Skip to main content

Agenda and decisions

Venue: Room 9 - 17th Floor, Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6 QP. View directions

Contact: Mick Steward  Email:  msteward@westminster.gov.uk Tel: 020 7641 3134

Items
No. Item

1.

Membership

To note any changes to the membership.

Decision:

There were no changes to the membership.

2.

Declarations of Interest

To receive declarations by Members and Officers of the existence and nature of any personal or prejudicial interests in matters on this agenda.

Decision:

Councilor Glanz declared in relation to application number 5 that the organisation was located in the West End ward which he represents.

 

3.

Exempt Reports Under the Local Government Act 1972

RECOMMENDED: That under Section 100 (A) (4) and Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended), the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business because they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information on the grounds shown below and it is considered that, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information:

4.

NNDR Discretionary and Hardship Relief Applications

Decision:

List of Recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Customer Services 

 

The Panel met and heard representations on the following applications and made recommendations in each case to the Cabinet Member for Finance, Resources and Customer Services.

 

1.            Lokkanta Ltd

 

The Panel had before them an application for Hardship in respect of 31 Westbourne Grove, W2 4UA, for the period from 14 July 2014 to 31 March 2015. 

 

Determination of the application was deferred until the 9 December meeting as the applicant was unable to attend the meeting to present their case and answer questions from the panel.

 

2.            Premae Skincare Ltd

 

The Panel had before them application for Hardship relief in respect of Unit 27 Whiteleys, Queensway, W2 4SB for the period from 24 July 2014 to 31 March 2015.

 

The applicant Ms Clare Eluka presented the application. She explained that the business was suffering hardship as when she had applied for the lease of unit 27 at Whiteleys the property was in very poor condition and had been vacant for two years and eight months and required refurbishment including plastering, electrics, paintwork and new signage which she paid for. The other issues were that Whiteleys generally suffers from a low footfall and that the unit is located in a blind spot. As a consequence she advised that she had to spend money on advertising such as leafleting to attract customers. Ms Eluka explained that she had had leased the only available ground floor space in Whiteleys despite it being in a secluded position and  the shopping centre being subject to redevelopment because several reputable businesses surrounded the area and she hoped that her business would gain custom from people shopping in those stores. In response to questions from the Panel regarding the staffing arrangements, she advised that she was paying herself a basic wage. She also explained that the business was providing training to 4 apprentices from Westminster Academy.

Recommendation: That hardship relief of 20% be awarded for the period from 24/7/14 to 31/3/15 on the grounds that a strong link was demonstrated to the borough in that the business provides opportunities to young people in Westminster in the form of apprenticeships.

 

 

3.            Papparoti UK Ltd

The Panel had before them an application for a Hardship Relief respect of 80 Queensway, W2 3RL for the period from 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2015.

 

Determination of the application was deferred until the 9 December meeting as the applicant was unable to attend the meeting to present their case and answer questions from the panel.

 

 

4.            Maslaha

The Panel had before them an application for Discretionary Relief in respect of Rooms F3/4, Somerset House New Wing, Strand, WC2R 1LA for the period from 1 April 2014 onwards. 

 

MrRaheel Mohammed presented the application and answered questions from the Panel. 

 

Recommendation: That Discretionary Relief be refused. The Panel considered the application in detail and took into consideration the additional information that Mr Mohammed provided in favour  ...  view the full decision text for item 4.