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.

Cllr Marc Francis disclosed in relation to item 4.2 that he had frequented the premises on a few occasions in the past, and that that had no bearing on his consideration of that application.  

The rules of procedure were noted.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Licensing Sub-Committees held on 27^th February and 12^th March 2024.

The minutes of the meeting held on 12^th March 2024 were agreed and approved as a correct record. The minutes of the meeting held on 27^th February 2024 were deferred to the next meeting of the Licensing Sub Committee.

This application was resolved prior to the meeting and subsequently all objections had been withdrawn.

At the request of the Chair, Ms Lavine Miller-Johnson, Licensing Officer introduced the report which detailed the application for a variation of the premises licence for Captain Kidd, 108 Wapping High Street, London E1W 2NA. The application sought authorisation to extend the terminal hour for the sale by retail of alcohol from 23:00 hours to 00:00 hours (midnight) on Fridays and Saturdays; from 22:30  hours to 23:00 hours on Sundays; and in relation to non-standard timings, to end the hours from the end of permitted hours on New Year’s Eve to the start of permitted hours on New Year’s Day.

It was noted that the application received representations against it from the local residents. The representations were concerned with the impact of the additional hours on residents in relation to public nuisance, particularly in terms of noise disturbance and anti-social behaviour. It was also noted that the current licence had no conditions.

At the request of the Chair, Ms. Sarah Taylor, legal representative for the applicant presented the business as a family operated and traditional public house. Unlike other pubs, the business was not offering karaoke, screening of sporting events or other regulated entertainment. She explained that the extended hours were sought following the impact of the pandemic, since more potential patrons now work from home, and it was hoped that the additional hours sought would generate more trade. She explained that it was not a substantial variation and did not envisage any problems because of additional hours being granted.

Ms. Taylor referred to the lack of representations from responsible authorities. She suggested that  the statutory guidance refers to responsible authorities as the main sources of advice to sub-committees in respect of crime and disorder and public nuisance. It was also noted that there was no history of complaints to the licensing authority or other responsible authorities about the operation of the premises.

The applicant confirmed the maximum capacity, and presented the conditions offered as mitigation of the likely impact of later footfall from any additional hours granted, particularly conditions 7 to 11 inclusive in the supplementary agenda.

At the request of the Chair, Mr Duncan McLaughlin, resident, addressed the Sub-Committee. He informed the Sub-Committee that he lived next door to a pub and had no issue with that. He also stated that he frequented the pub on occasion. However, his concerns were that there would be additional impact arising from the extension, if granted. There was no effective dispersal at present. He accepted that it could possibly work, if done properly, but it did not seem to at present, with no visible staff present during dispersal, which gave rise to noise nuisance, as the street was quite narrow, and noise tended to reverberate off the buildings. The lack of dispersal gave rise to other issues such as public urination, and poor behaviour. Given that dispersal can take time, one of his main concerns was that the proposed closing time at midnight on Friday and Saturday meant people might still  ...  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.

The following applications were extended till 30^th June 2024.