The Kensington and Chelsea Council Licensing Sub-Committee met to consider an application for a new premises licence for Raffles, 285-287 King's Road, London, SW3 5EW. The application was made by Raffles Chelsea Services Ltd. Relevant representations had been received, so the sub-committee was scheduled to determine whether the application should be granted and, if so, what conditions should be attached to the licence.

Raffles, 285-287 King's Road, London, SW3 5EW

Raffles Chelsea Services Ltd applied for a new premises licence for Raffles, 285-287 King's Road, London, SW3 5EW.

Raffles currently operates as a club at 287 King's Road, SW3, with a premises licence that has been in effect for over 20 years. The current licence permits:

• Performance of live music-Indoors
• Playing of recorded music-Indoors
• Performance of dance-Indoors
• Entertainment similar to music or dance-Indoors
• Provision of late night refreshments-Indoors
• Sale by retail of alcohol- On and Off the Premises
• Regulated Entertainment for Private Use-Indoors

The application seeks a premises licence for a new restaurant comprising basement and ground floors, for the provision of late night refreshment indoors, and the sale by retail of alcohol on and off the premises.

The proposed hours for the new licence are:

• Late night refreshment: Monday to Sunday, 23:00 to 24:00
• Sale of alcohol: Monday to Sunday, 09:00 to 24:00

The applicant volunteered steps to promote the licensing objectives, including:

• Substantial food and non-alcoholic beverages, including drinking water, available to customers throughout the permitted hours for the sale of alcohol.
• Installation and maintenance of a comprehensive CCTV system.
• Keeping a daily incident log.
• Displaying notices at all exits requesting patrons to respect local residents.
• Ensuring no noise emanates from the premises, nor vibration is transmitted through the structure of the premises which gives rise to a nuisance.
• Properly presenting all waste and placing it out for collection no earlier than 30 minutes before scheduled collection times.
• Operating a proof of age scheme, such as Challenge 25¹.
• Keeping a record detailing all refused sales of alcohol.
• Maintaining a dedicated telephone number for the Designated Premises Supervisor or the duty manager for use by any person who may wish to make a complaint during the operation of the licence.
• All alcohol sold and supplied shall be by waiter/waitress service to customers seated at tables.
• Rubbish including bottles or cans shall not be deposited outside the Premises between 23:00 and 07:00 the following day.
• Deliveries to the Premises shall not take place between 23:00 and 07:00 the following day.
• Submitting a Dispersal and External Management Plan to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's Environmental Health Department, Licensing Authority, and the Metropolitan Police for consultation.
• Carrying out an odour risk assessment in accordance with the Risk Assessment for Odour derived from the latest EMAQ guidance[^3] to ensure there is no nuisance to local residents from odour and fumes emitted from the ventilation and extraction system.

The licensing authority received 15 representations opposing the application, including representations from The Paultons Square Residents’ Association and 11/24 Paultons House Resident Company Limited. The representations raised concerns including:

• The purpose of the application is to increase the club’s overall occupancy levels, resulting in greater noise disturbance.
• The proposed new licence effectively doubles the space available for the club’s patrons, despite the application stating that the premises will operate as a restaurant.
• There is no proposed separate entrance to the basement area, which is a concern, as patrons will be free to walk between the area covered by the nightclub licence and the area covered by the new licensed area.
• Granting the application will increase the club’s capacity, which currently allows a maximum occupancy of 225 people at any one time (condition 23 of the existing licence).
• The premises are located in a residential area, with residents living very close by and overlooking the club, including several houses in Paultons Square and the flats in Paultons House.
• A greater occupancy could lead to an increased risk of serious security incidents and criminal behaviour.
• Residents are already subjected to disturbance by patrons leaving the premises intoxicated and loud.
• The area surrounding the premises is already populated by a concentration of pubs and clubs which have significant impact on residents right to peace and enjoyment of their dwellings.
• The application does not show where waste shall be stored pending collection, and the expansion of the premises could result in holding bins being placed in the ground floor courtyard while creating smell and noise nuisance from glass bottles being thrown outdoors during sleeping hours.

Three noise/nuisance complaints had been received in the preceding 24 months. The premises have been the subject of 4 Temporary Events Notices in the past year.

The planning department noted that a planning application tied to the site and logged as PP/25/00602 proposes ‘Lowering of the existing partial single-storey basements to the front of the property and extending it beneath the full footprint of the property to the rear.’ The planning department noted that the application to increase the area of usable space is still under review and has included this information to emphasise that the former declaration is neither final nor binding.