Agenda item
Application for a new Premise Licence for Forman & field, Stour Road, London, E3 2NT
Licensing Objectives:
· The prevention of public nuisance
Representations:
· Residents
Ward: Bow East
Minutes:
The Sub-Committee considered an application for a new premises licence to be held in respect of for Forman Field Ltd., Stour Road, London E3 2NT (“the Premises”).The application sought authorisation for licensable activity as follows:
Sale by retail of alcohol (on & off sales)
Monday – Sunday 09:00 hours – 01:00 hours
Late Night Refreshment
Monday – Sunday 23:00 hours – 01:00 hours
Opening Hours
Monday – Sunday 09:00 hours – 01:00 hours
A number of representations against the application have been made by local residents, based upon the licensing objective of the prevention of public nuisance.
Applicant
The Sub-Committee heard from the applicant’s solicitor, Jack Spiegler, and Lance Forman on behalf of the applicant. Mr. Spiegler explained that the Premises had previously held a licence. This had lapsed when the licence holder changed its company structure. The application therefore sought to replicate the licence that had been held previously. The Sub-Committee were informed that the proposed alcohol sales would be ancillary to the main business, which was the provision of gourmet food.
Mr. Spiegler explained that off-sales of alcohol were sought because people would often wish to buy a bottle of wine with food which would be taken away from the Premises. The external terrace area, where alcohol and food could be consumed, was subject to an agreed condition that it would not be used after 21:00 hours. He also confirmed that the application extended only to the ground and first floor. The rooftop terrace, which was intended for occasional use, was not included within the plans. A number of conditions proposed by the residents and responsible authorities had been agreed by the applicant.
Members noted that there was no drinking-up time. Mr. Spiegler confirmed that his client would agree to the sale of alcohol ceasing at 00:30 hours.
Residents
The Sub-Committee heard from Robert Greene and Martin Wright on behalf of the residents who had made representations. The representations were largely identical. They alleged nuisance from smoke (due to the smoking processes) and noise from extractor fans. It was said that the character of the area had changed. In addition, as the application made reference to the original licence, the residents were concerned that this meant that there would be very few conditions. If the Sub-Committee was minded to grant the application, they asked that various conditions to promote the licensing objectives be imposed on the licence.
In addition, it was suggested that the roof terrace would lead to overlooking.
The Sub-Committee appreciated the objectors’ concerns regarding public nuisance, particularly regarding noise disturbance, overlooking and fumes from the chimneys. With respect to noise from extractor fans and smoke from the chimneys, these were not related in any way to the licensable activities proposed and could not be addressed through the mechanism of the Licensing Act 2003. Similarly, if there was a risk of overlooking, this would not be as a result of the licensable activity.
No regulated entertainment was sought and the Premises would benefit from the provisions of deregulation. There was no evidence of noise disturbance from the Premises to date and the various conditions proposed and agreed to by the applicant would mitigate any such concerns.
The Sub-Committee heard all the evidence from the Applicant and the Residents who had made a representation, the Sub-Committee went on to questioning which were answered and responded during the hearing.
Decision
The Sub-Committee was satisfied that the amendments proposed by the applicant, which included a reduction in hours for off-sales of alcohol, and the reduction in the terminal hour for on-sales of alcohol would also mitigate any impact on the licensing objectives.
Accordingly, the Sub-Committee unanimously;
RESOLVED
That the application for a new premises licence in respect of Forman Field Ltd., Stour Road, London E3 2NT be granted with conditions as follows: -
Sale by retail of alcohol (on sales)
Monday – Sunday 09:00 hours – 00:30 hours
Sale by retail of alcohol (off sales)
Monday – Sunday 09:00 hours – 22:30 hours
Late Night Refreshment (inside the premises)
Monday – Sunday 23:00 hours – 01:00 hours
Opening Hours
Monday – Sunday 09:00 hours – 01:00 hours
Conditions
1. No noise shall emanate from the premises nor vibration be transmitted through
the structure of the premises, which gives rise to a public nuisance.
2. The external terrace area shall not be used after 21:00hrs., except for patrons permitted to temporarily leave and then re-enter the premises, e.g. to smoke, and shall be limited to 10 persons at any one time.
3. No idling of delivery vehicles outside the premises, no drivers shouting or raised voices, nor loud music/radios, during the operation of licensable activities.
4. The premises licence holder will display notices requiring drivers of delivery vehicles not to leave vehicle engines idling outside the premises whilst the premises is in operation.
5. The premises licence holder will display notices within their premises requesting that delivery drivers remain respectful of neighbours by keeping noise to a minimum whilst waiting outside the premises to collect deliveries.
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. 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) all ejections of patrons;
c) any complaints received concerning crime and disorder;
d) any incidents of disorder;
e) all seizures of drugs or offensive weapons;
f) any faults in the CCTV system, searching equipment or scanning equipment;
g) any refusal of the sale of alcohol;
h) any visit by a relevant authority or emergency service.
9. In the event that a serious assault is committed on the premises (or appears to have been committed) the management will immediately ensure that:
a) the police (and, where appropriate, the London Ambulance Service) are called without delay;
b) all measures that are reasonably practicable are taken to apprehend any suspects pending the arrival of the police;
c) the crime scene is preserved so as to enable a full forensic investigation to be carried out by the police; and
d) such other measures are taken (as appropriate) to fully protect the safety of all persons present on the premises.
10. 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.
11. A record shall be kept detailing all refused sales of alcohol. The record should include the date and time of the refused sale and the name of the member of staff who refused the sale. The record must show the outcome of the person who was intoxicated. The record shall be available for inspection at the premises by the police or an authorised officer at all times whilst the premises is open.
12. Notices shall be prominently displayed at all exits and in the smoking area requesting patrons to respect the needs of local residents and businesses, to keep noise to a minimum and to leave the area quietly, and not to take any glass bottles off the premises.
13. A suitable area shall be set aside for smokers to prevent their smoke causing nuisance to nearby occupiers.
14. No late-night refreshment shall be sold for consumption off the premises on any
day.
15. There will be no disposal of refuse including glass bottles between 23:00hrs. and 09:00hrs., and no glass will be moved from one recycling receptable into another in any external area of the premises during these hours.
16. The area immediately outside the premises will be regularly cleaned to ensure that any litter generated by the premises, or its customers is removed.
17. Telephone contact details of the Designated Premises Supervisor and the Duty Manager shall be provided to the residents upon request.
18. Patrons of the premises shall be encouraged, by signs within the premises visible at all exits points, to disperse from the area of the premises quietly and quickly.
19. Staff shall also supervise persons leaving the premises after closing time and where necessary, request that persons leaving the premises do so in a orderly manner as quickly as possible.
20. Children under the age of 16 shall be accompanied by an adult.
21. Soft and non-alcoholic drinks shall be available.
Supporting documents:
- StourRdForman, item 3.1 PDF 444 KB
- StourRd_Forman_AppendixRED, item 3.1 PDF 18 MB
- Forman & Field Presentation Dec 23, item 3.1 PDF 5 MB
- Forman Field Conditions Table Dec 23, item 3.1 PDF 281 KB
- Deborah Batchelor, item 3.1 PDF 226 KB
- Alaa Saleh, item 3.1 PDF 228 KB
- Lorcan Meehan, item 3.1 PDF 226 KB
- Robert Greene, item 3.1 PDF 226 KB
- William Mozley, item 3.1 PDF 226 KB
- Jean Baptise Anne Cecile, item 3.1 PDF 228 KB