Agenda item
Application for a Temporary Event Notice for 93 Feet East, 150 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL
Minutes:
At the request of the Chair, Ms Corinne Holland, Licensing Officer, introduced the report which detailed the application for a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) for 93 Feet East, 150 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL. It was noted that an objection had been received by the metropolitan police. It was noted that the applicant had offered to reduce the hours as detailed in the supporting documents to 03:00 hours on Sunday morning and 23:00 on Sunday evening.
PC Mark Perry explained that Halloween was one of the busiest nights of the year and this caused a strain on police resources as there are high reports of crime and disorder such as violence against women, alcohol fuelled anti-social behaviour etc, he explained that the area attracted high numbers of nitrous oxide canister users and suppliers but this was an on-going issue.
He said management were previously reluctant to engage or report issues to police, but now it was accepted that they were reporting incidents. He also raised concerns relating to the lack of late-night transport links at the time of closing and questioned how customers would be getting home safely. He also highlighted that there would be an extra hour of drinking as the clocks go back that weekend. There would be a likely increase in alcohol related crime and disorder as well as this there had not been sufficient information in the application but do note the policies attached in the supplemental agenda, he said they were good operators and were a member of the Pubwatch scheme, but mainly the concern was the lack of transport links at that hour.
Mr Jason Zeelof, Applicant, stated that he noted and shared concerns of the use and supply of NOX canisters in the area but said that they were not directly associated with the premises. He said there was a zero drug policy the premises and customers are thoroughly security check upon entry and police are called if sellers are seen. He said there was no crime and disorder associated with the premises and the 233 crimes reported in the objection by police refer to general crimes in the area and do not specifically relate to the premises itself. He referred to the reduced hours proposed and the condition on the existing premises licence that could be imposed on the TEN application. He explained that the premises regularly underwent mystery shops and Michael Watson, Licensing Consultant, confirmed that the operators demonstrated clear commitment and adopted best practices.
In response to questions the following was noted;
- The premises had been operating since 2000 and had run regular events and improvements had been made over the years such as sound proofing, having a noise limiter etc to minimise noise nuisance.
- Only play low level background music.
- Clean outside the premises on regular basis and no bottles of alcohol are taken outside the premisses except for soft drinks.
- That staff were trained on a regular basis, and adhere to policies, staff and security officers keep an eye on customers too.
- Have suitable signage displayed asking customers to leave quietly and if there are people congregating outside the premises they are asked to move on.
- That the premise was not close to residential properties, there was a dedicated taxi company for customers, there were night buses operating during the late hours and customers would be dispersing in via different routes which would avoid congestion and noise disturbance.
- That the premises has had TENs granted in July, September and October 2021 with no issues or problems.
Concluding remarks were made by both 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:
- The Prevention of Crime and Disorder;
- Public Safety;
- The Prevention of Public Nuisance; and
- The Protection of Children from Harm.
Consideration
The Sub Committee heard from PC Mark Perry who explained that Halloween was one of the busiest nights of the year with limited police resources and transport links. PC Perry accepted that the operator is of good standing and had no specific concerns about the operation of the premise. He accepted that problems of nitrous oxide canisters were common in London and elsewhere and were not specifically related to the premises.
Mr Jason Zeelof (applicant) noted that there was no specific issues raised in the representations or heard before the Sub Committee as to how they operated the premises. It was also noted that three separate Temporary Event Notices were granted in July, September and October 2021 for the premise which did not cause any problems or generate any complaints.
The Sub Committee were not satisfied it had heard enough to issue a counter notice. The premise licence contained numerous robust conditions and given the operator’s track record and recent TENs, the Sub Committee were satisfied that the appropriate step was not to issue a counter notice but for all conditions on the premises licence to be applied to the temporary event notice.
Accordingly, the Sub Committee unanimously;
RESOLVED
That the application for a counter-notice for 93 Feet East, 150 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL be REFUSED and all conditions on the premises licence shall be imposed on the TEN.
Supporting documents:
- TEN - 93 Feet East cover report, item 5. PDF 125 KB
- TEN - 93 Feet East Appendices Only, item 5. PDF 2 MB
- 93 Feet East Supporting Docs, item 5. PDF 1 MB