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Licensing Sub Committee C - Monday 11 November 2024 7.00 pm

November 11, 2024 View on council website  Watch video of meeting or read trancript  Watch video of meeting
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Summary

The Licensing Sub-Committee heard an application for a new premises licence for Malavenda Cafe, at Unit 6, 1E Mentmore Terrace. The application was granted, with conditions. The Sub-Committee also considered a variation to the premises licence of Draughts, at 41 Kingsland High Street. The applicant withdrew their request to remove an existing condition, but the application to add two new conditions was granted.

Malavenda Cafe

The applicant was seeking permission to sell alcohol for consumption on and off the premises from 12:00 to 22:00, Sunday to Thursday, 12:00 to 22:30 on Friday and 11:00 to 22:30 on Saturday. Live music was requested for three evenings per week. There were objections to the application from seven local residents, but no objections were received from Responsible Authorities. The resident objections centred around concerns that the cafe would become a noisy bar, attracting large groups of people who might smoke and drink outside the premises late at night.

The applicants for the cafe presented their case to the committee, and assured the Councillors that they would run a family friendly establishment that would be respectful of their neighbours. To address the concerns raised in the objections, they confirmed that they had already reduced their requested hours, and committed to:

  • Selling off-sales of alcohol in sealed containers only.
  • Implementing a smoking policy, and limiting the number of smokers outside the premises after 22:00 to five.
  • Not allowing customers to take drinks outside.
  • Implementing a dispersal policy.

The Councillors raised a number of additional points, including:

  • The location of the smoking area in relation to nearby balconies, the busy location, and the potential for noise and annoyance to residents. It was agreed that the location of the smoking area would be risk assessed once the business was operational.
  • The nature of the proposed live music. The applicant stated that it might be a soul songwriter who is coming in to perform an unamplified recital of their song. It might be an acoustic guitar, possibly a piano, or a very small, low key jazz performance.
  • The capacity of the venue. The applicant confirmed that there would be 35 seats, and that a small number of additional patrons might be standing around the bar area.
  • The potential for noise and odour nuisance from the extractor fan for the basement kitchen. The applicant explained that they were considering either a classic extraction system with filters, or a modern recirculating extraction system.

The Sub-Committee were content that the amendments and additional conditions offered by the applicant were sufficient to mitigate the concerns raised by local residents, and granted the application.

Draughts

The applicant for Draughts, a board game cafe, requested permission to remove Condition 9 from their existing licence and to add two new conditions. Condition 9 stated that The supply of alcohol to customers shall be made by waiting staff only for consumption by patrons seated at a table: there shall be no vertical drinking on the premises. The applicant argued that the condition was impractical, as Patrons do wish to stand with a drink whilst waiting for a game to begin or when groups of friends are at different tables and they want to walk between tables to chat and see how the game is progressing.

They requested that the condition be removed and replaced with two new conditions:

  1. The capacity of the premises shall be 200 inside and 100 in the garden, exclusive of members of staff.
  2. There will be a minimum of 300 seats or stools available for patrons at all times.

One local resident objected to the variation, arguing that the removal of the condition would essentially turn the board game cafe into a ‘traditional vertical drinking establishment’, and that the two new conditions would not prevent this.

The Licensing Officer replied to the resident, arguing that the two new conditions would prevent this from happening. They explained that:

With the conditions proffered the premises cannot change the nature of its operation significantly and become a traditional vertical drinking establishment. This is because there must be a seat or stool available for every patron and no application is being made to increase the capacity. If the proposal was to change the venue into a vertical drinking establishment you would not have such conditions as a) you would want to create open space for patrons to stand free of encumbrances such as chairs and stools and b) an operator would want to increase the capacity as vertical drinking establishments can accommodate more customers at any one time.

The resident responded, arguing that the requirement for a seat would not prevent the cafe becoming a vertical drinking establishment, as the use of the seat would be optional. They suggested that a compromise could be made, suggesting that a maximum number of patrons be permitted to stand at any one time.

Following this exchange, the applicant withdrew their request to remove Condition 9 from their licence, but requested that the two new conditions be added. There were no objections from Responsible Authorities to the addition of the two new conditions, and the Sub-Committee approved them.

Attendees

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