The Licensing Sub-Committee (3) of Westminster City Council met and decided to grant new premises licenses to both Breadstall Pizza Ltd at 92-93 Berwick Street, W1F 0QB, and Ls 1 Sherwood Street Limited at 48 Regent Street, W1B 5RA. In the case of Breadstall Pizza Ltd, the committee decided that they had done enough to mitigate the effects of their presence in the West End Cumulative Impact Zone. In the case of Ls 1 Sherwood Street Limited, the committee determined that the business was not actually in the Cumulative Impact Zone, despite its Regent Street location.

92-93 Berwick Street, W1F 0QB

This was an application for a new premises licence for a restaurant from Breadstall Pizza Ltd. The applicant intended to open from 09:00 to 00:00 Monday to Saturday, and 09:00 to 23:00 on Sunday. Alcohol would be sold for consumption on and off the premises, and the application included permission for late night refreshment.

Several residents objected to the application. They cited the existing problems with noise and anti-social behaviour from venues on Berwick Street, and they were particularly concerned by the applicant’s request to be able to put tables and chairs outside the restaurant. They said:

This part of Berwick Street is residential and must not be turned into an all day and late-night hang-out for people consuming more alcohol in Soho, where people are already urinating and being sick everywhere and causing a noise nuisance as well as an increase in crime

They asked the committee to reject the application or to refuse permission for the tables and chairs. They also asked for a limit on the number of people who would be allowed to smoke outside the premises.

The Soho Society also objected to the application. They noted that there were already a large number of late-opening licensed premises in the immediate vicinity of the application site. They argued that the applicant had not done enough to mitigate the effects of their presence in the Cumulative Impact Zone, arguing that:

The evidence is clear this application for a new licensed restaurant within the West End Cumulative Impact Zone will without doubt increase cumulative impact, crime and disorder and noise nuisance to residents.

They cited the council's own Cumulative Impact Assessment from 2023 as evidence that new licensed premises would worsen existing problems.

Both the Metropolitan Police Service and the Licensing Authority initially objected to the application, but withdrew their objections following discussions with the applicant. The police withdrew their objection after the applicant agreed to a number of conditions, including:

• Customers would not be able to take drinks or glass containers outside the premises, except to authorised external seating areas.
• All outside tables and chairs would have to be rendered unusable by 22:00.
• Customers would not be able to buy alcohol to takeaway unless it was ancillary to the purchase of a meal.
• Delivery drivers would not be able to congregate in the immediate vicinity of the premises.

The applicant also offered to amend the application to remove any reference to outside tables and chairs, and to introduce a new condition forbidding them altogether.

The committee decided to grant the application, but to add a condition stating that there would be no outside tables and chairs. They also added a condition requiring the applicant to provide a direct telephone number to local residents so that they could raise any concerns they had directly with the business. They did not, however, add a condition limiting the number of people allowed to smoke outside the premises at one time.

The committee's decision was influenced by the fact that both the police and the Licensing Authority had withdrawn their objections. They determined that the application would promote the licensing objectives, and that:

the mitigating measures put forward by the Applicant would … ensure that the application did not add to cumulative impact.

They also noted that the removal of the outside tables and chairs had addressed one of the main concerns of the local residents. They added their own condition forbidding the use of outside tables and chairs because they felt that it would provide greater clarity for both the applicant and for local residents, and because it would:

ensure that if the licence were transferred, the new licence holder would have to apply for this condition to be removed before using outside tables and chairs.

48 Regent Street, W1B 5RA

This was an application for a new premises licence for an event space from Ls 1 Sherwood Street Limited. The applicant wanted to be able to host events with regulated entertainment, including plays, films, live and recorded music, and dance performances from 09:00 to 00:00 Monday to Saturday and 10:00 to 22:30 on Sundays. Alcohol would be sold for consumption on and off the premises, and the application included permission for late night refreshment. The applicant proposed a condition restricting the sale of alcohol to 50 days per calendar year.

The Soho Society objected to the application. They argued that, due to the nature of the events, the premises would in effect be operating as a pub or bar and would therefore fall under the council’s policy of refusing new pub and bar licences in the Cumulative Impact Zone. They also argued that the 500 person capacity of the event space would add to the existing problems with congestion and crime in the area. They said that:

The TENs opportunity for brand partners added to their concerns.

The Licensing Authority initially suggested that, due to the lack of detail provided in the application, the event space would operate in a way similar to a pub or bar and should therefore be refused. They asked the applicant to provide further information about the nature of the events that would be held. At the meeting, the Licensing Authority agreed with the applicant’s view that the event space would not operate as a pub or bar, and withdrew their suggestion.

The committee granted the application. They decided that, with the conditions that had been offered, the application would promote the licensing objectives and would not add to cumulative impact.

The committee decided that the space would not operate as a pub or bar because the applicant had agreed to conditions requiring the provision of licensable activities to be ancillary to the main use of the premises as an event space. They also placed weight on the fact that the sale of alcohol would be restricted to 50 days per year.

The committee added a condition preventing off sales of alcohol after 23:00 and a condition preventing customers from taking alcoholic drinks outside the premises. They also agreed to a condition proposed by the applicant restricting the number of days on which live football events could be shown to five per calendar year, but they rejected a proposal from the Soho Society to ban them altogether.