The Licensing Sub-Committee of Ealing Council met on Friday 27 September 2024 to conduct a summary review of the premises licence for Stack Bar. The committee decided to remove the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) and modify licence conditions, including requiring SIA-licensed door supervisors to be external and independent, and expanding the notification requirements for incidents.

Summary Review of Stack Bar

The Licensing Sub-Committee conducted a summary review of the premises licence for Stack Bar, located at 4 The Mall, Ealing, W5 2PJ. This review was initiated by the Metropolitan Police following an incident on Thursday 19 September 2024, where the licence holder and Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS), Mr Petrit Pergjergji, seriously assaulted two males. The police certified that the premises were associated with serious crime, believing the conduct of the premises showed a disregard for the Licensing Objectives and placed the public at risk of serious harm.

During the hearing, Mr Armin Solimani, representing the Police, presented the case, detailing the assault which was categorised as Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH). He highlighted that Mr Pergjergji allegedly behaved recklessly by leaving the injured men without checking on them or calling emergency services. The police stated they had lost trust in Mr Pergjergji's ability to uphold the licensing agreement and requested a full suspension of the licence until a review hearing. The incident, as described by the police, involved Mr Pergjergji pushing two agitated patrons out of the premises and then punching them both in the head, before closing the shutters and leaving via a rear entrance without alerting authorities.

Mr Ryan Dowding, representing Stack Bar, acknowledged the event but argued that Mr Pergjergji's actions were in self-defence against patrons who were threatening him and other customers. He presented Stack Bar as a successful local business with community support, citing 500 signatures in favour of extended operating hours in the past. Mr Dowding suggested removing Mr Pergjergji as DPS and banning him from the premises as an alternative to a full licence suspension.

The sub-committee reviewed CCTV footage of the incident. Following discussions and summing up from both the police and the defence, the committee made the following decisions:

• Removal of Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS): Mr Petrit Pergjergji was removed from his position as DPS and barred from the premises until the full review hearing.
• Modification of Licence Conditions:
  • The minimum requirements for SIA-licensed door supervisors, as outlined in Condition 23 of the premises licence, will remain unchanged but must always be external and independent from the premises.
  • The DPS is now required to notify the appropriate authorities of incidents occurring both inside the premises and in the surrounding area. This expands the effective area of responsibility under Condition 30 to include incidents outside the establishment.

The meeting was chaired by Councillor J Ball, with Councillors R Baaklini and K Nagpal also in attendance. Unyime Davies served as the Legal Adviser, and Sean O'Brien was the Democratic Services Officer. The police representatives were Mr Armin Solimani, PC Victoria Hewison, and Sargent Dimitri Cassar. Mr Petrit Pergjergji and his solicitor, Mr Ryan Dowding, represented the premises.

The meeting was held virtually and lasted from 10:30 am to 12:15 pm. The decisions made at this expedited review hearing are detailed in the Decisions Friday 27-Sep-2024 10.30 Licensing Sub-Committee.pdf. Further information regarding the summary review application can be found in the Committee Report - Summary Review - Stack Bar on 27.09.24 002.pdf.