The Licensing Sub-Committee of Lambeth Council is scheduled to consider two applications for the variation of premises licenses, one for Supercute in Herne Hill and Loughborough Junction Ward, and one for The Brickstone in Stockwell East Ward. In both cases, representations against the applications have been received, and therefore the Licensing Sub-Committee will need to make a decision on whether to grant them. It is important to note that this summary only outlines what is scheduled to be discussed in the Licensing Sub-Committee meeting, and not whether those topics will actually be discussed, or whether any decisions will actually be made.

Variation of Premises Licence for Supercute

The most significant item scheduled for discussion in this meeting is an application to vary the premises licence for Supercute, a cafe/bar on Coldharbour Lane near Loughborough Junction station. The variation application¹ was submitted on behalf of Supercute (LDN) Ltd, the licence holder for Supercute, by Mr Hammant Patel Villa, who is also the Designated Premises Supervisor.²

The applicant is seeking authorisation to:

• add the following licensable activities to the licence:
  • plays
  • live music
  • recorded music
  • performances of dance
  • anything of a similar description falling under music or dance
  • the provision of late night refreshment
• extend the hours during which they are licensed to sell alcohol, show films, and serve late night refreshment

The applicant also originally sought to remove the requirement for them to employ two Security Industry Authority licensed door supervisors between 21:00 and closing time on Fridays and Saturdays. However, after seven objections were received from local residents, the applicant agreed to retain this condition, changing it slightly to say that:

The premises licence (PLH) holder shall do a risk assessment when holding any type of event at the premises to determine whether an SIA member of staff is required to work the event. The PLH will inform the licensing authority at least one week in advance of their intention to hold an event’.

The applicant also agreed to add a condition to the licence requiring them to install a noise limiter to prevent noise disturbance to nearby residents and businesses.

The residents' objections, which were received by the Licensing Authority, were based on all four licensing objectives.³ Most of the objections related to the prevention of public nuisance. In particular, there were concerns about noise, and about patrons causing disturbance outside the premises. In relation to the application for the provision of late night refreshment, one resident requested that the premises' large front shutter be closed from 18:00 to prevent noise pollution.

One of the residents also objected to the applicant's plan to use the courtyard of Shakespeare Business Centre for licensed activities. They submitted a petition signed by 34 residents asking that the use of the courtyard be prohibited. This was in addition to a representation from the same resident, which can be found with the petition and all of the other residents' representations in Annex B - Representations and Petition of the meeting document pack. The applicant is not however seeking to remove the current condition which prohibits the use of the courtyard.

The applicant has submitted some evidence intended to demonstrate that they are able to prevent noise from disturbing local residents. This includes a sound test that was undertaken on 29 September 2024, and a questionnaire. The sound test report suggests that:

The sound test at the Supercute Brewhouse demonstrated that the music played at peak 90-100 dB was significantly reduced to below ambient levels by the time it reached the Courtyard Gates and the first domestic property.

Both the report and the questionnaire can be found in Annex G - Supercute questionnaire of the meeting document pack.

The applicant has agreed to limit the hours of operation in line with Lambeth Council's Statement of Licensing Policy 2024-2029. The policy states that:

The premises are classified within Lambeth’s Licensing Policy (2024 - 2029) as a Café/ Bar located in a local centre shopping parade. The Policy recommends an earliest start time of 11:00 all week and a terminal hour of Sunday to Thursday at 23:00 and Friday and Saturday at 00:00 (midnight) for a venue of this type in this location.

The policy also states that:

Applicants seeking hours later than those indicated in the Policy should provide detailed evidence as to why their application will not have a negative impact on the Licensing Objectives.

Variation of Premises Licence for The Brickstone

The second most significant item scheduled for discussion in the meeting is an application to vary the premises licence for The Brickstone, a restaurant, bar and nightclub on Brixton Road. The variation application⁴ was submitted on behalf of Moke Enterprise Limited, the licence holder for The Brickstone.

The applicant is seeking to extend the hours during which they are licensed to:

• play live and recorded music
• host dance performances
• sell alcohol
• serve late night refreshment
• open to the public

The applicant is also seeking to remove two conditions from the licence:

• a prohibition on hiring the premises to external DJs or promoters
• a requirement that all tables and chairs in the premises remain in situ at all times when licensable activities are taking place

The applicant's request to remove the prohibition on hiring DJs and promoters is notable because one of the Licensing Sub-Committee's reasons for rejecting a previous application from Moke Enterprise Limited to change The Brickstone's licence was that:

... to agree to the removal of these Licensing Conditions, which was attached to the current Licence by a Licensing Sub-Committee (20 July 2017 & 22nd March 2018), could undermine the Licensing Objectives, which would permit the premises to operate as a Night Club.

The Licensing Authority has received eight representations objecting to the application, and eleven representations in support of it. Two of the objections were from Responsible Authorities, specifically the Licensing Authority itself, and Lambeth Council's Public Protection Noise Service. The remaining six were from local residents. The representations can be found in Annex B1 - Representations in support and Annex B2 - Representations against of the meeting document pack.

The objections from the Licensing Authority and the Noise Service both related to the applicant's request to extend the hours during which they are permitted to sell alcohol and provide regulated entertainment. The Licensing Authority's objection states that:

The proposed variation application seeks to permit hours for the following activities... I refer to my recent Pre-Application Advice, sent to you dated the 4 June 2024. Within this Pre-Application Advice, I addressed the options open to you, in relation to submitting either... A Variation Application, or... A New premises Application

This refers to the fact that Moke Enterprise Limited previously sought to change The Brickstone's licence in November 2023, firstly by applying for a new premises licence, and secondly by appealing the outcome of a Licensing Sub-Committee review of their existing licence. The Licensing Authority believes that The Brickstone should not be granted a new licence while their appeal of the Licensing Sub-Committee's review is still ongoing. They suggest that the applicant should instead either withdraw their appeal and proceed with the variation application, or withdraw the application and await the outcome of their appeal.

The Licensing Authority's representation also states that:

The Licensing Authority is concerned that trading to the hours sought may undermine the licensing objectives, in relation to: ...The Prevention of Public Nuisance

This is because The Brickstone's application to extend their hours until 03:00 on Friday and Saturday nights goes against the Licensing Authority's guidance, which states that:

The premises operates as a café/ bar/restaurant in a local centre/ shopping parade, which traditionally provided a range of small shops in a local area. Friday and Saturday: midnight, Sunday to Thursday 11pm

The Noise Service's objection also concerns the extension of hours to 03:00. They believe that:

the premises in its current state has no suitable measures in place to adequately control noise breakout that would cause unreasonable intrusion in nearby residential premises

They suggest a number of conditions that could be added to the licence to mitigate this risk, including one which states that:

No amplified music shall be played in the premises until: a. a new sound system, including new amplifiers and speakers, is installed, and approved in writing by Dr Ali Peyvandi following a site inspection; and b. appropriate sound levels have been determined by Dr Ali Peyvandi and communicated in a written letter.”

This refers to a previous attempt by the Noise Service to ensure that The Brickstone was operating within the required noise limits. Following a review of the licence in 2023, Dr Ali Peyvandi, a Regulatory Officer at Lambeth Council, met with the applicant and their sound engineer to inspect the premises' sound system. He found that the existing system needed to be updated and that a new noise limiter should be installed. It is not clear from the report pack whether these updates have been made.

It is important to note that, in addition to these two applications, the Licensing Sub-Committee is also scheduled to elect a Chair, receive declarations of interest from members, and consider the minutes of its previous meeting.