The Licensing Sub Committee met on Tuesday 14 May 2024 to consider several applications for premises licences and temporary event notices. Decisions were made regarding applications for Lucia's, Burgers LDN, a local cafe on St Stephen's Road, and a temporary event notice for Little LDN.

Lucia's Unit, 507 Queen's Yard, White Post Lane, London, E9 5EN

The committee considered a new premises licence application for Lucia's, a food-led restaurant. The applicant, represented by Reese Rose, stated that the premises is small, with a capacity of 30-40 people, and operates on sales only, meaning no drinking off the premises. The Met Police had offered voluntary additional conditions, which were accepted, and the Fire Brigade and Environmental Protection team had no concerns.

Hatton Garden Properties Limited, represented by James Thompson, objected to the application on grounds of public safety, citing concerns about patrons spilling onto private land which serves as an emergency access route. They also raised concerns about litter, congestion, and the potential for public nuisance. Thompson highlighted that the applicant had previously objected to another venue in Queen's Yard, stating concerns about increased drunkenness and littering, which he found contradictory to their current application.

The committee also heard from Mr. Monso, representing the applicant, who stated they had been trading for three years and were predominantly a small kitchen within an existing restaurant. He explained that they had made numerous adjustments to their business to satisfy council requests, including changing delivery access times and increasing staffing. He noted that the objector was approximately 300 metres away and lived above other takeaways operating on later licences.

The committee decided to grant the premises licence for Lucia's, subject to agreed conditions.

Burgers LDN, 141 Leman Street, London, E1 8EY

An application for a new premises licence for Burgers LDN was discussed. The applicant, Mr. Monso, explained that they had been trading for three years and were a ghost kitchen operating from an alleyway. He stated that they had made significant changes to comply with council requests, including posters for customers, timing limits, and rubbish collection. He also mentioned that the objector lived approximately 300 metres away and above other takeaways.

The applicant clarified that their operation was entirely takeaway, with customers ordering and collecting from a door on the alleyway. They also confirmed that upstairs from their premises were residential Airbnb units and that they had not received any objections from these residents.

The committee decided to grant the premises licence for Burgers LDN, subject to agreed conditions.

Local Cafe, 84 St Stephen's Road, London, E3 5JL

The committee considered a new premises licence application for a local cafe. Sandra Vallejo, the applicant, stated that she had been operating the small cafe for nearly two years with no previous complaints. She wished to extend her opening hours to 9 pm and potentially offer afternoon tea. She clarified that the sale of alcohol would be on-sales only.

During the discussion, it was noted that the application initially stated hours until 22:00, but the applicant formally amended this to 21:00 for alcohol sales and closing time. The applicant also confirmed that she would be the sole person working there and would monitor CCTV.

The committee decided to grant the premises licence for the local cafe, subject to agreed conditions and the amended hours.

Temporary Event Notice for Little LDN, Unit 3, 39 Autumn Street, London, E3 2TT

A temporary event notice for Little LDN was discussed, with an objection from the Environmental Protection Team regarding noise and public nuisance. Rita Craddock, representing Environmental Protection, expressed concerns about noise breakout, patron access and egress, and the cumulative effect of noise from multiple late-night venues in the area. She also raised concerns about transport for patrons leaving the venue after 1 am when public transport services are limited.

Mr. Keenan Bali, the applicant, explained that they had taken over the premises four months ago and were planning to create an art space. He stated that the application for the notice was made by their solicitors to allow for music upstairs, and that they had no specific parties or events planned at that time. He apologised for any technical mistakes and stated they were willing to cancel the notice if necessary.

Dave Nevitt, an acoustics and noise control expert, stated that he would be on-site to monitor noise levels and ensure a limiter was in place. Robert Sutherland, representing the applicant, proposed reducing the hours to 23:59 to address environmental health concerns.

Concerns were raised by the committee regarding patrons outside the venue, particularly smoking, and the management of people leaving the venue and waiting for transport. The applicant stated they would work with environmental health to restrict numbers of smokers and that most patrons would leave by taxi or Uber, with pick-up points managed.

The committee decided to grant the temporary event notice for Little LDN, subject to conditions including reduced hours until 23:59 and the implementation of a traffic management plan.

Extension of Decision Deadlines

The committee agreed to extend the decision deadlines for several applications to 31 July. These included Vittora Wolf Studio, Slurp, Bethnal Green Working Men's Club, Uber 1, Z Home Dumplings, House of Music Entertainment, and 1 Char.

Minutes of Previous Meetings

The minutes of the Licensing Sub-Committees held on 27 February and 11 April 2024 were noted and agreed.