This meeting of the Licensing Sub-Committee was scheduled to consider two applications. The first was for the grant of a new premises licence for the sale of alcohol for Fan Zone, Charlton Athletic Football Club, Floyd Road, London SE7 8BL. The second was for a variation to the existing licence for AFC Lewisham, Gresham Sports Ground, Eltham Road, London SE12 8ES. It is important to note that this is just a summary of what was scheduled to be discussed based on the documents provided to the attendees and does not tell us anything about what was actually discussed, or whether any decisions were actually made.

Fan Zone, Charlton Athletic Football Club

The application from Charlton Athletic Football Company Limited requested permission for the following:

• The sale and supply of alcohol (to be consumed both on and off the premises).
• The exhibition of films.
• The provision of indoor sports.
• The performance of live music.
• The provision of recorded music.
• The performance of dance and activities of a similar description (both indoors and outdoors).

These activities were requested from 09:00 to 21:00, Monday to Sunday. The proposed opening hours were 09:00 to 21:30, Monday to Sunday.

The report notes that the application requests these hours to cover the possibility of football match days and hours changing at short notice to accommodate television coverage.

Although the application requests seemingly wide-ranging proposed hours for licensable activities, this is only to cover the possibility of the days and hours of football matches being changed at short notice to accommodate such things as television coverage and the intention is to use the Licence only for pre-match activities (the later hours being sought in case of the Team needing to play possibly televised games in Europe where the time zones and requests from television broadcasters may be different)

Two representations were received by the council: one from a local Councillor and one petition from local residents. Both raised concerns about the prevention of crime and disorder and the prevention of public nuisance. The petition is not included in the publicly available documents.

The Metropolitan Police made a representation that was subsequently conciliated. The representation called for the following conditions:

• The Fan Zone only being used on Charlton Athletic match days.
• The Fan Zone being for the sole use of Charlton Athletic fans on match days.
• No drinks, including alcohol and other drinks, being served in glass containers.
• A written security policy being kept on the premises and made available for inspection by a Police Officer or an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority. The policy is to include:
  • The minimum number of supervisors.
  • The display of name badges.
  • The requirement for supervisors to carry proof of SIA registration.
  • The hours of operation and locations of door staff.

The report notes that the area is not part of a Cumulative Impact Zone. There are also two existing premises licences in force at the stadium: one authorising licensable activities within the stadium building only and the other authorising licensable activities on the pitch and in the stands.

AFC Lewisham

The application requests a variation to the existing licence to allow for the following:

• To extend the hours for the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises to:
  • Monday to Thursday: from 16:00 to 23:00.
  • Friday: from 16:00 to 00:00 midnight.
  • Saturday: from 12:00 noon to 00:00 midnight.
  • Sunday: from 12:00 noon to 23:00.
• To add the licensable activity of the consumption of alcohol off the premises for the above hours.
• To extend the provision of regulated entertainment, by way of the provision of indoor sporting events and the provision of performances of dance, to the above hours.
• To extend the opening hours to the public to the above hours.

The applicant has not offered any further conditions to promote the licensing objectives.

Representations were received from Councillor Denise Scott-McDonald, the Kidbrooke with Hornfair ward Councillor, and Councillor Sandra Bauer, the Kidbrooke Village and Sutcliffe ward Councillor, as well as 50 residents. Both Councillors, the Royal Borough of Greenwich Community Protection Team and the residents opposed the application on the grounds of public nuisance. There were also two representations objecting to the granting of the application on the grounds of the protection of children from harm. The residents' representations and one of the representations objecting on the grounds of the protection of children from harm are not included in the publicly available documents.

The report notes that since the granting of the premises licence on 3 March 2022 the Licensing Team have received 16 complaints about AFC Lewisham. These included complaints of loud music, noise nuisance, anti-social behaviour, drug taking, excess patron numbers and breaches of licence conditions.

On 31 August 2022, a Temporary Event Notice was submitted by Mr Phillemon Mashaga, the Holder and Designated Premises Supervisor in respect of the premises licence attached to AFC Lewisham. The TEN related to the licensable activities of On-Sale & Supply of Alcohol, Regulated Entertainment (music & dance), and late-night refreshment (the provision of hot food &/or hot drink after 23:00 hours). The event proposed to commence at 20:00 hours on Saturday 24 September and conclude at 02:30 the following day, Sunday 25 September 2022. The Royal Greenwich Environmental Health Service, The Metropolitan Police Service and Head of Service, Ian Andrews, all submitted objections to the notice within the required three working days of formal circulation. A Licensing Sub-Committee Hearing was convened, and the decision was made not to grant the Temporary Event Notice.

Following the refusal of the Temporary Event Notice, the council engaged an independent mediation service. The service met with the premises licence holder and some residents but no large-scale mediation meeting took place.

The report lists all of the Temporary Event Notices that have been submitted by AFC Lewisham since 2019. Of the 45 applications, one was refused, 10 were withdrawn, and the rest were granted.

In response to the representations received about the application, the Community Protection Team has proposed the following conditions to the licence:

1. The premises opening hours to be:
   • Sunday to Monday: until 22:00.
   • Tuesday to Thursday: until 23:00.
   • Friday and Saturday: until 00:00 midnight.
2. The premises, including all external areas, to be clear of patrons no later than 30 minutes following the terminal opening hour for the premises daily.
3. All external areas of the premises to be clear of patrons by 22:00 daily, save for up to five people temporarily using the external area for smoking and/or vaping at any one time.
4. Signage to be displayed on all exits stating that patrons must be clear of external areas by 22:00.
5. Signage to be displayed on all exits stating that there is to be a maximum of five people temporarily using the outdoor areas for smoking/vaping only at any one time after 22:00. This signage to remind patrons to be respectful of their neighbours and keep noise to a minimum.
6. All speakers and audio equipment, including DJ decks, speakers and amps, to remain indoors within the premises during private functions and all regulated entertainment for all events to cease in outdoor areas by 20:00.

The Community Protection Team notes that these conditions are proposed because of the history of noise complaints at the premises. They note that in July and August 2022 an abatement notice was issued to AFC Lewisham following several events that were considered a noise nuisance. They state that since then there have been no further breaches of the abatement notice and a sharp reduction in the number of complaints. However, they recommend the proposed conditions to ensure that AFC Lewisham continues to manage noise effectively.

The report notes that at the time of writing the applicant has not yet formally agreed to these conditions.