Decision

The Licensing Sub-Committee, in considering this decision from the information presented to them within the report and at the hearing and having regard to the promotion of the licensing objectives:

·  The prevention of crime and disorder

·  Public safety

·  Prevention of public nuisance

·  The protection of children from harm

The application for a premises licence has been approved in accordance with the Council’s Statement of Licensing as follows:

Late Night Refreshment

Monday-Sunday: 23:00-05:00

Opening Hours

Monday-Sunday: 00:00-24:00

Subject to the conditions at paragraph 8.1 of the report, amended as follows:

·  Condition 1 amended as follows: A CCTV system shall be installed and maintained in good working order covering all entry and exit points, internal customer areas and the external frontage. Images shall be retained for a minimum of 31 days and made available to Police or authorised officers upon request.

·  Condition 2 amended as follows: A member of staff shall be on duty whenever the premises is open, and a named manager/supervisor shall be contactable between 23:00 hours and 05:00 hours. 

·  Condition 3 amended as follows: Staff shall be trained in the four licensing objectives, in the conditions on this premises licence and in incident and refusals logging. An incident log and a refusals log shall be kept on site. The incident log shall be made available to Police or authorised officers upon request and shall record the following:

o  crimes reported;

o  ejections;

o  complaints;

o  incidents of disorder;

o  visits by responsible authorities.

·  Condition 4 omitted.

·  Condition 5 amended as follows: The premises shall be maintained in accordance with its Fire Risk Assessment. Escape routes shall be kept clear, fire-fighting equipment and emergency lighting shall be maintained and a fire logbook shall be kept.

·  Condition 6 amended as follows: Prominent notices shall be displayed requesting customers to respect local residents and leave quietly.

·  Condition 7 omitted.

·  Condition 8 amended as follows: There shall be no primary cooking at the premises and late night refreshment food shall be limited to reheated food.

·  Condition 9 amended as follows: Any outside seating shall be cleared from use between 23:00 hours and 05:00 hours. 

·  Conditions 10-15 as set out in paragraph 8.1 of the report.

·  Addition of the following condition: ‘There shall be at least one SIA registered door supervisor employed at the premises on Fridays and Saturdays from 23:00 hours.’

Reasons for the decision

The application for a premises licence has been approved as members of the Licensing Sub-Committee were satisfied, having regard to all written and oral representations, that the licensing objectives would not be undermined. 

The Sub-Committee recognised that the Applicant wished to run a very specific type of business, namely a late night café that would not provide hot food but would provide hot drinks for people wanting to work on their laptops late at night. There would be no provision of alcohol, and the Applicant did not wish to attract noisy or disruptive customers. The Applicant also clarified that there would be no cooking on the premises, apart from reheating of pastries such as sausage rolls. The premises would not therefore operate in the same way as a traditional late-night refreshment venue.

The Sub-Committee had regard to the fact that there was no outstanding objection from any responsible authority. Conditions relating to waste disposal had been agreed with Environmental Health, and the Metropolitan Police had withdrawn their objection once the nature of the proposed operation had been explained. The Licensing Authority had also not objected to the application.

The Sub-Committee appreciated the concerns raised by local residents and recognised that the premises were situated within the Shoreditch CIA Area. The local residents in their written objections and oral submissions raised genuine and valid concerns as to the potential adverse effect that the premises might have, particularly in relation to crime and disorder and public nuisance. However, the Sub-Committee considered overall that the application would not undermine the licensing objectives due to the specific nature of the operation and the robust set of conditions that had been agreed. The conditions would ensure that waste was disposed of, and the provision of an SIA registered door supervisor on Fridays and Saturdays would help manage dispersal of customers and discourage crime and disorder in the immediate vicinity of the premises. The SIA door supervisor would also be able to turn people away if they tried to enter the premises whilst drunk or disorderly.

In reaching the conclusion that the concerns expressed by residents had been adequately addressed by the Applicant, the Sub-Committee placed great weight on the fact that the concerns of the responsible authorities had been addressed through dialogue and conditions. However, the Sub-Committee felt that it was necessary to amend the conditions proposed by the Applicant, in the interests of clarity and enforceability.

In reaching their conclusion on the acceptability of the application, the Sub-Committee also had regard to the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy. As per policy LP10, the Sub-Committee was satisfied that the application would not add to cumulative impact due to the specific type of operation proposed (which would not attract late-night drinkers) and the robust set of conditions that had been agreed. The Sub-Committee recognised that the hours sought were beyond core hours in policy LP3; however, policy LP3 states that ‘Later hours may be considered where the applicant has identified any risk that may undermine the promotion of the licensing objectives and has put in place robust measures to mitigate those risks.’ For the reasons given above, the Sub-Committee concluded that later hours were justified in this case due to the specific, limited type of operation proposed and because the Applicant (in dialogue with responsible authorities) had agreed a robust set of conditions to address the risks that might arise.

Finally, for the avoidance of doubt, it should be noted that the granting of this licence is without prejudice to any requirement to obtain planning permission for the hours of operation. Paragraph 2.29 of the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy explains that where the terminal hour for planning and licensing differ, then the operator will need to abide by the earlier closing time. 

Having taken all of the above factors into consideration, and taking the application on its own merits, the Sub-Committee was satisfied that by granting the premises licence the licensing objectives would not be undermined.

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