Agenda item

App No	Ward / Cumulative Impact Area	Site Name and Address	App Type	Licensing Ref No.
1.	Marylebone High Street Ward / Not in Cumulative Impact Area	The Wedding Gallery 1 Marylebone Road London NW1 4AQ	Premises Licence Variation	20/03852/LIPV

 

WCC LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE NO. 2

 

Thursday 2^nd July 2020

 

Membership:           Councillor Tim Mitchell (Chairman), Councillor Margot Bright

                                and Councillor Toki Aziz.

 

 

Officer Support:       Legal Officer:            Barry Panto

                                Policy Officer:             Aaron Hardy

                                Committee Officer:           Artemis Kassi

                                Presenting Officer:           Kevin Jackaman

 

 

Application for Variation of a Premises Licence [20/03852/LIPV]

 

Full Decision

 

Premises

 

The Wedding Gallery

1 Marylebone Road

London

NW1 4AQ

 

Applicant

 

Hammer Holdings Limited

 

Represented by James Anderson of Poppleston Allen Solicitors

and George Hammer – Managing Director of the Applicant Company

 

Cumulative Impact Area?

 

No

 

Ward

 

Marylebone High Street.

 

Summary of Application

 

This application is for the basement and mezzanine floors and two external areas to the right and front of the building which trades as the “The Wedding Gallery”. The basement and mezzanine floors are situated below the former Holy Trinity Church, which is operated by One Marylebone and had been converted to a licenced and successful event space over 12 years ago. One Marylebone have a separate premises licence which covers the ground and first floors.

 

The Applicant was seeking to vary the premises licence for the Wedding Gallery by amending the terminal hour for the sale of alcohol and the hours of opening to core hours. This would extend the hours for the sale of alcohol by 2 hrs and 30 mins on Monday to Thursday; 3 hrs on a Friday and Saturday; and 1 hour and 30 mins on a Sunday. The maximum capacity of the Wedding Gallery was 200 and there could be no self-service of alcohol. The application was for a variation of hours only, and the conditions currently on the premises licence would remain. On that basis the Applicant did not propose to add any further conditions.

 

 

Existing and Proposed licensable activities and hours

(basement, mezzanine and external space)

 

 

Retail Sale of Alcohol [On sales only]

 

EXISTING HOURS

 

Monday to Thursday 12.00 to 21.00

Friday and Saturday 12.00 to 21.00

Sunday 12.00 to 21.00

 

NOW SEEKING:

 

Monday to Thursday 12.00 to 23.30

Friday and Saturday 12.00 to Midnight

Sunday 12.00 to 22.30

 

 

Hours premises are open to the public

 

EXISTING HOURS

 

Monday to Thursday 10.00 to 21.00

Friday and Saturday 10.00 to 21.00

Sunday 10.00 to 21.00

 

NOW SEEKING:

 

Monday to Thursday 10.00 to 23.30

Friday and Saturday 10.00 to Midnight

Sunday 10.00 to 22.30

 

Representations Received

 

·       Environmental Health (Dave Nevitt)

·       Mr Craig Nethercott – a local resident objecting to the application, who was unable to attend the Hearing.

 

 

Summary of issues raised by the residential objector

 

·       The extension of the hours beyond 21.00 would lead to increased nuisance which the licensing conditions and restricted times to date have sought to manage.

·       Increased opening hours, including in the garden, would have a negative impact on the living environment of the area. The location was already well served by licensed public premises which surrounded the Applicant’s premises.

 

 

Policy Position

 

There is no policy to refuse this application (as the Premises was not situated in a Cumulative Impact Area).  The application must, therefore, be determined on merit. Licensable activities would be licensed until core hours.  (Policies HRS1 and PB1 apply.)

 

 

DECISION

 

Mr Anderson presented the application on behalf of Hammer Holdings Limited and stated that the former Church had become a unique and successful one-stop wedding premises; with weddings taking place in the converted ground floor, and the basement gallery focussing on high quality wedding goods and clothing. The Sub-Committee noted that the basement gallery was currently licensed until 21.00, with a small bar situated on the mezzanine floor.  Mr Anderson explained that the Applicant was an experienced operator and was applying for core hours as an opportunity to further develop the business which, within the context of the Premises, could operate without causing disturbance and would promote the licencing objectives. The outside area was designed to be an English country garden setting with seats and waiter service and was an important aspect of the Premises in view of the current restrictions arising from Covid-19. The Applicant had acknowledged the objection received from the local resident and had written inviting him to a meeting so the concerns could be discussed. At the date of the Hearing, no response to the invitation had so far been received.

 

In terms of impact and public nuisance, Mr Anderson highlighted that the application was within core hours, and that the setting was not in a residential area.  Provision for door staff had also already been made, by Condition 15 of the existing premises licence for the gallery (19/15200/LIPCHT).

 

Mr Nevitt addressed the Sub-Committee and confirmed that although their representation had been maintained in response to the submission from a local resident, the Environmental Health Service had in principle no significant concerns about the application which was in core hours.  Mr Nevitt stated that the two licences in operation at the former Church were very different; with the ground floor offering an open space for larger events with a higher maximum capacity. The ground floor was also licensed for alcohol and regulated entertainment and had staged events into late hours through Temporary Event Notices. The Sub-Committee noted that although complaints had been received during the last year following some noise escape, this had been addressed without further issue following a site meeting with the operator and an acoustic consultant.  Mr Nevitt had also previously spoken to the Applicant about the supervision of the outside area and considered it to be well managed.

 

Mr Nevitt confirmed that he did not hold any concerns over the proposed additional use of the outside area, as the application was within core hours and the premises nearby were commercial.  He also noted that the application had not sought to vary the maximum capacity of 200 that had been set in the existing premises license, which he considered an appropriate figure.

 

Although the residential objector had not attended the hearing; it was noted that he lived in Bolsover Street which was on the other side of the Marylebone Road.

 

Having carefully considered the committee papers and the submissions made by all of the parties, both orally and in writing, and after taking into account all of the individual circumstances of this case, the Licensing Sub-Committee decided to grant the application.

 

The Sub-Committee accepted that the variation in hours that were being sought were within policy; and acknowledged the points made by the objector and the Environmental Health Service. The Sub-Committee also noted the distinction between the licences for the two premises at the former Church; and acknowledged that the previous noise nuisance had been associated with the ground floor of the building rather than the Wedding Gallery itself. It was also acknowledged that the noise nuisance issues had been resolved to the satisfaction of the Environmental Health Service which had not received any further complaints. 

 

The Sub-Committee was of the view that granting the application was appropriate and would promote the licensing objectives.

 

 

The application is granted subject to the following conditions in addition to the Mandatory conditions applicable to this type of application:

 

Conditions consistent with the Operating Schedule

 

10.      The premises shall install and maintain a comprehensive CCTV system as per the minimum requirements of the Westminster Police Licensing Team. All entry and exit points will be covered enabling frontal identification of every person entering in any light condition. The CCTV system shall continually record whilst the premises is open for licensable activities and during all times when customers remain on the premises. All recordings shall be stored for a minimum period of 31 days with date and time stamping. Viewing of recordings shall be made available immediately upon the request of Police or

authorised officer throughout the entire 31 day period.

 

 

11.      A staff member from the premises who is conversant with the operation of the CCTV system shall be on the premises at all times when the premises is open. This staff member must be able to provide a Police or authorised council officer copies of recent CCTV images or data with the absolute minimum of delay when requested.

 

12.      A record shall be kept detailing all refused sales of alcohol. The record should include the date and time of the refused sale and the name of staff who refused the sale. The record shall be available for inspection at the premises by the Police or an authorised officer of the City Council at all times whilst the premises is open.

 

13.      Patrons permitted to leave and then re-enter the premises, e.g. to smoke, shall not be permitted to take drinks or glass containers with them.

 

14.      There shall be no self-service of alcohol.

 

15.      If the outside space ("the space") is used for licensable activities by more than 50 people then a minimum of 1 SIA door supervisors will be on duty until the space is closed increasing by a further 1 SIA door supervisor when there are 100 people in the space and to a minimum of 3 when there are 150 or more people in the space.

 

16.      The maximum number of people which could be used in the outside space would be 200 which is the overall maximum for the premises including the two internal floors.

 

17.      No noise generated on the premises, or by its associated plant or equipment, shall emanate from the premises nor vibration be transmitted through the structure of the premises which gives rise to a nuisance.

 

18.      The means of escape provided for the premises shall be maintained unobstructed, free of trip hazards, be immediately available and clearly identified in accordance with the plans provided.

 

19.      All exit doors shall be available at all material times without the use of a key, code, card or similar means.

 

20.      All emergency doors shall be maintained effectively self-closing and not held open other than by an approved device.

 

 

 

September 2020