Agenda item

Ward CIA* SCZ**	Site Name & Address	Application Type	Licensing Reference No.
Bryanston & Dorset Square None* Edgeware Road**	Cumberland Food and Wine, 11 Great Cumberland Place,     W1H 7LU	Variation to Premises Licence	21/02317/LIPV
*Cumulative Impact Area ** Special Consideration Zone

 

WCC LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE NO. 3

 

Thursday 23 September  2021

 

Membership:           Councillor Jim Glen (Chair), Councillor Louise Hyams and Councillor Maggie Carman

 

Officer Support:       Legal Advisor:         Horatio Chance

                                Policy Officer:          Kerry Simpkin

                                Committee Officer:  Sarah Craddock

                                Presenting Officer:  Kevin Jackaman

 

Application for a Premises Licence Variation 21/02317/LIPV

 

Full Decision

 

Premises

 

Cumberland Food and Wine

11 Great Cumberland Place

London

W1H 7LU

 

Applicant

 

Chelsea Food and Wine Company Limited

Mr Shahnawaz Alwani (Applicant)

Represented by Thomas O’Maoileoin (Solicitorl for the Applicant)

 

Cumulative Impact Area?

 

None

 

Ward

 

Bryanston and Dorset Square

 

Special Consideration Zone

 

Edgware Road

 

Summary of Application

 

The Premises currently operates as a convenience store with ‘off’ Sales of Alcohol.  The Applicant wishes to vary the existing Premises Licence to vary the terminal hour for the sale of alcohol for consumption off the Premises to 00:00 Monday to Saturday until 30 September 2022.  In addition, the Applicant wishes to remove the Environmental Health works conditions namely Conditions 12, 24 and 36.  The Premises have had the benefit of a Premises Licence since October 2005.  The Environmental Health Service and the Metropolitan Police Service have maintained their representations on the grounds of the prevention of crime and disorder and that the proposed permanent increase in hours of ‘off’ sales of alcohol and the removal of the ‘works’ conditions may lead to an increase in Public Nuisance and Public Safety in the area.  The Marylebone Association have also maintained their representation on the grounds that extending ‘off’ sales of alcohol beyond the Council’s Core Hours Policy would be counter to policies PN1 and CD1 and outside HRS1.

 

Current and Proposed Activities and Hours

 

Retail Sale of Alcohol [Off Sales]

 

The hours for the sale of alcohol off the Premises shall be extended to 00:00 until 30 September 2022.  From 1^st October 2022, the hours for off sales will revert to: 08:00 to 23:00 Monday to Saturday and 10:00 to 22:30 Sunday

 

Current Hours

Monday to Saturday 08:00 to 23:00

Sunday 10:00 to 22:30

 

Proposed Hours

Monday to Sunday 08:00 to 00:00

 

Seasonal Variation/Non-Standard Timings: None

 

Retail Sale of Alcohol [On Sales] – No Change

 

Monday to Thursday 10.00 to 23:30

Friday to Saturday 10:00 to 00:00

Sunday 12:00 to 22:30

 

Seasonal Variation/Non-Standard Timings: None

 

Late Night Refreshment – No Change

 

Monday to Sunday 23.00 to 05.00

Sunday 23:30 to 00:00

 

Seasonal Variation/Non-Standard Timings: None

 

Hours premises are open to the public – No Change

 

Monday to Sunday 08:00 to 05.00

 

Removal of EH works conditions at 12, 24 and 36

 

Representations Received

 

·       Metropolitan Police Service (PC Adam Deweltz)

·       Environmental Health Service (“EH”) (Ian Watson)

·       Marylebone Association (Mr Guy Austin represented by Mr Richard Brown, Licensing Lawyer from the Westminster Citizens Advice Bureau)

·       Cumberland Court (not present at the hearing)

·       Cumberland Court Tenants Association (not present at the hearing)

 

Summary of issues raised by objectors

 

·       The application as presented would have the likely effect of undermining the Licensing Objectives, namely the prevention of crime and disorder as there is a likelihood that intoxicated persons would be attracted to the Premises to purchase further alcohol.

 

·       The removal of the time limited extension permitting increased hours of ‘off sales’ and the ‘works’ conditions would likely lead to an increase in Public Nuisance in the area and impact on Public Safety.

 

·       The numerous applications for incremental variations to the Premises Licence to extend the hours for the sale of alcohol ‘off’ the Premises was having a detrimental effect on the area.

 

·       The increase in intoxicated people seeking to purchase further alcohol after the pubs had closed would increase the noise nuisance in the area.  The residents already suffered with late night noise nuisance and the increase in ‘off’ sales of alcohol would increase general rubbish in the area and impact on public safety with the likely effect of an increase in crime and disorder.

 

·       The Premises was located within the Edgeware Special Consideration Zone and therefore the applicant had to demonstrate exceptional circumstances to allow the Sub-Committee to depart from policy.

 

Policy Position

 

The Premises is located within the Edgware Road, Special Consideration Zone and as such various policy points must be considered, namely HRS1, OS1(A) and SCZ1 under the City Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy (SLP).

 

SUBMISSIONS AND REASONS

 

Kevin Jackaman Presenting Officer summarised the application for the purposes of the Sub-Committee. He advised that this was an application for a variation of the  Premises Licence to vary the terminal hour for the sale of alcohol for consumption ‘off’ the Premises to 00:00 Monday to Saturday until 22 September 2022 and to remove the Environmental Health works conditions: 12, 24 and 36.  He confirmed that representations had been received and maintained by the Environmental Health Service, the Metropolitan Police Service, the Licensing Authority and Local Resident Associations.  He further advised that additional submissions had been received from the Applicant which had been circulated to all the relevant parties prior  the Sub-Committee hearing.

 

Mr Thomas O’Maoileoin, Solicitor representing the Applicant, addressed the Sub-Committee and  introduced the application.  He explained that Environmental Health had agreed that condition 12 could be removed but conditions 24 and 36 would remain on the Premises Licence as the works had yet to be completed.  He referred to page 87 of the report which contained the Premises plans and confirmed that there had never been any ‘on’ Sales of Retail of Alcohol on the Premises.  He emphasised that Late Night Refreshment was allowed from 23:00 to 05:00 and was limited to pastries which could be heated up in a microwave.  He explained that most of the applications for variations to the Premises Licence had been to deal with updating the conditions on the licence, reheating certain foods and the outside area which had not substantially changed the original application.  He advised that there was already a considerable number of conditions attached to the licence that promoted the four licensing objectives.

 

Mr O’Maoileoin advised that the Applicant now sought ‘off’ Sales by Retail of Alcohol for a time limited period until 30 September 2022 and this was just an extension to what had been previously granted by the Sub-Committee.  He advised that once the time limited Premises Licence had lapsed the Premises had applied for and been granted Temporary Event Notices (TENs) for Friday and Saturdays without objection by the Environmental Health Service and the Police Service.  He emphasised there had been no issues regarding the operation of these TENs.

 

In response to questions from the Sub-Committee, Mr O’Maoileoin advised the Applicant wished to keep the ‘on’ Sale of Retail of Alcohol on the Premises Licence but would be happy to have it conditioned that ‘on’ Sales would not take place until after 30 September 2022. Mr O’Maoileoin advised that the Premises had always operated the full 24 hours and the outside of the Premises was covered by CCTV.

 

Mr Ian Watson, representing the Environmental Health Service, confirmed that condition 12 could be removed from the Premises Licence and that the works for the kitchen and outside area had not been carried out.  He advised that the Premises had been operating under TENS as the operation of the Premises had been deemed ‘essential’ under the Pandemic and Covid-19 Act.  He advised that no formal complaints had been made regarding the operation of these Premises.  He emphasised that the application was beyond the Council’s Core Hours Policy and was located within a Special Consideration Zone.   

 

PC Adam Deweltz, representing the Metropolitan Police Service, confirmed that their representation was maintained on policy grounds as the hours requested were in excess of the Council’s Core Hours Policy.  He advised that it was challenging to attribute noise nuisance and crime and disorder to this particular Premises, however, the Police were concerned about this application because: Off Licences had a much earlier terminal hour than midnight, people drinking in pubs were often monitored for excess consumption and the late hours requested for the Sale of Retail of Alcohol ‘off’ the Premises could potentially add to the crime and disorder in the area.

PC Deweltz highlighted that people purchasing alcohol from the shop late at night could already be intoxicated and refusal to serve these people further alcohol, due to the Premises having a duty of care to their customers, could result in confrontation within the Premises.  PC Deweltz advised that the increase in hours could also make the Premises a destination point which could cause further problems on the London transport network. 

 

Richard Brown, from the Westminster CAB Licensing Project representing the Marylebone Association, referred to the detailed representation from the Marylebone Association attached at page 71 of the report. He explained  that there had been 12 applications for minor variations to this Premises Licence and that numerous small variations to the original Premises Licence could eventually bring about significant change.  He explained that this Premises was located in the Special Consideration Zone and therefore should operate within the Council’s Core Hours Policy.  He highlighted to the Sub-Committee the two statements from the Police Service which set out the potential effects of the sale of alcohol late at night in the area.  He further highlighted that the area had been peaceful due to the pandemic however the country was now opening up and the area would now become increasingly busy.  He advised that the area was highly residential and that a representation had been made by Cumberland Court Tenants Association.

 

Mr Guy Austin, representing the Marylebone Association, advised that a number of small incremental applications could easily lead to an undesirable outcome.  He advised that the Premises had a good level of security and he had no reason to believe that the Premises was badly operated.  He advised that their main concern was the amount of available alcohol in the area.  He advised that Cumberland Court would be directly impacted if the application was granted as they already suffered with noise nuisance late at night.  He emphasised that Westminster had a clear statement of licensing policies and considered that the Sub-Committee should not depart from policy on this occasion.

 

During the summing up, Mr O’Maoileoin advised that there was always three members of staff on duty and at least one member of staff was a Personal Licence Holder.  He confirmed that none of the staff were currently SIA registered. He further advised that the Premises had been operating within these hours without complaint for the past 12 months and that the extra hours of operation would be very beneficial to the business model.

 

Conclusion

 

The Sub-Committee realises that it has a duty to consider the application on its individual merits. In reaching their decision, the Sub-Committee carefully took into account all the committee papers, supplementary submissions made by the Applicant, Responsible Authorities together with the residential objections, amenity societies and the oral evidence given by all parties during the hearing in its determination of the matter.

 

The Sub-Committee did not doubt the Applicant to be a good operator that runs his premises well. However, this is not a reason alone for granting the application. The Sub-Committee expects the Premises to be managed well in accordance with the promotion of the licensing objectives and in full compliance with licence conditions. 

 

Given the nature of the application, the Applicant had to demonstrate that the application would not adversely affect the local issues identified at Paragraph D51 on page 57 of the SLP for the Edgware Road Special Consideration Zone. The Sub-Committee considered and noted the detailed written submission provided by the Applicant, mitigation measures for the Special Consideration Zone, proposed conditions offered as well as the evidence presented by the Police in the form of a letter by the Police Sergeant of the Designing Out Crime Group and two Witness Statements at Appendix 3 of the report setting out the potential issues the Off sale of alcohol would have in the area late at night and the potential problems that could develop due to crime and disorder and public nuisance. The Sub-Committee concluded that the application would have a likely negative impact on those very factors identified by the Police and residents.

 

The Sub-Committee when considering this specific issue had to strike the right balance when assessing the commercial needs of the Applicants business and the many concerns expressed by residents when it came to the promotion of the licensing objectives in particular the crime and disorder licensing objective. In this connection the Sub-Committee when looking at later hours for the Off sale of alcohol had regard to Paragraph 2.1 on page 6 of the Revised Home Office Guidance which states: “Licensing Authorities should look to the Police as the main source of advice on crime and disorder. They should also look to involve the Community Safety Partnership (CSP)”.

 

The Sub-Committee had regard also to Paragraph 10.15 on page 79 of the Home Office Guidance (replicated as well under Paragraph F63 on page 87 of the SLP which states: “Shops, stores and supermarkets should normally be free to provide sales of alcohol for consumption off the premises at any times when the retail outlet is open for shopping unless there are good reasons, based on the licensing objectives, for restricting those hours. This is in the context of Paragraph 10.13 of Revised Guidance which states that Licensing Authorities are best placed to make decisions about appropriate hours in their areas based on local knowledge and in consultation with Responsible Authorities.

 

The Sub-Committee concluded that, if granted, the application would negatively impact the Special Consideration Zone by the Off sales of alcohol well into late at night. Whilst the Sub-Committee had fully recognised that the Applicant had run Temporary Event Notices (TEN) successfully in the past this was not necessarily an indicator that problems would not exist when looking at the global impact as the TEN regime is specifically designed for short defined periods and will only give a snap shot of a particular situation over any given period of time as oppose to granting a licence effectively in perpetuity which is wanted the Sub-Committee had to consider overall having regard to the policy implications of the Special Consideration Zone and the long term likely affect’s on the area.

 

The Sub-Committee acknowledged and noted the point that public nuisance and crime and disorder associated with an ‘off’ licence Premises are not easily associated directly with that Premises, rather to the surrounding area.  As evidenced in the two Witness Statements from the Police, ‘off’ licences throughout Westminster are routinely confined to the Council’s Core Hours Policy and any extension to these hours may make the Premises a destination for those seeking alcohol after pubs and bars close. The Sub-Committee therefore are refusing this application within the Special Consideration Zone.

 

The Sub Committee was not persuaded by the Applicant that the promotion of the licensing objectives would be upheld particularly the public nuisance and crime and disorder licensing objectives. The Sub Committee when looking at the evidence had regard to the policy considerations arising under Polices OS1, PN1, CD1 and CH1 under the SLP. 

 

Accordingly, the Sub Committee decided that the Applicant had not provided sufficient reasons as to why the granting of the application would promote the licensing objectives and therefore refused the application in all the circumstances of the case. Insofar as the licence conditions are concerned the Sub-Committee agreed that redundant condition 12 be removed from the Premises Licence as follows:-

 

The minor variation application shall have no effect until the Premises have been assessed as satisfactory by the Environmental Health Consultation Team at which time this condition shall be removed from the Licence by the Licensing Authority”

 

The application was REFUSED

 

This is the Full Decision of the Licensing Sub-Committee which takes effect forthwith

 

The Licensing Sub-Committee

23 September 2021