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,

and in particular the prevention of public nuisance, made the following determination:

To Modify the conditions of the premises licence with the following agreed conditions:

·  No recorded music is permitted until the noise limiter has been

installed and set with the approval of the Council's Environmental Protection Team.

·  All music systems shall be routed through a sound limiting device. The limiting device(s) should be set to ensure inaudibility in all nearby residential premises, a certificate of compliance should be submitted to the Environmental Protection Team. The device shall be controlled by the licensee/management and kept in a locked, tamper-proof box.

·  Remove the Designated Premises Supervisor named as Thomas Joseph Kearns.

And the following conditions on the report to be modified and added to the premises licence:

·  Amend Condition 5 as follows:

“Prominent, clear and legible notices are displayed at all exits requesting the public to respect the needs of local residents and to leave the premises and area quietly”.

·  Amend Condition 16 as follows:

“When recorded music is in operation, the doors and windows to the premises shall remain closed except for the immediate access and egress of customers and staff”.

·  Amend Condition 17 as follows:

“All refuse and bottles shall be disposed of in bins quietly so as not to disturb neighbours or local residents. There shall be no disposal of glass bottles outside between 23:00 hours and 07:00 hours”. The outside seating area shall close to customers by 21:00 save for customers leaving the venue to smoke. No more than 10 customers will be allowed to use the area at any time post 21:00. No glass or open containers to be taken into the smoking area after 21:00.

·  The premises shall install and maintain a comprehensive CCTV system as per the minimum requirements of the Metropolitan Police. All public areas including all entry and exit points will be covered enabling frontal identification of every person entering in any light condition. The CCTV system shall continually record whilst the premises is open for licensable activities and during all times when customers remain on the premises. All recordings shall be stored for a minimum period of 31 days with date and time stamping. Recordings shall be made available upon the request of Police or authorised officer throughout the preceding 31-day period.

·  A staff member from the premises who is conversant with the operation of the CCTV system shall be on the premises at all times when the premises is open to the public. This staff member shall be able to show Police or an authorised officer of Hackney Borough Council recent data or footage with the absolute minimum of delay when requested.

·  The premises licence holder will ensure that a personal licence holder will be on duty whenever the venue is open and operating past 9pm every night.

·  A challenge 25 scheme shall be in operation during the opening hours of the premises. Where any sale of alcohol is taking place employees at the premises must request sight of evidence of the age of any person appearing to be under the age of 25 years (Challenge 25). Such evidence should include a photo such as a driving licence, passport or PASS card.

An incident log shall be kept at the premises and be made available on request to an authorised officer of the council or police which will record the following:

·  All ejections of patrons

·  Any complaints received ·

·  Any incidents of disorder

·  Seizures of drugs or offensive weapons

·  Any faults in the CCTV system

·  Any refusal of the sale of alcohol

·  Any visit by a relevant authority or emergency service

The premises will operate a zero-tolerance policy to drugs and will comply with the Hackney Police Drugs and Weapons policy (2014 or as amended) where appropriate. Prominent signage shall be displayed by every entrance and exit detailing the drugs and weapons policies.

Male and female door supervisors (SIA) will be employed at the premises on a Friday and Saturday night from 8pm on an operational risk assessment basis. The full names, SIA numbers, agency or home address with telephone number will be supplied and recorded in an SIA register together with the time and date of deployment. This register will be retained on the premises and will be made available for inspection upon request by any relevant authority.

On a yearly basis all staff shall be given refresher training on the legislation relating to sales of alcohol to underage persons, drunken persons and how to deal with people incapacitated by drink or drugs. Such training shall include first aid and any welfare training such as WAVE (or as amended). Records of the training to be kept at the venue and made available to police or authorised officer immediately upon request. Any new staff will be trained on appointment.

The Licence Holder shall provide and maintain a dedicated telephone number of the Designated Premises Supervisor for use by any Responsible Authority or any person who may wish to make a complaint during the operation of the licence. This shall be provided to the Licensing Authority, Police, and local Residents Associations. The Licence Holder shall ensure that any changes to these details are sent to these parties within seven days.

Reasonable steps to be taken to ensure that an authorised person is a member of Pubwatch and attends at least six meetings a year.

 The use of the external area shall be for seated customers only.

Reasons for the decision

The Licensing Sub-Committee after considering the application by the Environmental Protection Service to review the premises licence on the grounds of the prevention of public nuisance, and after hearing from the Premises Licence Holder together with the supporting evidence presented to them, decided to modify the conditions attached to the licence, remove live music, recorded music and remove the Designated Premises Supervisor. 

The Sub-Committee heard representations from the Council’s Senior Environmental Protection Officer that in the last few weeks five noise complaints have been received about the premises. There was a need to remove live and recorded music from the premises licence. It was noted that the Premises Licence Holder was aggressive and verbally abusive to authorised officers of the Council.

The Sub-Committee took into consideration representations from the Licensing Authority regarding the number of noise complaints received about the premises.

The Sub-Committee took into consideration representations from the Premises Licence Holders Agent that he nor his client had not seen the recent noise complaints and little weight could be attached to those complaints as the complainants did not attend the hearing to support their claims. The Agent for the premises contended that if the regulated entertainment of the premises licence was removed it would devalue the licence and threaten the survival of the business. The Premises Licence Holders Agent made representations that the premises owner was working to resolve the issues.

The Sub-Committee noted that a number of new conditions had been submitted by the licensee. These had been amended by the Police and the Environmental Protection Team to make the conditions more robust.

The Sub-Committee noted that the premises' beer garden was not a new structure. A cover had been added to the outdoor area and outdoor speakers had been disconnected but had not been removed;

The Sub-Committee took into consideration that the Environmental Protection Service did not have confidence that the management of the premises would be able to control the noise levels.

The Sub-Committee took into consideration that both the Environmental Protection Service and the Licensing Authority were of the view that the removal of live and recorded music from the premises licence was necessary and appropriate. It was noted that ?the licensee had been given plenty of time to address the concerns raised by the Environmental Protection Team.

The Sub-Committee took into consideration that the Environmental Protection Service advised that the installation of a noise limiter would be ineffective if the front door to the premises was left open. The Licensing Authority raised concern about the installation of such equipment given that the outside speaker had been disconnected but had not been removed.

The Sub-Committee carefully considered all the representations and they ?were satisfied that the Environmental Protection Officers have carried out the proper noise assessment to reach the conclusion that the music being played causes an unacceptable level of noise. The Premises Licence Holder has not shown control of the live and recorded music, and they provided no reassurances.

The Sub-Committee took seriously that a number of complaints had been received about noise

The Sub-Committee felt the Premises Licence Holder should work constructively with the Environmental Protection Service and to ensure they comply with the conditions on their premises licence.

The Sub-Committee felt they had no alternative but to exclude live music and recorded music from the premises licence.