The Licensing Panel E of Camden Council scheduled a meeting for 22 May 2025, to discuss procedure rules for remote meetings and a review of the premises licence for The Camden, 61-65 Crowndale Road, London, NW1 1TN. The meeting was also scheduled to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 13 March 2025.

Here's a breakdown of the key items from the agenda:

Review of The Camden's Premises Licence

The primary focus of the meeting was scheduled to be a review of the premises licence for The Camden, following an application made by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). The MPS requested the review due to concerns that the licensing objective of the prevention of crime and disorder was not being upheld. The MPS cited:

• Crime and disorder associated with the venue
• Persistent breaches of licence conditions
• Poor management of the venue

The MPS recommended a full revocation of the premises licence.

Grounds for Review

According to the report pack, the MPS believed that those managing The Camden were persistently undermining the Licensing Objectives and that they did not have sufficient confidence in the management’s ability to maintain a safe and compliant venue.

PC Dominic Hallam stated in his application for review that since the new management took over around July 2024, the venue had breached conditions on almost a monthly basis. He also stated that during a visit to its sister venue, one of the employees was found to be in breach of their immigration/right to work status, and that this individual had also been seen working at The Camden.

The report pack included a chronology of engagement between the police and The Camden, detailing alleged breaches of conditions such as:

• Employing fewer than the minimum required number of Security Industry Authority (SIA) registered door supervisors.
• Failure to call the police to incidents of disorder.
• Admitting new patrons after the permitted last entry time.
• Failure to provide CCTV recordings to the police within 48 hours of a request.
• Failure to maintain a sufficiently completed incident log book.

The report pack also included a statement from PC Dominic Hallam, in which he stated:

Through this application we have demonstrated that the venue has persistently breached conditions and undermined the licensing objectives. This venue is directly linked to another venue ran by the PLH mirroring many of its issues, and despite engagement nothing has changed.

Representations

The report pack indicated that two relevant representations had been received in relation to the review application, from the Licensing Authority and a Residents Association, both supporting the review application.

The Licensing Authority representation stated that during multiple visits to the premises, the Police observed a series of alleged breaches of the conditions outlined in the premises licence. It also stated that although the licensing authority had provided the licence holder with the opportunity to rectify the issues and breaches related to their license whenever such matters were brought to their attention in writing, the efforts had proven unsuccessful.

The Residents Association representation stated that since the venue opened it has had a largely negative impact on the residents who live on Oakley Square, citing unacceptable noise levels, anti-social behaviour from visitors to the venue, and environmental concerns.

Licence Holder Response

Additional information was submitted on behalf of the licence holder, Bilberry Gardens Entertainment Limited, including a statement, a summary of improvements and actions taken, a response to the Police’s case for review, and supporting appendices.

The licence holder's submission stated that the review was triggered by a wholly unsubstantiated allegation relating to immigration status, which has since been fully disproven by official records and dismissed during the formal hearing held on 1st May 2025. It also stated that where operational concerns have been raised, they have taken swift, comprehensive, and verifiable corrective action, including the appointment of a dedicated Compliance Officer, new manager, enhanced security protocols, a proactive staff training programme, and reinforced engagement with both Police and the Licensing Authority.

The licence holder's submission also requested a review and amendment of licensing conditions, including the removal of the restriction on children being allowed in the premises, a modification of the requirement for a minimum of two SIA registered door supervisors every Sunday to Thursday, a review of the requirement for a minimum of four SIA registered door supervisors, and flexibility over the exemption for genuine ticket holders and guests for all types of events who come to support the events genuinely.

Policy Considerations

The report pack noted that the licensing objectives engaged by this application are:

• The prevention of crime and disorder
• The prevention of public nuisance
• Public safety

The report pack also noted that the premises is situated in the Camden Town Cumulative Impact Area¹, where there is a presumption to refuse all new and variation applications in its entirety, as set out in Chapter 6 of the Licensing Policy (Cumulative Impact Policies).

Options Available to the Panel

The report pack stated that the Licensing Panel had the following options available to them:

• Allow the license to continue operating as before
• Modify the conditions of the licence
• Exclude a licensable activity from the scope of the licence
• To remove the designated premises supervisor
• To suspend the licence for a period not exceeding three months
• To revoke the license

Guidance on Remote Meetings

The panel was scheduled to agree the procedure rules for remote meetings held under the Licensing Act 2003. The guidance on remote meetings stated that Camden will conduct remote hearings using Microsoft Teams, and that the remote hearing will be conducted via a Teams call, using both the audio and video functionality. The guidance also stated that unless a hearing is dealing with confidential items, it will be streamed to the public so that they may listen and watch, but the public will not be able to participate.

Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes

The Licensing Panel was scheduled to approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 13 March 2025.