The Licensing Sub-Committee approved the new premises licence applications for The Florence Public House, 50 Florence Street and 320 Cally Off Licence subject to a number of conditions.

The Florence Public House

The application for a new premises licence for The Florence Public House was granted with the terminal hour for the licensable activities being 23:30 and the premises closing at midnight. This was a reduction on the requested hours.

The Sub-Committee noted the objections raised by eighteen local residents, primarily concerning noise disturbance from patrons, particularly those smoking and drinking outside. The Sub-Committee accepted the applicant's argument that because the premises will operate as a restaurant, with alcohol served only to customers eating a substantial meal ,¹ this qualified as an exception to the Angel and Upper Street Cumulative Impact Area policy.² However to further mitigate concerns about noise and nuisance, the Sub-Committee imposed the following conditions:

• No drinks to be taken outside;
• Capacity of the premises limited to 80 covers;
• Smoking area capacity limited to a maximum of 5 guests at any one time;
• Quarterly residential meetings must be held, with a member of the premises management team in attendance; and
• A member of staff must be employed on Friday and Saturday nights to ensure patrons disperse quietly and monitor egress points.

The Sub-Committee was also concerned about the applicant's apparent lack of engagement with residents during the application process, noting that

The relationship with the applicant has been virtually non-existent

The Sub-Committee therefore imposed the condition that the applicant must host quarterly residents' meetings.

The Sub-Committee were also concerned that the original wording of condition 33, The supply of alcohol at the premises shall only be to a person seated taking a substantial table meal there and for consumption by such a person as ancillary to their meal , did not adequately define what a substantial meal was. It was therefore amended to The supply of alcohol at the premises shall only be to a person seated taking a substantial table meal (a main course or 2 starter courses per person) there and for consumption by such a person as ancillary to their meal .

320 Cally Off Licence

The Sub-Committee approved the application for 320 Cally Off Licence subject to the following imposed conditions:

• Off-sales of alcohol are permitted from 10:00 until 20:00 Monday to Saturday and 10:00 until 16:00 on Sunday;
• The premises are permitted to open from 08:00 to 20:00 Monday to Saturday and from 10:00 until 16:00 on Sunday; and
• There will be no sales of single cans of beer, lager or cider.

The applicant, who is also the Designated Premises Supervisor at another premises in the borough of Harrow, explained that the application was made to help make the Post Office at the same address more financially viable. They accepted an extensive range of conditions offered by the Metropolitan Police, and agreed during the meeting to reduce their requested hours.

The Sub-Committee noted that

The business was predominantly to be run as a Post Office and that the sale of alcohol was ancillary to the main business. It is not alcohol-led.

and that the reduced hours and additional conditions were compatible with the premises operating mainly as a Post Office.

The Sub-Committee was also satisfied that the reduced hours and additional conditions, along with the conditions accepted by the applicant, qualified the application as an exception to the Kings Cross Cumulative Impact Area policy.²

A 'substantial meal' is not defined in the Licensing Act 2003, but means a meal eaten by a person seated at a table, with cutlery provided. It is more than a snack. Cumulative Impact Areas are areas where the number of licensed premises is considered to be so high that it is having a negative impact on the licensing objectives. A new licence application in such an area will normally be refused unless the applicant can demonstrate that it will not add to the existing negative impact.