Agenda item
Application for a New Premise Licence for Classic Football Shirts, 17 Commercial Street, London, E1 6NE
Minutes:
At the request of the Chair, Ms Corrine Holland, Licensing Officer, introduced the report which detailed the application for a new premises licence for Classic Football Shirts, 17 Commercial Street, London E1 6NE. It was noted that objections had been received from Officers representing the Licensing Authority and Environmental Health.
At the request of the Chair, Mr Andy Newman, Licensing Agent on behalf of the applicant explained that they were aware the premises were in the Brick Lane Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ). However, they believed that the nature of the premises together with the modest hours applied for would not negatively impact the area.
He referred the Sub-Committee to the supporting documents in the supplemental agenda, which included photos of the layout of the premises and the café area inside the premises. It was noted that the premises previously used to be a licensed restaurant but the company had gone into liquidation and therefore the existing licence lapsed. It was further noted that the applicant had experience of operating in the area and in fact operated a concession store within the Truman Brewery.
Mr Newman highlighted the fact that Temporary Event Notices (TENs) had been given, which had attracted no complaints from residents or local businesses. He explained that the café would be ancillary to the store and the model of the business was for people to have a quick drink and cookie or cake whist shopping, very similar to cafes in department stores. It was also noted that no objections had been made by the police and that conditions suggested by them had been accepted by the applicant.
He suggested that there was no evidence from Environmental Health to indicate that the premises would give rise to public nuisance. He said there were excellent transport links and there would be no need for people to congregate outside the premises. He said customers would spend quite a long time in the store browsing due to the uniqueness of the store.
It was noted that the seating capacity at the café was for 48 patrons, having a lesser impact than the previous restaurant at the premises. This fells within the Council’s Licensing Policy, being a small premises thatis not alcohol-led. Together with the robust set of conditions it would not negatively impact on the area. He welcomed the conditions put forward by the responsible authorities and expressed some challenge to making alcohol ancillary to a table meals as the business model was to sell cakes and cookies and possibly introducing sandwiches in the future. He said that the applicant was willing to join appropriate associations to become part of the community and was welcome to suggestions. He said that after the TENs it could be said that the business sales runs a 60/40 split with 40% of the sales from the café and 60% from the store merchandise itself.
Mr Newman concluded that the applicant had a proven track record of being a responsible operator and was willing to adopt the conditions requested and work with the authority. It was believed that this premises would not negatively impact on the CIZ.
Members then heard from Mr Mohshin Ali, Licensing Officer. He referred to his representation on pages 82-84 of the agenda and said the premises would be an additional premises coming into the existing saturation area which is going to negatively impact on the area. He did accept that there had not been any complaints from the TENs that had been granted. He referred to his suggested conditions on page 84 of the agenda and asked members to consider imposing these conditions should the Sub-Committee grant the application. He pointed out that the previous licence that had been referred to by the Applicant’s representative had been surrendered by the previous occupants in 2019.
Ms Nicola Cadzow, Environmental Health Officer, referred to her representation on page 77 and explained that her objection related to the prevention of public nuisance and noise that could cause disturbance from within and outside the premises. She stated that the premises was in the Brick Lane CIZ and that there was insufficient information in the operating schedule to show how they would promote the licencing objectives for the prevention of public nuisance, including increased footfall in the CIZ, patrons loitering outside or maybe going outside for smoking etc. She concluded that her concern was for the potential noise outbreak from the premises and the greater likelihood of disturbance to residential properties. Ms Cadzow asked Members to consider imposing the conditions she proposed in her representation if the Sub-Committee were minded to grant the application.
In response to questions from Members the following was noted;
- That alcohol would not be ancillary to food but there would always be a food offering available such cookies, cakes,.Supplying table meals was not part of the business model.
- The café made up 25% of the floor space and was physically separated from the shop itself. The premises was primarily the retail store.
- That it was a high-end shop selling exclusive classic football shirts costing up to thousands of pounds and the idea for the cafe was for customers to take break for drink or snack whilst shopping.
- A condition was offered by the applicant that ‘the café would be ancillary to a classic football shirts and merchandise retail outfit’ this was to allay the concerns from that the premises could turn into a bar in the future.
- That the applicant had agreed to a condition to limit the number of smokers to 8 people and this would be monitored by staff and CCTV cameras.
- There had been no complaints arising from the TENs that had been given at the premises.
- In order to prevent public nuisance, robust conditions had been offered and accepted.
- That there was no intention to have SIA registered door staff as it was not a bar or restaurant.
- That it was a unique premises, selling high end and unique collection of football shirts, with over a 1 million range of shirts, from all around the world.
- There were only two stores in the UK with the same model, one in Manchester and now one in London.
- There had been four TENs which had operated successfully without any complaints.
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 considered an application by the Classic Football Company Trading Ltd. for a new premises licence to be held in respect of 17 Commercial Street, London, E1 6N (“the Premises”). The application sought authorisation for the sale of alcohol for consumption on the Premises from 11:00 hours to 23:00 hours Monday to Saturday and from 11:00 hours to 22:30 hours on Sundays.
The application attracted representations from two responsible authorities, the Licensing Authority and Environmental Health, on the grounds that the application did not sufficiently address how there would be no impact on the public nuisance licensing objective and that the Premises were located within the Brick Lane CIZ.
The Sub-Committee heard from Andy Newman and Ciaran Gold, the Applicant’s director, who explained the application. The applicant had proposed a number of conditions in their operating schedule and had agreed to additional conditions proposed by the responsible authorities if the Sub-Committee were minded to grant the application. The Sub-Committee was told that the maximum number of patrons was 48, considerably fewer than the 67 capacity when the Premises were previously licensed, with no covers outside. The café was a small part of the business; the focus of the business was the sale of classic football shirts. Additional detail was given to the Sub-Committee about the business.
Patrons would be seated and the Premises were the sort where patrons would come and browse for some time and might want to be able to have a small food and drink offering. The café was ancillary to the main business and an additional condition had been offered to that effect, thereby addressing concerns as to future changes. Four Temporary Event Notices (TENs) had been given since September, which had caused no problems. No residents had objected to the application.
Mohshin Ali, Licensing Officer, confirmed that there had been no issues with the TENs but that the Licensing Authority nonetheless considered the application likely to adversely impact on the CIZ. Nicola Cadzow, on behalf of Environmental Health, echoed that concern, suggesting that there would be greater likelihood of noise disturbance and that there were insufficient conditions to address the CIZ.
During questions it was explained that although the applicant would provide meals if that was a condition, it did not fit with their business model. However, food and drink was a very small part of the business and the café took up only about ¼ of the floor area. There was no difference between this and a store like John Lewis, where people did not go to drink.
Of the proposed additional conditions, the two objected to related to a prohibition on noise and vibration that gave rise to a public nuisance, and to a requirement that alcohol only be served with a table meal. In relation to the first, that was already addressed by the law and there was no need for a condition. Mr. Gold also told the Sub-Committee that not all patrons would be drinking in any event and that in his experience there was a natural dispersal of patrons. People wanting to get food and drink were not likely to be visiting the Premises for that purpose.
The application engaged the licensing objective of the prevention of public nuisance. The Sub-Committee did not consider that the prevention of crime and disorder arose as an issue here. The onus was on the application to prove that they would not negatively impact upon the CIZ and the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy gives some indication as to what might justify an exception, which includes businesses that are not alcohol-led, that operate to framework hours, and which cater for 50 or fewer persons.
The Sub-Committee accepted that the café would be a small part of the business and that it would not be somewhere that would attract people specifically in order to drink. It was a retail outlet and the additional condition proposed by the applicant would ensure that it could not easily change into the type of venue that would adversely impact upon the CIZ.
The fact that TENs had been given and had not resulted in any complaints also provided an indication to the Sub-Committee that the applicant could operate without adversely impacting upon the CIZ. The Sub-Committee did not consider that the Premises would give rise to additional footfall but, even if it did, that alone would not of itself adversely impact upon the CIZ.
The Sub-Committee was satisfied that the applicant had demonstrated that the grant of the licence would not adversely impact upon the CIZ and that any impact that might arise would be mitigated by the imposition of the conditions consistent with the operating schedule and with the additional conditions proposed by the applicant and those proposed by the responsible authorities. The Sub-Committee determined not to impose the two conditions objected to by the applicant, namely the requirement for a table meal and the condition relating to noise and vibration. As to the first, the Sub-Committee was satisfied that the conditions that the café is ancillary to the main business and that food would always be available sufficed to deal with that concern. It accepted, in any event, that alcohol was not the predominant focus of the business or the café. As to the second, the Sub-Committee was advised that the criminal law already prohibited the creation of a public nuisance and the statutory guidance was clear that conditions should not duplicate existing legal requirements.
Accordingly, the Sub Committee unanimously;
RESOLVED
That the application for a new Premises Licence for Classic Football Shirts, 17 Commercial Street, London E1 6NE be GRANTED with conditions.
Sale of alcohol (On sales)
Monday to Saturday from 11:00 hours to 23:00 hours
Sunday from 11:00 hours to 22:30 hours
Opening hours
Monday to Saturday from 09:00 hours to 23:30 hours
Sunday from 09:00 hours to 23:00 hours
Conditions
- All staff shall be suitably trained for their job function in the premises. The training shall be written into an ongoing programme and under constant review and shall be made available to a relevant responsible authority when called upon.
- A properly specified and fully operational CCTV system shall be installed, operated and maintained. The system shall incorporate a camera covering the entrance door and be capable of providing an image which is regarded as ‘identification standard’ of all persons entering and/or leaving the premises. The CCTV system shall be in operation at the premises at all times when the premises are used for the provision of licensable activity.
- The CCTV system shall incorporate a recording facility and all recordings shall be securely stored for a minimum of 31 days. The CCTV system shall be maintained and fully operational throughout the hours that the premises is open for any licensable activity.
- Signage indicating that a CCTV recording system is in operation shall be displayed prominently in the premises.
- A premises daily register shall be kept at the premises. This register shall be maintained and kept for a rolling period of 12 months. The register shall record the name of the person responsible for the premises on each given day.
- The register shall record all incidents which may have occurred which are relevant to the supply of alcohol and the promotion of the licensing objectives. Such incidents shall include complaints made to the premises alleging nuisance or anti-social behaviour by persons attending or leaving the premises.
- The register shall also record all refusals to sell alcohol. The register shall be readily available for inspection by an authorised person upon reasonable request.
- No person shall be allowed to leave the premises whilst in the possession of any glass drinking vessel or open glass bottle, whether empty or containing any beverage.
- Signage requesting customers to be respectful of others when entering or leaving the premises shall be installed in a prominent position by the premises’ exit.
- The premises’ frontage shall be regularly monitored to keep it clean and clear of litter.
- A Challenge 25 proof of age scheme shall be operated at the premises where the only acceptable forms of identification are recognised photographic identification cards such as a driving licence, passport or a Proof of Age card carrying a ‘PASS’ logo.
- All occasions when persons have been refused service shall be recorded in the premises daily register.
- There shall be no children unaccompanied by a responsible adult on the premises after 20:00.
- All children under the age of 12 years shall be accompanied by an adult whilst on the premises.
- Loud speakers shall not be located in the entrance lobby or outside the premise building.
- Patrons permitted to temporarily leave and re-enter the premises e.g. to smoke, shall be limited to 5 persons at any one time.
- 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 available on request by the Police or any authorised officer.
- There shall be no vertical drinking of alcohol at the premises.
- Notices shall be prominently displayed at any area used for smoking requesting patrons to respect the needs of local residents and to use and leave the area quietly.
- The café to be ancillary to Classic Football Shirts and merchandise retail outfit.
- Food will always be available to patrons in the café.
Supporting documents:
- Classic Football cover report, item 4.1 PDF 356 KB
- Classic Football Appendices Only, item 4.1 PDF 7 MB
- Classic Football Supporting Docs, item 4.1 PDF 5 MB