Agenda and draft minutes

The Flying Pie, Ground Floor, 10 New Row, London, WC2N 4LH (“The Premises”)

18/08241/LIPN

1.

Late Night Refreshment - Indoors

Monday to Saturday: 23:00 to 23:30

Seasonal Variations/Non-Standard Timings:

From the end of permitted hours on New Year’s Eve until the start of permitted hours on New Year’s Day.

Until 23:30 on any Bank Holiday Sunday.

Amendments to application advised at hearing:

The Sub-Committee was advised that the provision of late night refreshment had been withdrawn for the application.

Decision (including reasons if different from those set out in report):

The Sub-Committee considered an application by The Flying Pie Ltd for a new premises licence in respect of The Flying Pie, Ground Floor, 10 New Row, London, WC2N 4LH.

The Licensing Officer introduced the application to the Sub-Committee and confirmed that the Police had withdrawn their representation following the agreement of conditions with the applicant.

Mr Warne, representing the applicant, advised the Sub-Committee that the provision of off sales had now been withdrawn from the application. Mr Warne explained that the premises operated as a restaurant and had been trading for a short period of time. The applicant had suggested some potential conditions to be added to the licence, including the full restaurant condition, and further conditions which had been agreed with the Police. This included limiting the capacity of the restaurant to thirty persons and imposing further conditions relating to waste and noise to address any public nuisance concerns.

Mr Warne informed the Sub-Committee that the premises styled itself as a middle eastern pizzeria serving a traditional style of food. It took approximately 10-12 minutes to prepare and cook the food and could therefore not be considered a fast food restaurant. Its operation was akin to other pizzeria restaurants in providing a casual dining experience. The usual dwell time for customers was around 35-40 minutes meaning very few customers left the premises to smoke outside. The application had been submitted as a growing number of customers were seeking to consume alcohol with their meal and recently potential customers had left the premises, as there was no alcohol provision.

Mr Warne addressed several of the concerns raised by local residents. One regarded queuing, it was recognised that this had occurred on the first day of trading however no queues outside the premises had occurred since. The applicant was willing to accept a condition on the licence however to restrict queuing in order to address this concern. In addition, with regards  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

Ole & Steen, 51 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0NE (“The Premises”)

18/08730/LIPN

1.

Late Night Refreshment - Indoors

Monday to Thursday: 23:00 to 23:30

Friday to Saturday: 23:00 to 00:00

Amendments to application advised at hearing:

None.

Decision (including reasons if different from those set out in report):

The Sub-Committee considered an application by Danish Bake UK Ltd for a new premises licence in respect of Ole & Steen, 51 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0NE.

The Licensing Officer introduced the application to the Sub-Committee.

Mr Anderson, representing the applicant, explained that the concept of the premises was to operate as a Scandinavian bakery/café. Nine other premises already operated in the UK, three of which were located in Westminster. The premises operating in St James’s, Westminster, had been open for eighteen months and had operated to core hours in a Cumulative Impact Area (CIA) without any issues arising. The St James’s premises was considerably larger than the application before the Sub-Committee.

Mr Anderson advised the Sub-Committee that a number of conditions had been agreed with the responsible authorities. Whilst it had not been agreed to include the model restaurant condition on the licence however, it would be conditioned so that any customers consuming alcohol on the premises had to be seated and the sale of alcohol would be ancillary to customers purchasing food. It was proposed not to include the model restaurant condition on the licence as the premises was a more casual dining experience in that customers would be served at a counter and then have an approximate dwell time of 20 to 25 minutes. Alcohol would only form a small part of the operation and the applicant was content that a condition be added to the licence requiring the sale of alcohol to be ancillary to the premises operating as a Scandinavian bakery/café. A limited range of alcohol would be available and at other premises, it only formed 3.6% of overall sales. Mr Anderson also confirmed that no draught beers would be available.

In terms of the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy (SLP) Mr Anderson explained that the hours for the sale of alcohol were within core hours. There was also no outside seating at the premises and any deliveries would take place at the rear of the property. The Sub-Committee was advised that only two issues of contention remained. One centred on the capacity of the premises, the applicant was seeking a capacity of 80 persons; however, Environmental Health (EH)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

Avobar, 23-24 Henrietta Street, London, WC2E 8ND (“The Premises”)

18/08115/LIPN

1.

Sale by Retail of Alcohol – On Sales

Monday to Saturday: 10:00 to 23:00

Sunday: 12:00 to 22:30

Amendments to application advised at hearing:

The Sub-Committee was advised that the proposed hours for the sale of alcohol had been amended to between 10:00 and 22:00 Monday to Saturday and 12:00 to 22:00 on Sundays.

Decision (including reasons if different from those set out in report):

The Sub-Committee considered an application by Avobar Ltd for a new premises licence in respect of Avobar, 23-24 Henrietta Street, London, WC2E 8ND.

The Licensing Officer introduced the application to the Sub-Committee and confirmed that the application had been amended to reduce the terminal hour for the sale of alcohol.

Mr Botkai, representing the applicant, confirmed that the application had been amended to reduce the terminal hour for the sale of alcohol Monday to Sunday to 22:00 with the provision of off sales removed. The opening hours had also been amended so that the premises would close by 22:00 Monday to Sunday. The capacity of the premises had been agreed with Environmental Health (EH) and this would be a maximum of 40 customers in the basement and 90 overall, excluding staff. The Sub-Committee noted that the premises would provide a selection of healthy food and drink options. In terms of the proposed conditions, following discussions with the Covent Garden Community Association the recycling condition would be amended so that no waste or recyclable materials would be removed or placed in outside areas between 22:00 and 08:00 hours. The Sub-Committee also noted that the applicant had not proposed the model restaurant condition; however, a similar condition restricting the sale and supply of alcohol would be imposed. This would restrict alcohol to be consumed at tables, alcohol would be provided by waiter/waitress service only and served to those customers seated taking a substantial table meal. Mr Botkai explained that the full model restaurant condition had not been offered due to the nature of the operation, as customers would place their orders at a counter before being seated. In addition, the takeaway element of the full restaurant condition had been removed, as the provision of takeaway food would be an element to the application.

In response to a question from the Sub-Committee Mr Botkai explained that the premises was a food-led operation, which aimed to provide a limited range of alcohol. It was confirmed that no draught beer would be available. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Rimini Coffee Bar/Espresso Bar, Basement and Ground Floor West, 47 Cranbourn Street, London, WC2H 7AN (“The Premises”)

18/07635/LIPV

1.

Playing of Recorded Music

Licensable Area

Amendments to application advised at hearing:

None.

Decision (including reasons if different from those set out in report):

The Sub-Committee considered an application by Mr Nissim Levy for a variation of a premises licence in respect of Rimini Coffee Bar/Espresso Bar, Basement and Ground Floor West, 47 Cranbourn Street, London, WC2H 7AN.

The Licensing Officer provided an outline of the application to the Sub-Committee and confirmed that the Metropolitan Police had withdrawn their representation following the agreement of conditions with the Applicant.

Mr Hughes, representing the applicant, confirmed that the application did not involve either the sale or supply of alcohol. The applicant, Mr Levy, was a very experienced operator who had traded in the local area for over 40 years. The application before the Sub-Committee was seeking to regularise the hours of the two premises operated by the applicant, which were situated in close proximity to one another and operated under one premises licence. It was sought to extend the opening hours and the hours for late night refreshment at the Espresso Bar to 04:00, which was in line with what was currently permitted at the Rimini Coffee Bar. There were external tables and chairs located at the premises but these were removed by 01:00 each day. Mr Hughes provided an overview of the premises plans to the Sub-Committee and highlighted how the premises was very limited in size. The Espresso Coffee Bar only had an internal capacity of 18 customers, 8 seated and 10 standing with customers tending to have a short dwell time. The Sub-Committee noted that the basement area between The Espresso Bar and the Rimini Coffee Bar was co-joined.

Mr Hughes advised that the applicant was content to accept the conditions proposed by Environmental Health (EH). The Police had also visited the premises and had raised no issues over its operation. The conditions proposed by the Police had also been accepted. The premises did not suffer from any issues concerning customers departing and the applicant also advised that litter patrols were operated throughout the evening. No residents or residents’ associations had submitted representations regarding the application. The Sub-Committee was advised that the establishment did not create any noise issues, crime or anti-social behaviour. The application had the support of the Heart of London Business Alliance and with the agreement of all parties, a letter was circulated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.