The Licensing Sub-Committee met to consider three applications for new and varied premises licenses, for Bulabar at 7 Frying Pan Alley, House of Music and Entertainment at 20 Commercial Street, and Gopuff at 60 Hemming Street. The committee approved the applications by Bulabar and House of Music and Entertainment, and adjourned the application by Gopuff to allow for further submissions from the applicant and objectors.

Bulabar, 7 Frying Pan Alley

The committee considered an application for a new premises license for Bulabar, a restaurant and bar with a focus on Pétanque at 7 Frying Pan Alley.

The Licensing Authority objected to the application, as did the Environmental Protection team. The Spitalfields Society residents group (SPIRE) also submitted an objection, but subsequently withdrew it.

The Licensing Authority's objection was based on the premises' location in the Brick Lane Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ). The CIZ is an area of the borough in which the council has identified a high concentration of licensed premises. In these areas, the Licensing Authority's presumption is to reject new applications for premises licenses unless the applicant can demonstrate that their business will not add to the existing issues of crime and disorder in the area.

The Licensing Authority's representative argued that Bulabar's application did not meet the requirements for an exception to the CIZ policy because of its capacity. The applicant countered that the primary function of the venue was as a restaurant and that vertical drinking would be unlikely. They also argued that the business would serve as an alternative to the kind of high-risk venues identified in the CIZ assessment:

I think what the applicant is proposing is a venue that is an alternative to those venues for local workers, residents and visitors to enjoy away from those alcohol-led venues where there's nothing to do but drink alcohol and listen to loud music.

Environmental Protection initially objected on the grounds of public nuisance, but withdrew their objection after the applicant agreed to a number of conditions. The applicant argued that noise would not be a nuisance to local residents due to the venue's location in the basement of the building.

Because it is subterranean, there is an established use with loud music. We already know it is well acoustically attenuated so we are very confident there is not going to be any noise emanating from the premises itself that causes a nuisance.

The committee granted the license with a number of conditions, including a reduction in the maximum number of patrons permitted to use the external seating area after 9pm.

House of Music and Entertainment, 20 Commercial Street

The committee heard an application for a new premises license for House of Music and Entertainment, a co-working space that also hosts events in the evenings, at 20 Commercial Street.

Both the Licensing Authority and Environmental Protection objected to the application.

Again, The Licensing Authority's objection was based on the fact that the premises were located within the Brick Lane CIZ. The applicant argued that the business was not comparable to those considered high-risk by the CIZ assessment. They argued that entry would not be open to the public, that events would be infrequent, and that alcohol would very much be ancillary to the main event:

It's a members only venue or indeed for if the event of the premises is hired out for an event, it would be for preregistered guests only.

Environmental Protection's objection related to the potential for public nuisance. The applicant countered that music at the venue would be acoustic, and therefore not subject to licensing restrictions:

There is no requirement on any premises to have acoustic music up to 11 o'clock. And that could happen whether we were sat before you here today or not.

The committee granted the license subject to conditions including that no music other than acoustic music could be played at the venue.

Gopuff, 60 Hemming Street

The committee considered an application by Gopuff, a 24-hour grocery delivery business, for a variation to their existing premises license for their site at 60 Hemming Street.

The variation would allow the business to sell alcohol for delivery between midnight and 6am.

Thirty-three residents objected to the application, citing concerns about public nuisance, crime and disorder.

One objector stated that the applicant had breached condition 6 of their existing license, which states that:

No idling of vehicles that are awaiting access to the premises or waiting to pick up a delivery shall be permitted.

The objector claimed to have witnessed delivery vehicles idling in the applicant's yard.

The objector also alleged that the applicant was in breach of condition 2 of their license:

Members of the public shall not be allowed on the premises at any time

The objector claimed that Gopuff had fulfilled customer orders via 'click and collect' and had therefore allowed members of the public onto the premises.

The applicant's representative refuted these allegations and requested an adjournment in order to investigate the claims. The applicant also argued that there was no evidence to suggest that extending their hours of business would add to the existing problems in the area:

We already do provide delivery services in these later hours up to 2 o'clock, whether there is an alcoholic item in the delivery bag or there isn't does not add to any risk to the licensing objectives.

The Legal Advisor to the committee advised the members to grant the adjournment in the interests of fairness.

The committee resolved to adjourn the application to allow the applicant an opportunity to respond to the allegations. The adjourned hearing will take place on 24 September 2024.