Southwark Council's Licensing Sub-Committee met to consider an application to review the premises licence of the Fox on the Hill public house on Denmark Hill. They decided to modify the licence to impose a series of conditions on the pub's licence. The sub-committee was not convinced by the Metropolitan Police's submission but felt that the volume of complaints from local residents about public nuisance and crime and disorder meant that it would be inappropriate not to take action.

The Review of the Licence for the Fox on the Hill

The sub-committee considered a report from the council's licensing officer that recommended that they review the licence for The Fox on the Hill. The application for review was made by a local resident and was also supported by eight other local people.

The application for review, submitted by a resident of the Ruskin Park House estate opposite the pub, stated that:

“Continued issues, multiple dates and times; customers leaving the pub and using the our residential grounds to smoke (cigarettes and drugs) to drink after closing time, public urination on residential grounds, and customers of the pub using our residential grounds to park.

Various groups exiting the pub to smoke drugs in our residential estates grounds, then returning into the pub, both day and night”.

This was supported by further submissions from eight other people, including one from another resident of Ruskin Park House who stated that:

"I live on the floor with my and have been disturbed on more than one occasion by people from the pub stood outside our flat late at night (which is on a private road) drinking their drinks from the pub and smoking weed.

We live in a quiet residential area and the pub must take steps to make sure their customers are not spilling out into our private estate. They used to have security, but this year is non existent."

Other residents cited noise and antisocial behaviour; drug taking, drinking and urination on the estate; a lack of security and CCTV at the pub; and difficulty contacting the pub's management.

The Pub's Response

The pub's representatives told the sub-committee that they took their responsibilities very seriously and had already circulated an External Area Customer Management Plan to interested parties. The sub-committee noted that this plan was voluntary, and the pub's representatives agreed that the plan could be made mandatory through the imposition of additional conditions on the pub's licence.

The Police's Response

The Metropolitan Police submitted a representation to the committee that they did not believe justified a summary review¹ of the pub's licence. The police stated that they had recorded four crimes at the pub in the previous 12 months, but also stated that they did not believe that a number of other incidents in the local area were linked to the pub.

The Sub-Committee's Decision

The sub-committee determined that they should modify the conditions of the pub's licence. They decided that the pub's licence would be modified to include the conditions in the External Area Customer Management Plan, which they felt would address the concerns of local residents. The sub-committee considered the other options available to them under the Licensing Act 2003: to take no action; to exclude licensable activities; to remove the Designated Premises Supervisor; to suspend the licence; and to revoke the licence. They determined that in this case the other options would not be appropriate or proportionate.

The new conditions on the pub's licence mean that:

• The pub must close its front garden at 10pm.
• The pub must use its small car park as its designated smoking area after 10pm.
• The pub must not allow people to drive into the car park after 10pm.
• The pub must provide the names and contact details of the pub manager and area manager to local residents.
• The pub must keep a log of all noise complaints for 90 days and make it available on request.
• The pub's staff must supervise customers leaving the pub after 11pm and encourage them to leave via Denmark Hill.

In addition, the sub-committee imposed a series of standard conditions on the pub's licence relating to CCTV, the Challenge 25 scheme, and the dispersal of customers at closing time. The sub-committee also decided that the pub must not use single use plastics.