This meeting was scheduled to consider an application for a new premises licence for The Mavade, a bar at 76 Bedford Hill in Balham. The application was submitted by MV (Balham) Limited, the company that runs The Mavade.

The Mavade, 76 Bedford Hill, London, SW12 9HR (24-303)

The application was for the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises from 12:00 hours until 23:00 hours Sunday through Saturday nights, and the provision of regulated entertainment (live and recorded music) from midday until 23.00 hours Sunday through Saturdays.

Representations were received from:

• The Metropolitan Police
• Trading Standards
• Three members of the public, including one of the applicants

Concerns of the Metropolitan Police

The Metropolitan Police requested the following conditions:

• A closed-circuit television (CCTV) system shall be installed at the premises... All recordings made by the CCTV system shall be retained and stored in a suitable and secure manner for a minimum of 31 days and shall be made available on request to the Metropolitan Police, the Licensing Authority or Responsible Authorities.
• On Sundays to Thursdays the Premises Licence holder will carry out risk assessments as to whether SIA registered door supervisors will be required at the premises during the hours for licensable activities until all members of the public have left the premises.... On Fridays and Saturdays SIA registered door supervisors shall be employed at the premises from 21:00 hours.
• A personal licence holder shall [be] on duty at all times at the premises when carrying out licensable activities. There shall be no self-service of alcohol.
• A written search policy will be provided to the Metropolitan police and will be implemented; the search policy must include the need for bag searches and the use of hand held metal detectors (wands). Any changes to the search policy will be notified to the Metropolitan police \[team] in writing
• The premises licence holder will not hire the premises to an external promoter.
• The premises shall undertake an internal risk-assessment prior to accepting bookings for private events. This must include a security plan for the event.
• An incident log must be kept.
• No glass bottles shall be served to patrons at any time. No glass shall be served to customers whilst the barber area is in operation.
• When the main bar area is in operation patrons shall have no access to the barber area or equipment. The barber area shall be locked and secured between the hours of 12:00 to 19:00 Monday to Sunday.
• The external seating areas shall be cleared of customers by 22:00 hours Monday to Saturday. The external seating areas shall be cleared of customers at 21:00 hours Sunday. No glass or glass bottles shall be permitted in the external seating areas. Patrons permitted to temporarily leave and then re-enter the premises, e.g. to smoke, vape or make a phone call, shall not be permitted to take alcoholic beverages with them.
• Welfare and Vulnerability Engagement (WAVE) training will be provided.
• Counter Terrorism Awareness Training will be provided.

Concerns of Trading Standards

Trading Standards requested conditions relating to the requirement for staff to request proof of age, a refusals book, and staff training on age checks.

Concerns of other persons

One of the other persons making representations was Roxanne Cooper, a resident of Elspeth Road. The representation related to a party the premises held before it had a licence.

Another representation was received from Adam Goodwin ACA, a director of MV (Balham) Limited, objecting to the application. The representation stated that Mr Goodwin had not been consulted about the application, and that he believed that the licence should not be granted because:

• The premises had already been open and selling alcohol illegally: Despite my objections, alcohol was served without the necessary license, as confirmed by an internal meeting I held with Marcus \[Donkoh, a director of MV (Balham) Limited] and a third-party associate.
• The premises had already been open after 23:00 hours, despite having no licence to do so: On the subsequent nights of operation (3rd and 4th August), despite explicit instructions from me and written communication from the council, Marcus \[Donkoh] allowed alcohol service beyond the licensed hours and ignored the requirement to close by 11:00 PM... The complaint indicated that the bar remained open and playing music until approximately 1:00 AM to 1:30 AM.
• Mr Goodwin believed that Mr Donkoh, the applicant, was not a suitable person to hold a licence: It is my firm belief that Marcus’s repeated failure to comply with the law, including his insistence on serving alcohol without a license and allowing the bar to operate past the permitted hours, demonstrates a lack of responsibility and understanding of the obligations that come with holding a premises licence.
• The application had already been rejected three times: The current application for the alcohol licence has been rushed from the outset, and this is evident from the fact that it has already been rejected three times by the council due to procedural errors and inconsistencies.

Mr Goodwin argued that a professional bar manager should be appointed.

The Sub-Committee was scheduled to decide whether to grant the application with the conditions offered by the applicant, to add conditions, or to reject the application.