Agenda item
Application for a New Premises Licence for (Ona's Bento & Sushi), 486 Roman Road, Bow, London E3 5LU
Minutes:
At the request of the Chair, Ms Lavine Miller-Johnson, Licensing Officer, introduced the report which detailed the application for a new premises licence for Ona’s Bento & Sushi, 486 Roman Road, London E3 5LU. It was noted that objections had been received from residents. Ms Miller-Johnson explained that the application had been deemed granted on 24th December 2021, but that it later transpired that a valid representation had been made and sent in time on 22nd December 2021. It had not been received by the Licensing Team until 19th January 2022 due to an administrative error and therefore a hearing was required. It was also noted that conditions had been agreed with responsible authorities.
At the request of the Chair, Mr Graham Hopkins, Licensing Agent on behalf the applicant confirmed that the applicant Ms Oyun Sukhbaatar, had now obtained a personal licence qualification and that an application had been made for a personal licence and that she would then be the proposed Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) for the premises.
He confirmed that the seasonal non-standard times would apply to the months of June, July and August for licensable activities between the hours of 11:00 hours to 23:00 hours. Non-standard times were also applied for Christmas Eve, and the lunar new year.
Mr. Hopkins referred to the representation from local residents, which suggested that there was a lack of suitable toilet facilities. However, the Premises was a very small restaurant and had only fifteen covers and the toilet facilities were therefore suitable. The hours were modest and there was a Turkish restaurant next door which closed at midnight. In addition to the agreed conditions, Mr. Hopkins confirmed that his client was willing to agree to a condition that alcohol would not be sold to persons aged under eighteen, notwithstanding that s.149(5) of the Licensing Act 2003 provided that this was lawful in certain circumstances.
It was noted that there was good public transport links, with a bus stop outside the premises, and a public car park and cab office opposite the premises. It was also noted that the premises has been open for 3 weeks with no issues or complaints. There would be no live music at the premises, only background music playing via a television screen.
Mr Hopkins concluded that conditions had been agreed with the responsible authorities, none of whom had made representations against the application. That the applicant had proposed a robust set of conditions to help allivate the concerns of the residents and uphold the licensing objectives.
The Sub-Committee noted that the residents had given their apologies and were not present for the meeting and therefore their written submissions contained in the agenda pack were noted and considered.
Clarification was sought on which specific lunar days related to the non-standard timings that had been applied for and the Sub-Committee indicated that this could be clarified further between the legal adviser and the agent. There were no further questions from Members
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 licencing 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 Hikaru Ona Ltd. for a new premises licence to be held in respect of Ona’s Bento and Sushi, 486 Roman Road, London, E3 5LU (“the Premises”). The application sought the sale by retail of alcohol for consumption on and off the Premises from 11:00 hours to 21:00 hours Monday to Saturday. It was proposed to open the Premises to the public on those days from 09:00 until 21:00 hours. The application also sought some non-standard timings, in respect of which clarification needed to be sought.
The applicant’s agent, Mr. Hopkins, confirmed that his client, Ms. Sukhbaatar, had now obtained a personal licence qualification and that an application had been made for a personal licence. In respect of the non-standard timings for summer months he explained that this meant 1st June to 31st August. Conditions had been agreed with the responsible authorities, none of whom had made representations against the application.
Mr. Hopkins referred to the representation from local residents, which suggested that there was a lack of suitable toilet facilities. However, the Premises had only fifteen covers and the toilet facilities were therefore suitable. The hours were modest and there was a Turkish restaurant next door which closed at midnight. In addition to the agreed conditions, Mr. Hopkins confirmed that his client was willing to agree to a condition that alcohol would not be sold to persons aged under eighteen, notwithstanding that s.149(5) of the Licensing Act 2003 provided that this was lawful in certain circumstances.
The residents who had objected did not attend but the Sub-Committee had had regard to their representation. Their concerns seemed to be a devaluation of their properties, that another licence would affect public safety, and that the application would result in additional public nuisance, particularly from noise and public urination.
The application engaged the licensing objectives of the prevention of public nuisance. The Sub-Committee could not have regard to the financial effect, if any, of the grant of a licence on property values as this was not relevant to the promotion of the licensing objectives. The concerns raised by the residents were unlikely to occur in respect of a small restaurant and were the type of issues far more commonly associated with venues that were alcohol-led. The Sub-Committee did not consider that the likely effect of granting the licence would be to undermine the licensing objectives to such an extent as to justify refusal. The hours sought were modest, the Premises themselves were very small, and any impact would be mitigated by the agreed conditions. The Sub-Committee therefore granted the application as sought with amendments and conditions:
Accordingly, the Sub Committee unanimously;
RESOLVED
That the application for a new premises licence for Ona’s Bento and Sushi, 486 Roman Road, London E3 5LU be GRANTED with conditions.
Sale of alcohol for consumption on and off the premises:
Monday to Saturday 11:00 hours to 21:00 hours
Non-standard timings:
From 1st June to 31st August (Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays only) the terminal hour for the sale of alcohol is 23:00 hours.
On Christmas Eve, Lunar New Year (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Mongolian New Year’s) the terminal hour for the sale of alcohol is 23:00 hours.
Conditions
1. Clear and legible notices will be prominently displayed to remind customers to leave quietly and have regard to neighbours.
2. Loudspeakers shall not be located in the entrance lobby or outside the premise building.
3. No deliveries to the premises shall take place between 22:00 hours and 08:00 hours the following day.
4. Patrons permitted to temporarily leave and then re-enter the premises, e.g. to smoke, shall be limited to 5 persons at any one time.
5. No noise generated on the premises, or by its associated plant or equipment, shall emanate from the premises nor vibration be transmitted through the structure of the premises which gives rise to a nuisance.
6. The premises shall install and maintain a comprehensive CCTV system as per the minimum requirements of the Tower Hamlets Police Licensing Team. All entry and exit points will be covered enabling frontal identification of every person entering in any light condition. The CCTV system shall continually record whilst the premises is open for licensable activities and during all times when customers remain on the premises. All recordings shall be stored for a minimum period of 31 days with date and time stamping. Viewing of recordings shall be made available immediately upon the request of Police or authorised officer throughout the entire 31 day period.
7. 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 copies of recent CCTV images or data with the absolute minimum of delay when requested.
8. 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 proof of age card with the PASS Hologram.
9. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 149(5) of the Licensing Act 2003, alcohol shall not be sold to persons aged under 18.
10. 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:
· all crimes reported to the venue;
· all ejections of patrons;
· any complaints received concerning crime and disorder;
· any incidents of disorder;
· all seizures of drugs or offensive weapons;
· any faults in the CCTV system, searching equipment or scanning equipment;
· any refusal of the sale of alcohol;
· any visit by a relevant authority or emergency service.
Supporting documents:
- Onas Bento & Sushi cover report, item 3.2 PDF 430 KB
- Onas Bento & Sushi Appendices Only_pdfa, item 3.2 PDF 7 MB
- Supporting documents - Applicant Ona Bento cover, item 3.2 PDF 81 KB
- Supporting Doc 1 - Ona's Bento, item 3.2 PDF 10 KB
- Supporting Doc 2 - Ona's Bento, item 3.2 PDF 4 MB