider the same in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (as amended), the ... view the full minutes text for item 3.2 |
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Additional documents:
Minutes: At the request of the Chair, Mr Alex Lisowski, Licensing Officer, introduced the report which detailed the application for a review of the premises licence for Shiraz Food and Wine, 178 Hackney Road, London E2 7QL. It was noted that the review had been triggered by the Metropolitan Police and supported by Trading Standards and a local resident.
At the request of the Chair, PC Mark Perry, Metropolitan Police stated that on 10th December 2014 as part of Operation Equinox, the Police, Trading Standards and HM Customers and Excise conducted a series of inspections on several off licences in Tower Hamlets.
The purpose of the visits was to make sure that premises were abiding by the conditions of their licence, that there were no smuggled or counterfeit goods in the premises and to remind both staff and management of their responsibilities under the Licensing Act 2003, in particular with regard to Operation Equinox not to sell alcohol to people who are drunk.
It was noted that they entered Shiraz Food and Wine at about 12.00pm and found 70cl bottles of Italian wines, the bottles were marked up for sale as “2 for £5” which immediately raised suspicions as it was almost impossible to make money from selling imported wines at that price.
Upon inspection the bottles of wine had no individual prices on them, invoices for the wine were asked for to prove they were purchased legitimately but no invoices were provided, upon further inspection of the premises they found a large quality of Italian wine and spirits in the store room. In total 351 bottles were seized as they were believed to be smuggled. A large quantity of these sprits were found in the stock room behind a curtain, in what the police believe was a deliberate attempt to hide them. It was noted that the amount of counterfeit and smuggled goods seized was the largest seizure in Tower Hamlets for many years, and what is believed to be the largest ever seizure of counterfeit goods from an off licence.
It was also noted that the bottles were identified as counterfeit and management accepted that these were brought illegally and were a one off purchase. PC Perry believed that the amount of alcohol found were vast to accept as a one off purchase. PC Perry brought Members attention to Section 182 Guidance under the Licensing Act released in October 2014. This stated that where there is certain criminal activity that may arise in connection with licensed premises this should be treated particularly seriously. This includes the use of licensed premises for the sale or storage of smuggled alcohol. It was noted that once a review is triggered it is expected that revocation of the licences, even in the first instance should be considered.
It was also noted there had also been complaints from a local resident that the premises was selling alcohol to street drinkers who were then causing anti-social behaviour and disrupting local ... view the full minutes text for item 3.3 |