This Licensing Panel A meeting was scheduled to consider two applications. The first was an application to vary the licence of the restaurant Kinkally, on Charlotte Street in Bloomsbury, and the second was an application for a new licence for Go Puff, on Castle Mews in Haverstock.

Kinkally

The application from Kinkally was to vary their existing licence so they could serve alcohol and late night refreshment until later. The bar at Kinkally, which is in the basement of the premises and is known as Bar Kinky, currently closes at midnight. The applicants requested to change this to 1:00 on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 1:30 on Fridays and Saturdays. They also requested that the restaurant be allowed to remain open to the public until these times, and that the terminal hour for late night refreshment be extended to 1:30 on Wednesdays and Thursdays and to 2:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.

The applicants said that the overwhelming majority of the bar's customers are restaurant customers, but that some patrons dine elsewhere and wish to join their friends for drinks at Bar Kinky after their meals. They said that they wish to accommodate these customers.

The overwhelming majority of Bar Kinky patrons are restaurant customers wishing to extend their evening relaxing away from the dinner table. However, with a loyal and established clientele, and no similar premises in the vicinity, Bar Kinky has patrons who would like to visit after dining at other eateries to extend their evening in a safe, friendly, and relaxed environment.

The applicants said that they had operated the premises under a series of Temporary Event Notices (TENs) with the proposed hours during December 2024 and January 2025. These had been successful, with no complaints being received.

Ten representations were received from residents. All of the representations opposed the application.

The applicants agreed with the Police that if the variation was granted, the licence would be modified to include the following condition:

On-sales of alcohol beyond Camden Council’s Framework Hours will be permitted for up to 20 customers using the basement bar area only

The applicant also offered to include the following condition in their licence:

The premises shall operate a dispersal policy and all staff shall be trained in its implementation. The policy shall include staff remaining on the premises until the effective dispersal of all patrons from the immediate vicinity of the premises.

GoPuff

GoPuff applied for a new premises licence that would allow them to supply alcohol for consumption on and off the premises.

The applicants requested permission to supply alcohol 24 hours a day.

The Licensing Authority, Environmental Health, TRACT Residents' Association, and Patricia Thomas all made representations in opposition to the application.

The Licensing Authority made their representation on the basis that the requested hours fell outside the hours specified in the Council's Statement of Licensing Policy 2022-2027, and that the application did not include Camden's Women's Safety principles.

The applicants offered to amend their operating schedule to include a number of conditions, including the following relating to age verification checks:

All potential customers must verify at the time of payment that they are at least 18 years of age.

A challenge 25 age verification scheme will be used. ID will be required for deliveries to customers who do not look 25 years old. They will be required to prove by way of photographic ID, either a passport or driving licence that they are at least 18. The card used for purchase will also be checked against the ID provided. If the business is in any doubt, then the delivery of alcohol will not be made, and a full refund will be issued. Postal/ carriage deliveries will only be made once a verified payment method has been established, and the customer has confirmed they are 18 or over when making the purchase.

The Metropolitan Police made a representation because the requested hours for the supply of alcohol were outside of the framework hours in the Council's Statement of Licensing Policy. The applicants then agreed to amend the application to reduce the hours for the supply of alcohol to 08:00-23:00. The Police then confirmed that they would withdraw their representation.

Environmental Health also made a representation because they felt that 24 hour operation would be likely to have a negative impact on the area because of the potential for public nuisance. They said that the proposed 24 hour operation would be likely to attract more demand and activity than would be generated if the hours were in line with the framework hours in Camden's Statement of Licensing Policy. They said they were concerned about the potential for increased traffic, noise from vehicle movements, and noise from delivery drivers.

The applicants offered to include a number of conditions in the licence, including the following:

No idling of vehicles that are awaiting access to the premises or waiting to pick up a delivery.

Delivery drivers waiting to collect customers’ orders for delivery, shall not be allowed to congregate outside of the Premises (save in the event of a fire drill or fire evacuation) and shall be required by the Premises Licence Holder to wait inside the Premises.

Environmental Health accepted these conditions and requested that the licence also include the following condition, relating to deliveries to and from the premises:

Deliveries to the premises, and waste collections from the premises Monday to Saturday shall take place between 8am and 8pm, and on Sunday and Public holidays 10am to 8pm.

They also requested that the applicant keep a log of all deliveries to and collections from the premises.

TRACT Residents' Association made a representation on the basis that the premises is on a residential street, and that 24 hour operation would not be appropriate. They asked for a condition to be added to the licence that would stipulate that all deliveries from the premises must be made by non-combustion motor vehicles.

Patricia Thomas, a resident of Hartland Road, also made a representation saying that the requested hours were too early in the morning and too late at night for the business to be a good neighbour. She said that she felt that more attention needed to be given to this matter before the application would be acceptable.