This meeting was scheduled to consider applications for new premises licences from a kiosk on Kingsway and a restaurant on Cleveland Street. The meeting also included the proposed adoption of guidance for remote hearings. It is important to note that this summary is based on the information that was scheduled to be discussed at the meeting and that it does not reflect what was actually discussed, or any decisions that were made.

London Kiosk, 111 Kingsway, London WC2B 6PP

This application was for a new premises licence for Mr Krish Aziz Virani for the sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises at a kiosk on Kingsway in Camden.

The applicant proposed to sell alcohol from 08:00 to 23:00, Monday to Saturday and from 10:00 to 22:30 on Sundays. The applicant also proposed that the kiosk would be open to the public from 07:00 to 02:00, Monday to Saturday and 10:00 to 02:00 on Sundays.

The Metropolitan Police¹ submitted a representation objecting to the application in its entirety, raising concerns about crime, disorder, public nuisance and protecting children from harm, because:

The Kiosk is situated on Kingsway, a busy road with lots of pubs and clubs and entertainment venues. It is close to various hostels and hotels and extremely close to the underground network that accommodates a huge footfall of commuters and members of the public going into, and out of London’s West End. Supply of alcohol at this location would be a big responsibility for the operators and the concern would be that alcohol could be sold to people who are already very drunk, cause people to become victims of crime or cause people to commit crime. There are also the vulnerable to consider, given that there is an abundance of hostels in the local vicinity.

The Police also explained that they had previously issued a closure order to the premises under Section 19 of the Licensing Act 2003² because they believed that the venue was selling alcohol without a licence and:

The main concern for the MPS is that the venue has already committed offences in relation to alcohol and tobacco products. The venue have already shown a disregard for the rules laid down for them by the council and the police, and this is the reason that the MPS object to this application in its entirety.

PC Kevin Nicholls submitted additional information outlining what he said were further incidents of the sale of alcohol without a licence, and the possession of illicit tobacco products at the premises. This included details of quantities of various types of alcohol, including champagne, that he said were found in the basement of the premises during a visit on 23 January 2025.

The Police's representation suggested a number of additional conditions to the licence, including CCTV, Challenge 25³, staff training and the calling of the police in the event of crime or serious disorder, but only if the Licensing Panel was minded to grant the application.

Camden's Licensing Authority submitted a representation objecting to the application because the premises are located within the Seven Dials Cumulative Impact Policy Area⁴. In their representation, they explained that:

The applicant has applied for a Premises Licence within a Cumulative Impact Area of the London Borough of Camden... It would be a matter for elected members to depart from the adopted licensing policy based on the information presented to them.

The Council's Trading Standards team submitted a representation to the panel, outlining a chronology of enforcement visits to the premises. They explained that in March 2023 they had seized alcohol, illicit tobacco and illicit vapes from the premises. They also outlined details of a test purchase they carried out on 9 October 2024 in which they said an employee of the premises sold a vape to a 15 year old child. They went on to explain that on 8 October 2024 they had seized illicit tobacco products, vapes and 90 bottles of alcohol from the premises and that:

Several bottles were left in the basement.

They then explained that on 10 October 2024 they had visited the premises again with PC Christopher Malone after he had found bottles of champagne in the basement of the premises. Their representation also included emails from Christopher Allen, a Trading Standards officer, to Mr Virani and a response from Mr Virani to Mr Allen.

The applicant volunteered a number of conditions, including CCTV, Challenge 25, an incident log, staff training and not selling single cans or super-strength alcohol, but did not offer to change the hours applied for.

In an email to the Licensing Officer, Mr Manpreet Kapoor, acting as an agent for the applicant, said that Mr Virani was happy to accept all of the conditions proposed by the Police.

ATTO, 88a Cleveland Street, London, W1T 6NJ

This application was for a new premises licence for xGround Holdings Limited, for the sale of alcohol for consumption on and off the premises at a restaurant on Cleveland Street in Camden. The application specified Mr Jae Hyeok Lee as the Designated Premises Supervisor⁵ for the licence.

The applicant proposed to sell alcohol from 11:30 to 23:00, Monday to Sunday, and for the restaurant to be open to the public from 09:00 to 23:00, Monday to Sunday. The applicant also requested that the restaurant should be able to open on bank holidays, but not Christmas Day or New Year's Day.

The Charlotte Street Association⁶ submitted a representation to the panel, objecting to the application on the grounds of public nuisance. They explained that:

Many people live in Cleveland Street and the immediate vicinity, which accords with central Government policy to encourage people to live in central urban areas. Thus, it is very important that the amenity of the residential community here is protected.

Their representation raised concerns about the lack of a condition preventing the sale of alcohol to customers who were not eating a meal at the restaurant. They went on to explain that this was contrary to Camden's licensing policy and that:

Camden’s Licensing Policy states that:... premises are restaurant or cafe if the sale of alcohol is only made to seated customers who are taking a meal on premises. If alcohol is sold to any other person, we will regard the premises as a pub or bar.” The Policy (para 7.14) goes on to say that “... We expect all restaurants to volunteer the condition that alcohol shall only be sold to persons seated and taking table meals at the premises”."

Their representation also raised concerns about the use of the outdoor space referred to in the application form and what they said was a lack of information about how it would be used. They suggested a 21:00 closing time for the outdoor area:

We would wish to ask for an hours restriction on the use of the outside area, so as to protect the residential amenity of the immediate residents living nearby.

They also suggested conditions about preventing off-sales of alcohol to people who were not also ordering food, limiting the number of smokers outside the premises, ensuring that delivery drivers were considerate to residents, and that rubbish, and especially bottles, were not disposed of late at night or early in the morning. Their representation concluded by saying:

Fitzrovia is a case in point, where it is essential to take account of this cumulative negative impact of such further licensed activities and recognise the detrimental effect this would have on this residential community.

Mr Steve Oram submitted a representation objecting to the application, explaining that:

There is no particular reason to be open later than standard hours or later than other restaurants on the street. And having one earlier night closing per week gives residents one night with a slightly earlier quiet time. Also, selling alcohol off the premises after standard Camden hours does not seem reasonable to local residents.

The applicant volunteered a number of conditions, including restricting the number of people smoking outside the premises, a sign asking customers to leave quietly, ensuring that delivery drivers switch off their engines while waiting to collect food and adopting the Ask for Angela scheme. They did not however offer a condition preventing the sale of alcohol to customers who were not eating a meal.

In an email to Camden Council, PC Rachel Aldis explained that she had come to an agreement with the applicant and requested that 17 additional conditions be added to the licence including preventing the sale of alcohol to customers who were not eating, CCTV, Challenge 25, staff training and only permitting the sale of alcohol for as long as the premises were used as a restaurant. The email also stated that:

the Metropolitan Police have come to an agreement with the Applicant in regards to the application for ATTO, 88 A Cleveland Street.

Guidance on remote meetings held under the Licensing Act 2003 and Associated Regulations

The panel was scheduled to agree to adopt new guidance for remote hearings held under the Licensing Act 2003. The proposed guidance included information for participants on how to prepare for meetings, conduct themselves during meetings, and deal with interruptions to connections. It also outlined how to deal with confidential items, equalities issues, voting and disruptive behaviour.