Agenda item
Application for a New Premises Licence for Lions Express, 121-123 Poplar High Street, London, E14 0AE
Minutes:
At the request of the Chair, Mr Mohshin Ali, Licensing Officer, introduced the report which detailed the application for a new premises licence for Lions Express, 121-123 Poplar High Street, London E14 0AE. It was noted that objections had been made by local residents and local businesses.
At the request of the Chair, Ms Annabel Graham Paul, Counsel on behalf of the Applicant explained that this was an application for a new licence for the sale of alcohol. She referred to page 17 of the supplemental agenda which contained a statement from the Applicant detailing his experience in retail, his the proposed business plan etc. She explained that in light of the representations the Applicant was willing to cease the sale of alcohol at 11pm 7 days a week which would go far in helping address the concerns raised by the objectors. She highlighted the Applicant’s experience, and explained that he owned another off licence in the borough, with no incidents to date, that he was a responsible operator and had recently had a successful test purchase conducted at the premises. It was also noted that there had been no representations from responsible authorities.
Ms Paul further explained that the hours now applied for were in line with the hours for Poplar Wines and Tesco which both had licences till 11pm. Therefore the hours were not anti-social hours but the same as the other licensed premises in the area. It was noted that it was a convenient store selling groceries, confectionary etc and would only have 15-20% floor space for the display of alcohol.
Ms Paul concluded that the written objections were identical and mainly from business rivals who had a commercial interest in this application and therefore due weight should be given to those representations. She stated that there were no incidents of crime and disorder linked to the premises, that there would be CCTV cameras in operation, and the Applicant would promote the licensing objectives.
Members then heard from Mr Dulal Uddin, representing Perfect Fried Chicken, Mr Nizam Uddin representing St Matthias Centre and Ms Nishma Suchak representing Poplar Mini Market, who expressed similar concerns of an increase in anti-social behaviour as a result of another licensed premises, concerns that there would be underage sales, an increase in drug and alcohol abuse, gang violence, more intoxicated persons sitting outside St Matthias Centre intimidating senior citizens, young families, residents and worshippers of the Church and Mosque. There was also emphasis that the premises would influence college students in purchasing and consuming alcohol.
There were also concerns that it would affect local businesses financially, as they generally felt that there were too many businesses in the area and not enough people especially more so now with the Tesco store open.
In response to questions the following was noted;
- That residents had complained to police, however, they had not objected to the application.
- That the premise was approximately 30sq feet and would be using 15-20% floor space for the display of alcohol.
- That they would be selling both single cans and multipacks of beers and lager.
- That the introduction of new businesses would cause a financial loss to existing businesses.
- That the premises was opposite the Tower Hamlets College
- That a previous test purchase made at the Applicants other premises was unsuccessful.
Members retired to consider their decision at 8.15pm and reconvened at 8.30pm.
Members suggested that Licensing Services monitor the premises and also conduct test purchases from time to time to monitor the operation and management of the business.
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 Licensing Guidance and the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy.
Consideration
Each application must be considered on its own merits and the Chair stated that the Sub Committee had carefully considered all of the evidence before them and had taken account of the evidence submitted by the Applicant and the Objectors and heard representations from all interested parties.
Members sympathised with the objectors and their general concerns of public nuisance and anti-social behaviour in the area but this could not be linked specifically to the premises. Members, acknowledged the Applicants proposal to amend the application and reduce the hours for sale of alcohol to 23:00 hours.
Members did have concerns that issues of ASB and public nuisance could increase as result of another licenced premises and to mitigate this Members considered it appropriate to reduce the terminal hour for the sale of alcohol to 11pm and add conditions. Some of the main concerns raised were regarding underage sales and the fear of selling alcohol to college students therefore Members decided to add the condition to operate a Challenge 25 Policy which would help promote the licensing objectives and would help address the concerns of the objectors.
Decision
Accordingly, the Sub-Committee made a majority decision and –
RESOLVED
That the application for a New Premises Licence for Lions Express, 121-123 Poplar High Street, London E14 0AE be GRANTED with conditions.
Sale of Alcohol (off sales only)
Monday to Sunday from 07:00 hours to 23:00 hours
Hours premises are open to the public
Monday to Sunday from 07:00 hours to 01:00 hours (the following day)
Conditions
- CCTV camera system covering both internal and external to the premises is to be installed.
- The CCTV recordings are to be maintained for 31 days and to be provided upon request to either a Police Officer or an officer of any other Responsible Authority.
- At all times when the premise is open, a person who can operate the CCTV system must be present on the premises.
- The premises licence holder shall ensure that a Challenge 25 policy is operated at the premises whereby anyone who appears to be under the age of 25 shall be asked to provide proof of age that he or she is over 18. Proof of age shall only comprise of a passport, a photo-card driving licence or an industry approved proof of age identity card. The premise licence holder shall ensure that notices shall be displayed in the premises to advise patrons and staff that a ‘Challenge 25’ or similar scheme operates in the premises.
Supporting documents:
- Lions Express cover report, item 3.3 PDF 85 KB
- Lions Express Appendices Only, item 3.3 PDF 4 MB
- Lions cover pg add appicant, item 3.3 PDF 17 KB
- Lions Express - Applicants response_Redacted (2), item 3.3 PDF 4 MB
- Lions cover pg add reps, item 3.3 PDF 17 KB
- Lions Express - 2nd petition_Redacted, item 3.3 PDF 1 MB