The Licensing Sub-Committee was scheduled to consider an application made by Berenjak Restaurants Limited to vary the premises licence for Berenjak Borough, a restaurant on Bedale Street in Southwark. The application proposed changes to the internal layout of the first floor and adjustments to the operating hours.

Berenjak Borough, 1 Bedale Street, London, SE1 9AL

The application from Berenjak Restaurants Limited requested permission to vary the existing premises licence for Berenjak Borough, to reflect the changes to the internal layout of the first floor and to extend the hours during which alcohol could be sold.

The application proposed extending the hours for the sale of alcohol to align with the restaurant's opening hours, from 10:00 to 00:00, seven days a week. The application also requested permission to add late night refreshment to the licence, from 23:00 to 00:00, every day.

The application stated that

The premises has not come to the attention of the authorities and is promoting the licensing objectives in its current operation. As such, no further conditions to promote the licensing objectives are offered and the Applicant is content that the conditions already on premises licence number 883402 will continue to promote the licensing objective at this site. ¹

Representations expressing concerns about the application were received from the Metropolitan Police, Southwark Council's Trading Standards team, a local ward Councillor and a resident.

Metropolitan Police

The Metropolitan Police raised concerns about the lack of clarity regarding a potential increase in the venue's capacity due to the addition of a new seating area. They also pointed out the absence of a designated drinking-up time for customers, given that the proposed alcohol sale hours extended until the closing time. The Police recommended a range of additional conditions to be added to the licence to address their concerns. These conditions related to CCTV requirements, staff training on licensing regulations, signage requesting customers to leave quietly, limitations on the use of outdoor areas, incident reporting procedures, the Ask for Angela scheme, and measures to address drink spiking.

Southwark Trading Standards

Southwark Trading Standards submitted a representation focusing on the protection of children from harm. They highlighted the application's lack of detailed conditions related to this objective. Trading Standards suggested conditions to improve the existing licence, including implementing a Challenge 25 policy, providing staff training on preventing underage alcohol sales, displaying clear signage about the age verification policy, and maintaining a register of refused alcohol sales. They indicated their willingness to lift their representation if these conditions were accepted by the applicant.

Local Representations

Councillor David Watson objected to the application, arguing that extending the hours for the sale of alcohol could negatively impact the area's cumulative impact policy. This policy is in place due to statistics on alcohol-related crime, disorder, and hospital admissions in the Borough and Bankside ward.

A resident also objected, raising concerns about the lack of a drinking-up time, the potential for increased noise and disorder, and the absence of prior consultation with residents regarding the application.