The Licensing Act 2003 Sub-Committee met to consider an application for a new premises licence for De Essence Restaurant & Lounge Ltd. The committee decided to grant the application in full, with some revisions to the proposed times and additional conditions added to the licence. These conditions had been agreed upon following discussions between the applicant, the licensing team, and the Metropolitan Police.

De Essence, 417 Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, E10 7EA

The sub-committee approved the application for a premises licence for De Essence Restaurant & Lounge Ltd, located at 417 Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, E10 7EA.

The approved licence permits the following activities:

• Opening hours:
  • Sunday to Thursday: 11:00 to 00:30
  • Friday and Saturday: 11:00 to 02:00
• Supply of alcohol, recorded music, dance & live music:
  • Sunday to Thursday: 11:00 to 00:00
  • Friday and Saturday: 11:00 to 01:30
• Late night refreshment:
  • Friday and Saturday: 23:00 to 00:30
• Non-standard hours (Sale of alcohol, late night refreshment, dance & recorded/live music): 23:00 - 02:30 on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day & the day preceding bank holidays.

The decision to grant the licence was influenced by several factors:

• Collaboration with authorities: The applicant, Mr Frank Emegwalu, and his agent, Mr Olu Olusola, engaged in discussions with the police and the licensing team, agreeing to amend the hours and accept proposed conditions to promote the licensing objectives[^2]. [^2]: The licensing objectives are the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm.
• No objections from responsible authorities: The sub-committee noted that no representations were made by responsible authorities[^3]. [^3]: Responsible authorities include the police, fire authority, and environmental health officers.
• Consideration of public concerns: The sub-committee addressed concerns raised by a member of the public, Ruth Roxanne Board, who objected to the late licensing hours due to potential public nuisance. The applicant had attempted to engage with the objector, but they could not reach an agreement.
• Robust conditions and dispersal policy: The sub-committee considered that the applicant had taken on board the concerns raised and made changes to the application where necessary to uphold the licensing objectives. The agent explained that conditions agreed with the licensing team, namely conditions 5, 6 and 7, deal with these concerns. Furthermore, the applicant also submitted a robust dispersal policy before the hearing.

The sub-committee was satisfied that granting the amended application in full with conditions would uphold the licensing objectives. Councillor Elizabeth Baptiste, Sub-Committee Chair, noted that where there was a duplication of conditions, the more stringent conditions would prevail.

Conditions agreed with the licensing team to be included onto the premises licence for 417 Lea Bridge Road E10 7EA, include:

• Deliveries of goods can not take place between 23:00 hours and 08:00.
• Outside bins are not to be cleared or collected before 08:00 hours.
• Sufficient measures are in place to remove and prevent litter or waste arising or accumulating from customers in the area immediately outside the premises.
• The disposal of glass and bottles into outside bins does not take place between 23:00 hours and 08:00 hours.
• A suitably worded sign, of a size A4 or larger, shall be displayed at each exit point from the premises, reminding customers to respect the neighbours, leave the area quietly and request that they do not congregate outside the premises.
• During the hours of operation of the premises, the licence holder shall ensure the external area of the premises shall be periodically checked by a member of staff to monitor, noise from customers outside.
• From 22:00 hours, noise observations in the vicinity of the residential properties on Avondale Road and Lea Bridge Road shall be undertaken hourly whilst regulated entertainment consisting of live and / or recorded music is taking place, to establish whether there is a noise breakout from the premises.
  • If the observation reveals noise breakout at a level likely to cause disturbance to the occupants of properties in the vicinity, then the volume of music and / or public announcement (microphone) system shall be reduced to a level that does not cause disturbance.
  • A record of such observations shall be kept in a log for that purpose, the log shall be completed immediately after the observation detailing the time, location and duration of the observation, the level of noise break-out and any action taken to reduce noise breakout.
  • Such records must always be made available for inspection and a copy provided upon request to an authorised officer of a responsible authority.
• Save for access and egress, doors and windows shall remain closed during the playing of live and recorded music.
• A clear and legible notice shall be displayed advising customers as to the number of smokers being restricted to 5 and to be considerate of other users of the public highway when smoking outside.
• Alcohol sold for consumption off the premises will only be permitted with a food order and shall be provided in sealed containers only.
• Alcohol shall only be supplied to persons taking table meals for consumption at the premises.
• There shall be CCTV in Operation signs prominently displayed at the premises.
• A member of staff capable of operating the CCTV system and downloading images shall be at the premises at all times the premises is open to the public.
• An incident book shall be kept and maintained at the premises at all times, which shall be made available to a police officer or an authorised officer of any responsible authority upon request. The incident book shall be used to record the nature of the incident, the date and time of any incident, any faults in the CCTV, the name of the staff member and a brief description of the customer concerned.
• The licence holder shall ensure that staff are trained to use and maintain the incident book.
• On Fridays, Saturdays and days stipulated within the non-standard timings section within the premises licence, a minimum of 1 SIA[^1] door supervisor shall be employed at the premises from (no later than) 21:00 hours until at least 30 minutes after the premises has closed. [^1]: SIA refers to the Security Industry Authority.
• A prominent notice, of a size A4 or larger, shall be displayed at the point of entry to the premises and at the serving area advising customers that the premises operates the 'Challenge 25' proof of age scheme.
• Staff to be provided with regular training (at least every 6 months), relating to age restricted sales with training logs to be kept at the premises detailing dates, names of staff member being trained, name off trainer and content of training. These records to be made available to a police officer or an authorised officer of any responsible authority upon request.

The meeting concluded with a reminder that relevant parties have the right to appeal the decision to Thames Magistrates Court, within twenty-one days of notification of the decision.