This meeting of the Licensing Sub Committee B included a discussion of licensing sub-committee hearing procedures, an application for a premises licence for an Aldi supermarket, and temporary event notices. The meeting was scheduled to be held remotely and live-streamed via YouTube. Councillors Christopher Kennedy, Cabinet Member for Health, Adult Social Care, Voluntary Sector and Culture, Gilbert Smyth, and Faruk Tinaz were listed as the members of the sub-committee.

Aldi, 211 Hackney Road Premises Licence Application

Aldi Soles Limited applied for a premises licence for Aldi, 211 Hackney Road to authorise the supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises.

The report pack included the original application, which requested permission to supply alcohol from 6:00 AM to 12:00 AM, Monday to Sunday. Following discussions with the police authority, the applicant agreed to amend the hours for the supply of alcohol to 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM, Monday to Sunday.

The report pack noted that Hackney Council's licensing objectives include:

• Prevention of crime and disorder
• Public safety
• Prevention of public nuisance
• The protection of children from harm

The report pack stated that the sub-committee is required to consider Hackney's Statement of Licensing Policy (the Policy). It noted that the following policies were particularly relevant to the application: LP1 (General Principles), LP2 (Licensing Objectives) and LP4 ('Off' Sales of Alcohol).

Representations

The report pack stated that the council received representations from the police authority and the Environmental Health Authority (Environmental Enforcement), but that these representations were withdrawn following the applicant's agreement to reduce the supply of alcohol hours and their acceptance of additional conditions.

The council also received representations from 11 other persons, which were included in the report pack as appendices B1 to B11. These representations raised concerns about:

• The prevention of public nuisance
• The prevention of crime and disorder
• Public safety
• The protection of children from harm

The report pack included copies of these representations, which raised concerns including:

• Potential for increased anti-social behaviour: Several representations stated that the pavement outside the premises is wide and dimly lit, which could encourage loitering and public drinking. Residents also noted the lack of public bins in the area, which could lead to increased littering.
• Public health concerns: Some representations highlighted the proximity of the premises to a homeless shelter and the potential for increased alcohol-related harm in a vulnerable area.
• Conflict with licensing policy: Several representations argued that the proposed hours of operation were inconsistent with Hackney Council's core hours policy and could undermine residential amenity.
• Crime statistics: Some representations cited local crime statistics, including shoplifting, anti-social behaviour, and violence, and argued that the addition of an off-licence could exacerbate these problems.
• Proximity to Haggerston School: One representation raised concerns about the risks of proxy purchasing and children being exposed to intoxicated individuals due to the proximity of the premises to Haggerston School.
• Noise and disturbance: Residents of the HKR residential development expressed concerns about noise from deliveries, waste collections, and customer dispersal, as well as potential noise from refrigeration and ventilation equipment.
• Traffic and parking: One representation stated that the narrow residential streets adjacent to the premises already suffer from double parking and congestion, and that the licence was likely to increase traffic and exacerbate these issues.
• Impact on property values: One representation suggested that the conversion of the space to a food/alcohol retailer could negatively affect property values and restrict the ability of leaseholders to refinance or renew mortgages.

Proposed Conditions

The report pack stated that if the sub-committee was minded to approve the application, the following conditions should be applied to the licence:

• Mandatory conditions relating to the supply of alcohol (off premises), age verification, and minimum drinks pricing, as required by the Licensing Act 2003.
• A fully operating CCTV system, with recorded images retained for 31 days and provided to the police and other responsible authorities upon request.
• A 'challenge 25' policy, with signage prominently displayed on the premises.
• Staff training, recorded and updated annually, covering ID requirements, responsibilities, and dealing with intoxicated persons.
• All cashiers trained to record refusals of sales of alcohol in a refusals register.
• All sales tills to prompt age verification when making a sale of alcohol.
• Ongoing review of the need to employ security guards, taking into account police advice.
• Procedures for dealing with crime or serious disorder on the premises, including calling the police and preserving any crime scene.
• Training for staff to prevent the admission of drunk or disorderly persons, or those displaying signs of substance abuse.
• An incident log to record allegations of crime and disorder, complaints, faults in the CCTV system, and visits by relevant authorities.
• Ensuring staff are trained and aware of the legal requirement of businesses to comply with their responsibility as regards the disposal of waste produced from the business premises.
• Ensuring that any contract for general and recyclable waste disposal shall be appropriate in size to the amount of waste produced by the business.
• Instructing members of staff to make regular checks of the area immediately outside the premises and remove any litter, bottles and glasses emanating from the premises.
• Details of the current trade waste agreement/duty of care waste transfer document shall be available on request to the Responsible Authorities

The report pack noted that conditions 5 to 7 were derived from the applicant's operating schedule, conditions 8 to 13 had been suggested by the police authorities and accepted by the applicant, and conditions 14 to 18 had been suggested by the Environmental Enforcement Authority and agreed by the applicant.

Options

The report pack presented the sub-committee with two options:

• Refuse the application.
• Approve the application, together with any conditions or restrictions considered necessary for the promotion of the licensing objectives.

Other Agenda Items

The agenda also included:

• Election of a chair for the meeting.
• Apologies for absence.
• Declarations of interest from members.
• Approval of the minutes of the previous meeting.
• An outline of the Licensing Sub-Committee hearing procedure.
• A standing item on temporary event notices.