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Agenda and minutes

Venue: This will be a virtual meeting

Contact: Cameron MacLean, Senior Committee and Governance Officer  Email:  cmaclean@westminster.gov.uk Tel: 07814 998037

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Membership

To report any changes to the membership.

Minutes:

1.1.     There were no changes to the Membership of the Sub Committee.

1.2.     For the purposes of this meeting, the Chairman proposed that Councillor Susie Burbridge be appointed Substitute Chairman. Councillor Burbridge accepted the appointment.

 

2.

Declarations of Interest

To receive declarations by Members and Officers of the existence and nature of any pecuniary interests or any other significant interest in matters on this agenda.

Minutes:

1.2. There were no Declarations of Interest.

 

3.

Licensing Applications for Determination pdf icon PDF 139 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The following licence applications were presented to the Sub Committee for determination.

 

3a

Wok to Walk: application to vary premises licence pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Ward
CIA*

Site Name & Address

Application
Type

Licensing Reference No.

West End

West End

Wok to Walk, Ground Floor, 4 Brewer Street, London W1F 0SB

Variation of a Premises Licence

20/08558/LIPV

*Cumulative Impact Area

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Present:                   Dror Appel (Applicant); Marcus Lavell (Counsel for the Applicant); Richard Brown (Citizens Advice Westminster, Licensing Advice Project); and Conrad Roeber (Objector).

 

Representations:    Representations had been received from the Environmental Health Service; the Licensing Authority; and several residents.

Applicant:                Mr Dror Appel

Ward:                       West End

CIA[1]:                         West End

Summary of Application

The application was for a variation of the premises licence to extend the hours for Late Night Refreshment and the opening hours of the premises, as follows:

Monday to Wednesday:     23:00 hours to 04:00 hours

Thursday to Saturday:        23:00 hours to 05:00 hours

Sunday:                              23:00 hours to 01:00 hours

The application also sought to amend Condition 3 of the licence to read “No amplified music shall be played within the premises after 05:00 hours”.

INTRODUCTION

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the Members of the Sub Committee and the Council Officers who would be supporting the Sub Committee before explaining the procedure that would be followed at the meeting.

The Chairman then invited the Presenting Officer, Ms Jessica Donovan, to present the report that was before the Sub Committee.

PRESENTATIONS AND SUBMISSIONS

Ms Jessica Donovan, Licensing Officer

Ms Donovan, Licensing Officer, summarised the application as set out in the report before the Sub Committee, noting that several representations had been received, including representations from responsible authorities and local residents.

In conclusion, Ms Donovan confirmed that the premises, which were in the West End Ward, were within the West End Cumulative Impact Area (CIA).

 

Mr Marcus Lavell On Behalf of the Applicant

Mr Lavell stated that, in presenting the application, he would address the following three themes:

1.     The nature of the premises and the application sought;

2.     The concerns of residents; and

3.     The wider policy considerations.

 

The Nature of the Premises

Regarding the nature of the premises, Mr Lavell made the following points.

(a)  The Applicant had been operating several premises in central London for 13 years, some of which traded to 5 AM.

(b)  The nature of Wok to Walk meant that it was not a destination venue and relied on passing trade in areas where there was a large footfall.

(c)  The premises did not sell alcohol and food was made to order for dining in or takeaway. The current application proposed that customers would only dine in after 1 AM.

(d)  When ordering food, customers could choose from several bases and toppings. The present application sought to allow the hot toppings choice from the hot menu (which was more expensive than the cold menu) to be available after 1 AM.

(e)  The number of persons permitted in the premises at any one time was 15 and, with social distancing being imposed, this had been reduced to nine customers.

(f)    The ability to sell hot food to the small number of customers would, over a period, make a significant difference to the revenue of the business.

Concerns of Residents

Mr Lavell addressed the concerns expressed by residents, as follows.

(a)  Potential  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3a

3b

Heaven: application to renew sexual entertainment venue licence pdf icon PDF 13 MB

Ward
CIA*

Site Name & Address

Application
Type

Licensing Reference No.

St James’s

N/A

Heaven, The Arches, London WC2N 6NG

Renewal of Sexual Entertainment Venue Licence

20/06600/LISEVR

*Cumulative Impact Area

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Present:                   Jeremy Joseph (Applicant); Craig Baylis (BCLP Solicitors for the Applicant); Richard Brown (Citizens Advice Westminster, Licensing Advice Project); and two Local Residents objecting to the application (represented by Richard Brown and referred to as Guest No. 3 and Guest No. 5, respectively, for the purposes of these proceedings).

 

Representations:    Five representations objecting to the application had been received from residents of Villiers Street, all of whom wished to remain anonymous. There were no representations from Responsible Authorities.

Applicant:                Mr Jeremy Joseph

Ward:                       West End

CIA[1]:                         West End

Summary of Application

The application was for the renewal of a Sex Establishment licence under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 (“the Act”) for Heaven, The Arches, London WC2N 6NG which was licensed to operate as a Sexual Entertainment Venue (SEV).

INTRODUCTION

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. In so doing, the Chairman introduced the Members of the Sub Committee and the Council Officers who would be supporting the Sub Committee before explaining the procedure that would be followed at the meeting.

The Chairman then invited the Presenting Officer, Ms Jessica Donovan, to present the report that was before the Sub Committee.

PRESENTATIONS AND SUBMISSIONS

Ms Jessica Donovan, Licensing Officer

Ms Donovan, Licensing Officer, summarised the application that was before the Sub Committee. Ms Donovan noted that additional submissions had been received from Richard Brown and the two residents in attendance at today’s meeting. The submissions had been circulated in the Additional Information Pack sent to Members and the various parties.

Mr Brian Baylis On Behalf of the Applicant

Mr Baylis stated that, as a matter of practicality, it was very difficult when dealing with redacted submissions to know the core of the concerns when some of the redactions may be germane to the points he was about to raise. In addition, it was difficult to engage in a dialogue, as suggested by Richard Brown in his submission, between the objectors and his client, Mr Joseph (who said he would welcome a dialogue with residents) when the residents had exercised their right to remain anonymous.

Mr Baylis said this was a very surprising and disappointing set of objections and he was surprised and concerned that this process was being abused for what should more properly be a premises licence review. The allegations had nothing to do with the character of the sexual entertainment licence and everything to do with the operation of the premises licence itself and it was inappropriate to use this renewal application to complain about the day-to-day operation of the premises.

The reality of the use of this Sexual Entertainment Venue (SEV) was that the SEV licence had only been used nine times since January of this year. Whenever it had been used, the premises had operated at lower capacities than the 1,625 allowed by the premises licence viz. 1,100 and 155 when operating in compliance with the Coronavirus Regulations.

Mr Baylis stated that Richard Brown had tried his best to shoehorn the objectors’ allegations  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3b