This Licensing Sub-Committee meeting was scheduled to consider applications for new Premises Licences from The Corner Shop at 123 Shoreditch High Street and Bangers at 5 Leonard Circus. The meeting was also scheduled to include a standing item for discussion of Temporary Event Notices.

Application for a Premises Licence: The Corner Shop, 123 Shoreditch High Street

The Licensing Sub-Committee was scheduled to consider an application for a Premises Licence from Shoreditch 123 Ltd for The Corner Shop.

The applicant was seeking authorisation for:

• Films
• Live Music
• Recorded Music
• Performance of Dance
• Anything of a Similar Description
• Late Night Refreshment
• Supply of Alcohol (On and Off Sales)

The application proposed the following hours:

• Monday to Wednesday 10:00 to 01:00
• Thursday to Saturday 10:00 to 04:00
• Sunday 12:00 to 00:00

The report pack notes that representations were received from:

• The Metropolitan Police,
• The Licensing Authority,
• The Environmental Health Authority's Environmental Protection and Environmental Enforcement teams, and
• five local residents, one of whom was in support of the application.

The report pack recommends that if the application was to be approved, it should be subject to a number of mandatory and additional conditions. These included, amongst many others:

• The requirement that the premises operate a comprehensive CCTV system covering all entry and exit points.
• That all staff would receive training in relation to the sale of alcohol to drunks, selling alcohol to children and purchasing alcohol on behalf of children.
• That the premises shall display prominent signage requesting customers to leave the area quietly.
• That the pavement outside the premises shall be swept and litter collected.

The report pack also notes that:

It should also be noted that where a premises is not in possession of planning permission for the proposed activity and/or hours may be further restricted during weekdays and not permitted at all at weekends.

The report pack includes the decision notice for planning application 2019/0685, which was for:

Variation of condition 4 (Soundproofing) of planning permission 2012/2634 dated 30/10/2012 for Use of ground floor and basement as a wine bar together with installation of new shopfront and external flue extract on rear elevation. (variation of condition 3 in relation to opening hours of planning permission ref 2003/0291 dated 28/08/2003). The effect of the variation would be to replace the existing condition with a compliance condition.

The planning application was approved subject to conditions, including:

1. The use hereby permitted may only be carried out between 10:00 to 01:00 (the next day) Monday to Wednesday, 10:00 to 02:30 (the next day) Thursday to Saturday, 10:00 to 12:30 (the next day) on Sundays, 10:00 to midnight on New Years Eve and midnight to 23:00 New Years Day.

The report pack summarises the applicant's operating schedule and includes a number of emails from the applicant's agent in which they make a number of statements in relation to the application. The agent says:

Whilst we wish to avoid a sub committee, we accept this may be unavoidable but welcome any discussion or request re additional conditions to narrow down the issues should a licensing committee be needed.

The representations from the Metropolitan Police include this paragraph:

The venue is situated on a busy corner of 2 major roads in the middle of the Shoreditch Night Time Economy area. Whilst there is not a designated Special Policy governing the area at this time, the issue of cumulative impact was highlighted in the recent independent assessment undertaken by Hackney Council, as something that is still very relevant to the area. There is a significant impact on the local community as the number of bars open later increases. It is the increase in ASB, littering, urinating, vomiting etc as people make their way home that has a profound effect on residents, either disturbing them during the night or by the state of their locality the next morning. The later bars are open in the area the later this disturbance goes on for. With weekend hours now being spread to Thursdays, as seen in this application, the residents are being left with little respite.

They also note that:

The applicant is requesting a substantial increase to those hours without providing any additional measures on how they will minimise the impact on the local area.

One of the local resident objections refers to:

Hackney's own licensing policy, hours should be more restrictive in this area.

Another says that:

Adding another very late/early hours venue will undermine any progress made in recent months.

The Licensing Authority's representation says:

The hours sought in the application are in excess of LP3 Core Hours set out in the Hackney Licensing Policy.

This policy states that:

Hours for licensable activity will generally be authorised, subject to demonstrating LP1 and LP2, as follows:

• Monday to Thursday 08:00 to 23:00
• Friday and Saturday 08:00 to 00:00
• Sunday 10:00 to 22:30

...

Later hours may be considered where the applicant has identified any risk that may undermine the promotion of the licensing objectives and has put in place robust measures to mitigate those risks.

The Licensing Authority goes on to say:

The premises is located in a busy part of Shoreditch, the area is well known for its high concentration of licensed premises. A high number of people visit the area to frequent the licensed venues, as a consequence, the area is often subject to problems such as public urination, street drinking, persons suffering from over-intoxication and public disorder.

They add:

Whilst the 2 hour extension from Thursday to Saturday sought in the application may appear modest on the surface, given the locality and combination of the factors outlined above, the Licensing Authority believe the grant of the licence may lead to the Prevention of Public Nuisance licensing objective being undermined.

And conclude:

Given the locality and nature of the operation, it is difficult to see how the hours can be extended in a manner that promotes the licensing objectives.

The report pack included in the meeting papers includes extracts from the minutes of the previous meeting of Licensing Sub-Committee D on 25 June 2024, in which the Sub-Committee made a number of statements, including:

Pub1. The Premises Licence Holder is encouraged to engage in meaningful dialogue with the local residents to resolve any issues relating to the premises, and for the mitigation of noise emanating from the premises, particularly during the evening and late at night.

1. The licensee is strongly encouraged to use sustainable cutlery, plates, cups, and to move away from plastic disposable items to protect the local area, to prevent litter, and to protect the environment.

Application for a Premises Licence: Bangers, 5 Leonard Circus

The Licensing Sub-Committee was scheduled to consider an application for a Premises Licence from Bangers London Ltd for Bangers, seeking authorisation for:

• Supply of Alcohol (On and Off Sales)

They proposed to be open:

• Monday to Thursday 07:30 to 22:00
• Friday 07:30 to 22:00
• Saturday and Sunday 08:30 to 22:00

The application was scheduled to be considered in the context of Hackney's Statement of Licensing Policy. It is noted that:

The Policy applies to applications where relevant representations have been made. With regard to this application, policies, LP1 (General Principles), LP2 (Licensing Objectives), LP3 (Core Hours), LP4 (Off Sales of Alcohol) and LP6 (External Areas and Outdoor Events) are relevant.

The report pack notes that representations were received from the Licensing Authority and three local residents, whilst representations from the Environmental Health Authority's Environmental Enforcement team, the Police, and the Health Authority were withdrawn on the basis of agreed conditions.

If the Sub-Committee was minded to approve the application, the report pack recommends that it be subject to a number of mandatory and additional conditions, including:

• The requirement that the premises operate a comprehensive CCTV system covering all public areas, entry and exit points.
• The requirement to keep an incident log recording all crimes reported to the venue, any complaints received, incidents of disorder, faults in the CCTV system, any refusal of the sale of alcohol and any visit by a relevant authority or emergency service.
• That all staff engaged in the sale of alcohol receive training, including WAVE (Welfare And Vulnerability Engagement) training¹ on a 12 monthly basis.
• That prominent signage be installed asking customers to leave quietly and respect local residents.
• That all off sales of alcohol be in sealed containers, except to those customers seated in the designated outside area.

One of the conditions agreed with the applicant by the Licensing Authority is that:

Alcohol shall not be sold, supplied, or consumed on or off the premises otherwise than to persons who are taking substantial table meals and that the consumption of alcohol by such persons is ancillary to taking such meals.

The report pack summarises the representations from the local residents, who all objected to the application. The report pack summarises the content of these objections, including:

Concerns were raised about the off sales of alcohol from the premises as the residential block, Leonard Street, is nearby.

The Licensing Authority's representation says:

The applicant has indicated in their operating schedule that alcohol is to be supplied in conjunction with a table meal and the supply of alcohol is ancillary to the consumption of a substantial table meal on the premises.

However, they go on to say:

It is noted that in the application form the applicant has ticked the box for on and off sales. Therefore, the Licensing Authority requests that a condition be attached that any off sales will only be permitted in sealed containers so that it can only be consumed off the premises.

Temporary Event Notices - Standing Item

The Sub-Committee was scheduled to consider any Temporary Event Notices. The agenda for this item was not included in the report pack.