The Licensing Sub-Committee of Southwark Council met on the morning of Tuesday 9th July 2024 and made two decisions: the licence of The Nag's Head public house was reviewed and amended; and the application for a new licence for Delicias Colombianas was refused.

Review of The Nag's Head Public House Licence

The sub-committee reviewed the licence of The Nag's Head, 231-235 Rye Lane, London SE15 4TP. The review had been called following a number of alleged breaches of the pub's licence, including the sale of alcohol to minors and exceeding the maximum authorised capacity.

The Licensing Authority received an application for review from Trading Standards on 20 May 2024 on the grounds of:

• The prevention of crime and disorder objective.
• The protection of children from harm objective.

This followed a joint operation with the Police on 11 May 2024 when an underage operative purchased alcohol from the premises. During this operation a number of other licensing offences were identified.

The meeting heard representations from various parties, including the police, Trading Standards and the pub's licence holder.

I would also note the premises appears to trade beyond its capacity frequently, a review of social media shows a large number of patrons within the public house and the outside area.

The sub-committee considered all the evidence and concluded that there had been breaches of the pub's licence.

The Sub-Committee noted that the CCTV footage showed that although there was a member of staff on the door, customers had been able to enter the premises without being asked for identification and without any checks as to their age.

The Sub-Committee decided to modify the conditions of The Nag's Head's licence and add new conditions.

The sub-committee determined to grant the application and to modify the conditions of the licence and add new conditions to promote the licensing objectives.

The new conditions were:

• No entry to the premises after 11:00pm
• CCTV to be installed and maintained at the premises to a standard agreed in writing by the Metropolitan Police
• A personal licence holder to be on duty at the pub at all times when alcohol is being sold.

Application for a new licence for Delicias Colombianas

The sub-committee considered an application for a new premises licence for Delicias Colombianas, 720-722 Old Kent Road, London SE15 1NG.

This application for a new Premises Licence was received from Delicias Colombianas. They are seeking permission for the sale by retail of alcohol off the premises (late night refreshment) Monday to Sunday 23:00 to 05:00.

This application had been objected to by the Council's Pollution Team who were concerned about the impact of noise from customers at the premises late at night on nearby residents.

I object to this application as it has the potential to undermine the licensing objective of the prevention of public nuisance.

The sub-committee heard representations from the applicant and the Pollution Team. The applicant argued that they would be a responsible operator and that they would take steps to minimise noise nuisance.

I would like to highlight the fact that as part of our business we are committed to supporting the local community.

The sub-committee decided to refuse the application.

Having had regard to the Council's Licensing Policy, the guidance issued under s.182 of the Licensing Act 2003 and to all the other matters brought before it, the Sub-Committee refused the application.

The key reason for their decision was the potential for public nuisance due to the premises' location in a cumulative impact zone.¹

The Sub-Committee were concerned about the location of the premises in a Cumulative Impact Zone and the potential for customers congregating outside the premises late at night, which could give rise to noise and disturbance to residents in the area.

This decision appears to be consistent with the council's Statement of Licensing Policy, which states that Applications for new premises licences or club premises certificates will normally be refused if the premises are situated in a cumulative impact zone...