Agenda and minutes

Comptoir Café & Wine, 21-22 Weighthouse Street, London, W1K 5LY

17/00358/LIPN

1.

Late Night Refreshment - Indoors

Standard days and times not applied for.

Seasonal Variations/Non-Standard Timings:

From 23:00 hours on New Year’s Eve to 05:00 hours on New Year’s Day.

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 Comptoir WS Ltd for a new premises licence in respect of 21-22 Weighthouse Street, London, W1K 5LY.

The Licensing Officer provided an outline of the application to the Sub-Committee and confirmed that following the agreement of conditions the Police and the Grosvenor Mayfair Residents Association had withdrawn their representations.

Following a request for clarification from the Council’s Legal Adviser Mr Thomas, representing the applicant, confirmed that the premises opening hours would be 08:00 to 23:00 Monday to Saturday and 08:00 to 22:30 on Sundays.

Mr Thomas explained that Mr Rousset had significant experience in operating licensed premises within Westminster. He had founded the 28/50 chain of wine shops which were notable for being considered an exception to policy in Cumulative Impact Areas (CIA) as they contained holding bars. He was also a founder of the restaurant Texture which had been awarded a Michelin star. Mr Rousset was already operating a Comptoir restaurant in Marylebone which was of a similar concept.

Mr Rousset described the concept of the premises and how during the day it would operate as a place providing primarily coffee and snacks and then evolving into a wine bar in the evenings. The premises would have a large wine collection and it was considered this would be a unique offer in this particular area. The food offering would mainly consist of toasties, soups and salads with an area available for wine tastings to take place. It was confirmed that all the customers would be seated within the premises except when a wine tasting session was taking place in the basement out of view from the street.

Mr Thomas confirmed that there would be forty covers provided inside the premises and eight located externally. It was recognised that residents had objected to the application and it was felt this was partly because it was located within an area seriously affected by the Crossrail development. Residents had experienced severe disruption because of it and it was hoped this premises would help benefit the local area. It was not located within a CIA and the applicant had been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

British Sex Shop, 8 Green’s Court, London, W1F 0HH

16/05871/LISEXR

1.

Renewal of a Sexual Entertainment Venue Premises Licence

The application was to renew the sexual entertainment venue premises licence made by Mr Nigel Moon for the sex shop at British Sex Shop, 8 Green’s Court, London, W1F 0HH.

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 Nigel Moon for a renewal of a sexual entertainment venue premises licence in respect of British Sex Shop, 8 Green’s Court, London, W1F 0HH.

The Licensing Officer provided an outline of the application to the Sub-Committee and advised that the premises had been licensed since 2011. An objection to the renewal of the licence had been received which related to an increase in noise in the local area. The Sub-Committee noted that the premises was located on the ground floor and the City Inspector comments related to a separate operation in the basement of the premises which had been used as an unlicensed sex shop and subject to enforcement visits. It was confirmed that the premises before the Sub-Committee today was not linked to the premises situated in the basement.

Mr Peacock, representing the applicant, explained that the application was for a renewal of a sex shop licence granted to Mr Moon in 2015. Clarification was provided that the premises located in the basement of the property was completely separate to the premises on the ground floor which was before the Sub-Committee today. No representations had been received from the responsible authorities and the one objection received related to an increase in noise levels outside the premises permitted hours. Mr Peacock highlighted that several of the times provided by the objector when the increase in noise occurred were during the premises permitted hours. It was suggested that the cause of some of the disturbance originated from the premises located in the basement. The applicant denied causing any noise disturbance and confirmed he only operated during the premises operating hours as required by the conditions on the licence. Mr Peacock was of the opinion that if it had been operating outside of its permitted hours the Licensing Authority would have been made aware. Constructive discussions had been held with the objector following which the objector had recognised that the noise levels had reduced. The applicant had also provided the objector with his telephone number in order that they can contact him if any disturbance was caused and he would then be able to take appropriate  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

London Cocktail Club, Basement, Portland House, 4 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 8QJ

17/00601/LIPV

1.

Exhibition of Films

Seasonal Variations/Non-Standard Timings:

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 The London Cocktail Club Limited for a variation of a premises licence in respect of The London Cocktail Club, Basement, Portland House, 4 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 8QJ.

The Licensing Officer provided an outline of the application to the Sub-Committee.

Ms Tricker, representing the applicant, advised the Sub-Committee that the proposals relating to live music had now been withdrawn from the application.

Ms Tricker detailed how the application intended to extend the terminal hour on the licence for all licensable activities and for the opening hours to 01:00 on Thursdays and 02:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. The London Cocktail Club was a brand which currently operated seven premises within London with one opening at the end of March. They opened in the afternoons and traded through the evening and predominantly catered for small groups. The application was not seeking to attract additional people to the premises and the extension in hours only sought to extend the experience for its clientele. Trading had occurred with the proposed hours for a seven month period on the old licence and there was no evidence this had added to the cumulative impact in the area. No noise complaints had been received relating to the premises and the conditions already in place on the licence limited the nature of the operation. It was not sought to change these. Numerous Temporary Event Notices  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.