Agenda item
Licensing Act 2003 Application for a New Premises Licence for Weezy-Whitechapel, Arch 154, Martha Street, London, E1 2PG
Minutes:
At the request of the Chair, the Applicant’s Solicitor, Mr Suraj Desor stated that Weezy operated several grocery centres in London, where grocery is delivered directly to local customers. He said customers placed orders via the online website or the app, and as such there was no public access to the premises. Deliveries to customers were made by staff using electric vehicles to ensure noise and pollution was kept to a minimal.
Mr Desor said the grocery centre offered a variety of food produce and alcohol and had operated under TENs for the past few weeks without any issues to note. He said although alcohol was sold and was an important part of the overall offer, it made up a small portion of the goods ordered. Mr Desor stated less than 24% of orders placed contained the sale of alcohol with groceries and only 3% for just alcohol. He said this clearly showed the business was not alcohol-led, like an off-licence.
Regarding deliveries there were robust conditions offered in the application, which had been agreed with the Police and the Licensing Authority. He said the hours applied were until midnight, which were slightly more than the framework hours. However, the Licensing Policy stated that these should not be rigidly applied. Mr Desor said the hours applied are appropriate for the business.
Addressing the concerns raised by the ward councillor, Mr Desor said they had written to Councillor Khan and had not received a reply. He said the concerns raised in the objection were general to the area as opposed to the premises. Mr Desor said the conditions offered mitigated against the concerns, as the business would not increase public nuisance or give rise to anti-social behaviour. In relation to the petition, Mr Desor said it was unclear what the petitioners were concerned about. He said there was a likelihood that they had not understood the nature of the business and that it would not be open to the public.
The Sub-Committee noted the concerns raised by the ward councillor and the petitioners, who were not in attendance at the meeting.
In response to questions from Members the following was noted:
- The Licensing Officer confirmed the premises would be used as a storage space for goods and would not be open to the public.
- The website had warnings that the sale of alcohol to those who are underage is prohibited. In addition, when the order is packaged, there is a sticker placed on the order so that delivery drivers can apply the Challenge 25 policy and check the ID of customers when making a delivery.
- There was no likelihood of anti-social behaviour as the alcohol sold would be part of the grocery offer and would be delivered directly to the customer.
- The concerns about street drinking, noise or public nuisance were unsubstantiated. The conditions offered mitigated against this, along with the use of electric vehicles for the delivery of goods.
Concluding remarks were made by the parties.
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 and in particular to have regard to the promotion of the four licensing objectives:
1. The Prevention of Crime and Disorder;
2. Public Safety;
3. The Prevention of Public Nuisance; and
4. The Protection of Children from Harm.
Consideration
Each application must be considered on its own merits. The Chair confirmed that the Sub-Committee had carefully considered all the evidence before them and heard oral representations at the meeting virtually made by the Applicant’s solicitor. The Sub-Committee noted the apologies of the ward councillor, Councillor Rabina Khan and the petitioners.
The Sub-Committee noted the Applicant was seeking a new premises licence for the off sale of alcohol as part of a locally based home delivery grocery centre. The Sub-Committee noted the premises would not be open to the public and that groceries would be delivered by electric vehicles.
The Sub-Committee were satisfied that the conditions offered by the Applicant would support the four licensing objectives and address any concerns over noise nuisance, crime and disorder.
Therefore, Members made a unanimous decision to grant the application with conditions.
Accordingly, the Sub Committee unanimously
RESOLVED
That the application for a new Premises Licence for Weezy-Whitechapel, Arch 154, Martha Street, London E1 2PG be GRANTED with conditions.
Opening Hours
Not open to the public
Sale of Alcohol (off sales)
Monday – Sunday 07:00 – 00:00 hours(midnight)
Conditions
- All sales of alcohol arising from a [telephone/App/website] order for delivery must be paid for by debit or credit card. An alcohol verification sticker shall be applied to the delivery package so that alcohol can be easily retrieved by the delivery person to prevent an illegal sale. Details of the order (including the type, amount of alcohol, name, and address of the customer) must be included with the order. The details shall be shown on the printout receipt dispatched with the order. All delivery drivers and riders must allow any Police Constable or Local Authority Officer to inspect any alcohol or order details on request.
- The premises will operate as a delivery only business. The premises will not open to the public and will be used for the dispatch of alcohol and other goods only. There shall be no collection of alcohol by the public from the premises.
- The premises licence holder shall provide a closed-circuit television system (CCTV) at the premises. The CCTV system installed shall be maintained in effective working order and shall be in operation during licensing hours. All recordings made by the CCTV system shall be retained and stored in a suitable and secure manner for a minimum of 31 days. The licence holder shall notify the Licensing Authority within 24 hours when they become aware that the CCTV system is not functioning correctly.
- A record of refusals shall be maintained which documents every instance that a sale or supply of alcohol is refused, indicating the date and time the refusal was made, and the member of staff making the refusal.
- The record of refusals shall be available for inspection by authorised officers of the licensing authority, officers of the trading standards service and officers of the police.
- Alcohol deliveries shall only to be made to business addresses and/or private residences and not to any public/open spaces.
- A ‘Challenge 25’ Policy shall be in force at the point of delivery of the alcohol. No delivery shall be made if the person seeking to accept delivery appears under 25 and is unable to provide proof of age. Examples of appropriate ID include a passport; photographic driving licence; military ID; biometric residents permit and the Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) approved age cards.
- All staff that sale or supply of alcohol shall receive appropriate training in relation to undertaking appropriate age checks, before being allowed to sell or supply any alcohol.
- Staff training records shall be available for inspection by authorised officers of the licensing authority, officers of the trading standards service, and officers of the Police.
- There shall be no access by the public to the premises.
- Full address details including postcode must be given when placing an order. Records of all orders to be kept for a period of 6 months.
- A staff member from the premises who is conversant with the operation of the CCTV system shall be on the premises at all times when the premises are open. This staff member must be able to provide a Police or authorised council officer with copies of recent CCTV images or data with the absolute minimum of delay when requested.
- When the designated premises supervisor is not on the premises, any or all persons authorised to sell alcohol will be authorised by the designated premises supervisor in writing. This shall be made available on request by the Police or any authorised officer.
- An incident log shall be kept at the premises, and be available on request to the Police or an authorised officer. It must be completed within 24 hours of any incident and will record the following:
a) all crimes reported to the venue;
b) any complaints received concerning crime and disorder
c) any incidents of disorder;
d) any faults in the CCTV system, searching equipment or scanning equipment;
e) any visit by a relevant authority or emergency service.
- There shall be no signage on the outside of the premises or visible from the outside of the premises indicating the presence of alcohol inside of the premises.
- To minimise disturbance to local residents when a delivery of a customer order is made utilising a vehicle, then only an electric or non-motorised vehicle will be used, except in the event of an emergency or breakdown.
- The premises will encourage all riders involved in deliveries to use their vehicles in a responsible manner so as not to cause a nuisance to any residents or generally gather outside the premises; not to leave engines running when the vehicles are parked; and not to obstruct the highway.
- The business will arrange for the telephone number for the premises and/or a member of the management team to be provided to residents upon request in order that any complaints can be made direct.
- Prominent, clear, and legible notices must be displayed at all exits requesting staff to respect the needs of local residents and to leave the premises quietly.
- A warning shall be displayed on the digital platform/ website on which an order is placed informing customers that they must be aged 18 or over to make a purchase of alcohol and notifying customers that the rider will carry out age verification on delivery in line with company policy.
- The License Holder shall notify the Licensing Authority of the digital platform (website) used by the business and any changes in the platform used.
Supporting documents:
- MarthaSt.Arch154, item 4.1 PDF 282 KB
- MarthaSt.Arch154.Appendix.RED, item 4.1 PDF 10 MB
- Agreed conditions with Licensing Authority - Weezy Fulfilment Centre Arch 154 Martha Street Shadwell E1 2PG, item 4.1 PDF 143 KB