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 declarations of interest.

The rules of procedure were noted.

Licensing Objectives:

·       Protection Of Children From Harm

·       Prevention Of Crime And Disorder

Representations:

·       Metropolitan Police

Canary Wharf Ward

The Chair announced at the hearing that they required an adjournment of fifteen minutes to conduct their pre meeting due to one of the Sub-Committee members having transport difficulties.

The Sub-Committee convened, the Chair welcomed everyone to the hearing, and introductions were made. The Applicant and Premises Licence Holder requested the Chair for an adjournment of twenty minutes as both parties had reached an agreement and wanted this time to affirm the conditions to the licence. The Chair and Sub-Committee agreed to their request.

Applicant

The Sub-Committee considered an application by the Metropolitan Police to review the premises licence held by the London Cocktail Club Ltd. in respect of 9 Cabot Square, London, E14 4EB (“the Premises”).

In brief, the incident giving rise to the review was that a group of young women, some of whom were aged 16, were believed to have been victims of a drink-spiking incident in Shoreditch on 3^rd December 2022. Prior to this, however, they had been in the Premises. They had not been challenged by any member of staff as to their age; they were served alcohol; they had been allowed to become intoxicated to the point that one of them was sick inside the Premises.

The Police had viewed the CCTV footage from the Premises that evening, which showed the group of young women. No welfare support was offered to them by staff. Of further concern was that the investigation showed that a number of incidents had been noted in the incident log. There was a number of complaints of female patrons alleging sexual harassment by male patrons. None of these incidents had been reported to the police. In addition, the viewing of the CCTV of the night of 3^rd December 2022 showed similar incidents.

The police had initially sought revocation.

Premises Licence Holder

The Sub-Committee was provided with a considerable amount of documentation by the Premises’ management which outlined the steps taken in the aftermath of the incident. These steps included dismissing some of the staff on duty at the time, replacing the DPS, and changing the security company involved. The Managing Director, Dawn Donohoe, provided a witness statement setting out the changes implemented and which demonstrated that prompt action had been taken by the Premises subsequently.

As a result of these steps, the parties had reached an agreed position in respect of the review, which the Sub-Committee was asked to endorse. A set of conditions had been agreed, which the police considered addressed their concerns and which meant that the venue could operate safely in the future. The Sub-Committee was informed that a visit on New Year’s Eve had revealed no concerns. There had been no visits subsequent to that although the Premises had arranged for compliance visits to be undertaken, the results of which were in the reports pack.

Two representations in support of the Premises had been made. These were considered by the Sub-Committee. The incidents giving rise to the review were completely unacceptable and were considered  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

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.

Belles Beauty Bar 105 Burdett Road London E3 4JN    25/04

Ye Ye London 58 Wentworth Street London E1 7LA     25/04

15 Goulston Street London E1 7TP                               25/04

Noodle & Beer, Unit 6, 31 Bell Lane London E1 7LA    25/04

Deni’s New 15 Swaton Road E3                                    25/04