Content

7.1  The Sub-Committee heard from the
Principal Licensing Officer (acting), the Applicant and Responsible
Authorities (Environmental Health) and one Other Persons speaking
in objection, whom wished to remain anonymous. The application
before the Sub-Committee was for a premises licence to allow
authorisation for the provision of late-night refreshment and sale
of alcohol on Tuesday to Sunday. Environmental Health had made
their representation on the grounds of the prevention of public
nuisance.
 
7.2  Prior to the meeting
the Applicant had agreed to a number additional conditions from
Environmental Protection including the following:
· 
Prior to the use of the premises for regulated entertainment a
noise impact assessment shall be carried out by a qualified
acoustic consultant to assess the existing noise control/mitigation
measures within the premises with recommendations for improvements
where necessary. The report to be submitted and approved by the
Hackney Environmental Protection Team and no regulated
entertainment shall be played until the recommendations within the
noise impact assessment have been fully implemented;
· 
Clearly legible notices shall be displayed at all exits from the
premises requesting patrons to respect the needs of local residents
and leave quietly;
· 
All patrons or staff waiting for a cab or other form of
transportation will be encouraged to wait within the premises;
· 
No music or amplified sound shall be generated within the premises
so as to give rise to nuisance within neighbouring dwellings;
· 
Only four customers will be allowed to use the designated smoking
area at any one time;
· 
The premises licence holder shall ensure that on leaving the
premises, customers will not be permitted to loiter or congregate
outside of the premises;
· 
All music, both live and recorded, generated on the premises must
be relayed through a sound limiting device, which must be linked to
a graphic equaliser and set at a level which will not give rise to
nuisance to neighbouring residents. The limiter must not be
overridden or interfered with at any time;
· 
Rubbish including bottles or cans shall not be deposited outside
the premises between 23:00 and 07:00 hours the following
day.  No rubbish shall be left on the
pavement outside the premises at any time;
· 
Refuse collection shall not take place between 23:00 hours and
07:00 hours the following day;
· 
The external doors of the premises shall be kept closed when the
premises are open except for immediate access and egress from 22:00
hours until the premises is closed.
 
7.3  During the course of
submissions and a discussion of the application, the following
points were made:
· 
The Applicant explained that he would find out what the noise
limits were and then they would install noise limitation measures
e.g. ceiling insulation. The Applicant understood that this would
take a couple of months to do;
· 
Premises capacity was 25 patrons seated and 40 standing;
· 
In regards to late night refreshment the premises would sell snacks
and nibbles;
· 
The Environmental Protection representative that issues around
complaints of noise breakout were ongoing as testing was
underway;
· 
There would be no Temporary Event Notices (TENs) until the noise
issue was resolved;
· 
In relation to the proposed conditions agreed between the Applicant
and Environmental Protection, references to Regulated Entertainment
would be removed. Condition eight would be removed as this would
duplicate what was already set out under condition nine;
· 
The Sub-Committee noted that the 15 noise complaints that had been
submitted were understood to be from the same person;
· 
On site the outside area was for four smokers;
· 
The Sub-Committee recommended to the Applicant that they consider
undertaking a Fire Risk Assessment;
· 
The Sub-Committee welcomed the good working relationship between
the Applicant and Environmental Protection;
· 
The Sub-Committee raised concerns about the poor conditions of the
outside of the flats above the premises and the risk to public
safety. The Applicant explained that he had raised the issue with
the Landlord and would so again. The Sub-Committee recommended the
Applicant raise the issue with Hackney Council’s Building
Control.
 
7.4  The Applicant had no
closing remarks beyond thanking the Sub-Committee for their
co-operation. He hoped the issues surrounding noise breakout could
be resolved shortly. 
 
7.5  There was brief discussion
about the level of background music permitted and to what
level.  The Applicant agreed that there
would be a low level of recorded music after 23:00 hours.
 
 
 
The decision
 
The Licensing Sub-Committee in
considering this decision from the information presented to it
within the report and at the hearing has determined that having
regard to the promotion of all the licensing objectives:
 
· 
The prevention of crime and disorder;
· 
Public safety;
· 
Prevention of public nuisance; and
· 
The protection of children from harm,
 
the application for a premises licence has
been approved in accordance with the Council’s Statement of
Licensing Policy and the proposed conditions set out in paragraph
8.1 of the report, with the following amendments:
 
The hours for licensable activities
at the premises, shall be, as set out in the
report to the Sub-committee.
 
And the following conditions agreed
with the Environmental Protection Service:
 
1. 
 Prior to the use of the premises for
regulated entertainment a noise impact assessment shall be carried
out by a qualified acoustic consultant to assess the existing noise
control/mitigation measures within the premises with
recommendations for improvements where necessary. The report to be
submitted and approved by the Hackney Environmental Protection Team
and no regulated entertainment shall be played until the
recommendations within the noise impact assessment have been fully
implemented.'
 
2.    The
premises licence holder shall ensure that on leaving the premises,
customers will not be permitted thereafter to loiter or congregate
outside of the premises.
 
3.  Clearly legible notices shall be
displayed at all exits from the premises requesting patrons to
respect the needs of local residents and leave quietly.
 
4.   All patrons or staff
waiting for a cab or other form of transportation will be
encouraged to wait within the premises.
 
5.   No music or
amplified sound shall be generated within the premises so as to
give rise to nuisance within neighbouring dwellings.
 
6.   Only 4 customers
will be permitted to use the designated smoking area at any one
time.
 
7.   All music, both live
and recorded, generated on the premises must be relayed through a
sound limiting device, which must be linked to a graphic equaliser
and set at a level which will not give rise to nuisance to
neighbouring residents. The limiter unit shall not be overridden or
interfered with at any time.
 
8.   Refuse collections
and deliveries shall not take place between 23:00 hours and 07:00
hours the following day.
 
9.  The
external doors of the premises shall be kept closed when the
premises are open except for immediate access and egress from 22:00
until the premises closes.
 
Reasons for the
decision 
 
The application for a premises licence has
been approved because the Licensing Sub-committee was satisfied
that the licensing objectives would not be undermined.
 
The Sub-committee took into
consideration that the Applicant agreed to conditions with the
Environmental Enforcement Team, the Metropolitan Police Service and
the Licensing Authority which resulted in them withdrawing their
objections to the application.
 
The Sub-committee took into consideration that
the Environmental Protection Service made representations on the
grounds of public nuisance. The Sub-committee took into account
that the Environmental Protection Team had received 15 complaints
in the last two months about noise coming from the premises. The
Environmental Protection Team made representations that the
Applicant needed to consult and obtain an acoustic report and to
consult the Environmental Protection Team on the works to be
carried out to overcome the noise complaints.
 
The Sub-committee took into consideration the
Environmental Protection Officer’s representations that they
had received 15 noise complaints regarding the premises, and the
Environmental Protection Service had visited the premises twice and
witnessed noise nuisance. The Sub-committee heard that the noise
affects local residents due to the poor sound installation at the
premises which require work to be carried out as soon as possible.
The Applicant asked for two months to carry out the works to
resolve the noise nuisance, and the Applicant has given assurances
that the works will be carried out, be tested and approved by the
Environmental Protection Service.
 
The Sub-committee noted that until all the
works have been carried out and tested the Environmental Protection
Officer requested that music be played at background level and no
temporary events or private events should be held at the premises
because of the noise impact on local residents.
 
The Sub-committee took into account that the
application was for the supply and consumption of alcohol on the
premises only, and no regulated entertainment was permitted after
23:00.
 
The Sub-committee took into account the
Environmental Protection Officer’s representations that the
Applicant had been very cooperative and was willing to work with
the Environmental Protection Service to resolve the noise
nuisance.
 
The Sub-committee took into consideration the
Applicant’s representations that the premises is a coffee
shop during the day and a wine bar in the evening. The premises has
a capacity of 40 with 25 covers. The Applicant made representations
that they had been working with the Environmental Protection
Officer to resolve the noise issues phase by phase and they will be
insulating the ceiling and carrying out structural work to the
ceiling that will take 2 months. The Applicant confirmed that they
had changed the speakers The Applicant intended to play background
music until the noise issues have been resolved as agreed with the
Environmental Protection Service. The Applicant confirmed that the
customers are generally seated when having wine.
 
The Sub-committee took into account that the
applicant received complaints from the complainant often in the
afternoon rather than at night as they work shifts. 
 
The Sub-committee felt reassured by the
conditions agreed by the Applicant and the Responsible Authorities,
and they felt the Applicant demonstrated that they would work to
overcome the noise nuisance, and would not undermine the licensing
objectives.
 
Having taken all of the above factors into
consideration the Sub-committee was satisfied that by granting this
premises licence the licensing objectives would not be
undermined.
 
Public
Informatives
 
The Premises Licence Holder is encouraged to
continue working with Responsible Authorities to prevent any public
nuisance or negative impact in the area.
 
The Premises Licence Holder is
advised to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment.
 
Your right to
appeal
 
If you are aggrieved by any term, condition or
restriction attached to this decision, you have the right to appeal
to the Thames Magistrates Court, 58 Bow Road, London E3 4DJ within
21 days of the date you receive this written decision.
 
You can also contact the court by
email: northlondonmc@justice.gov.uk