Agenda item

Ward CIA* SCZ**	Site Name & Address	Application Type	Licensing Reference No.
West End West End* None**	Rapha, 85 Brewer Street, W1F 9ZN	New Premises Licence	21/04119/LIPN
*Cumulative Impact Area ** Special Consideration Zone

 

WCC LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE NO. 4

 

Thursday 11 November 2021

 

Membership:           Councillor Karen Scarborough (Chair), Councillor Heather Acton and Councillor Aicha Less

 

Officer Support:       Legal Advisor:         Viviene Walker

                                Policy Officer:          Aaron Hardy

                                Committee Officer:  Sarah Craddock

                                Presenting Officer:  Emanuela Meloyan

 

Application for a New of Premises Licence in respect of Rapha 85 Brewer Street London W1F 9ZN – 21/04119/LIPN

Full Decision

 

Premises

 

Rapha

85 Brewer Street

London W1F 9ZN

 

Applicant

 

Rapha Racing Limited

Represented by Luke Elford (Agent, for Woods Whur 2014 Limited) and Rus Ashford (Operation Director, Rapha Racing Limited)

Cumulative Impact Area?

 

West End

 

Ward

 

West End

 

Proposed Licensable Activities and Hours

Retail Sale of Alcohol (On and Off Sales)

 

Monday to Sunday 12:00 to 22:00

 

Seasonal Variation: None

 

Hours Premises are Open to the Public

 

Monday to Sunday 08:00 to 22:00

 

Seasonal Variation: None

 

Representations Received

 

·       Environmental Health Service (Dave Nevitt)

·       Metropolitan Police Force (PC Lewis)

·       Licensing Authority (Jessica Donovan)

·       The Soho Society (Jane Doyle, represented by Richard Brown, Licensing Lawyer, Westminster Citizens Advice Bureau)

 

Summary of issues raised by objectors

 

·       The Environmental Health Service (EH) were concerned that the proposals were likely to increase the risk of Public Nuisance and EH and the Licensing Authority were concerned that the proposals would have the likely effect of adding to the cumulative impact in the West End Cumulative Impact Area.

·       The Metropolitan Police Service were concerned that if the application was granted it would undermine the Licensing Objectives and would cause further policing problems in an already demanding area.

·       The Soho Society had objected to the application on the grounds of prevention of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance and cumulative impact in the West End Cumulative Impact area.

 

Policy Position

 

The following policy points had to be considered, namely CIPI, RNTI and HSR.

 

Summary of Application

This is an application for a New Premises Licence under the Licensing Act 2003.  (“The Act”).  The Premises propose to operate as a cycling, clothing store with a busy cafe.  The main emphasis will be on coffee, cake, breakfast/lunches during the day with the option of beers, natural wines and a small list of spirits early evenings, weekends and events. It is also proposed that the on sales licence be supplemented by off-sales with regard to bottles of natural wine for consumption at home.  The Premises are within the West End Ward and in the West End Cumulative Impact Zone.  The Premises is not in a Special Consideration Zone. 

 

SUBMISSIONS AND REASONS

Having considered all the submissions made by all parties, the Licensing Sub-Committee decided to grant the application.

 

Ms Emanuela Meloyan, Senior Licensing Officer, summarised the application set out in the report before the Sub-Committee.  She advised that the application was for a New Premises Licence which intended to operate as a cycling clothing store with a busy cafe. The Sub-Committee noted that representations had been received from all the Responsible Authorities and the Soho Society.  The Sub-Committee further noted that the Premises are situated within the West End Ward and in the West End Cumulative Impact Zone.

 

Mr Luke Elford, on behalf of Rapha Racing Limited, advised that the Premises would like the ability to sell alcohol without food to up to 80 people who came to watch cycling events such as the Tour de France during the day and at pre-booked events closed to the public from 7pm until closing time at 10pm. He explained that the predominant activity would be the watching of daytime cycling events which would end by 6pm as these events would be live cycling events.  Mr Elford outlined that Rapha would also like the ability to make off-sales and explained that Rapha wished to stock a small selection of lesser-known French wines and sell those wines to shoppers.  He highlighted that if the Sub-Committee were unhappy with the off-sales element of the application then the Applicant was happy to withdraw it.  He advised that other than those three requests, Rapha would continue to operate as they do currently. 

 

In response to questions from the Sub-Committee, Mr Elford advised that there was no history of complaints, that people watching live cycling events would have left the Premises by 5pm and that the operation would be managed under tighter conditions than what was currently attached to the Premises Licence.  He explained that the events would not be advertised externally so people would not just ‘pop in’ off the streets and that the people attending events would be keen cyclists.  He explained that the ‘Off Sales’ would consist of food and drink that were linked with current live cycling events and Rapha intended to collaborate with specialist brewers/wineries to offer their customers specialist items to try, and then purchase to take home.  Mr Elford advised that some food would be provided such as olives, cheese, ham or sausage depending on the live event.  The Sub-Committee noted that people could leave the Premises at 5pm and then go elsewhere in Soho. 

 

In response to questions from the Sub-Committee, Ms Rus Ashford, Applicant, advised that each Rapha shop had its own Instagram account and followers.  He then outlined the events that the Brewer Street shop had held in the last couple of months which included: a diversity cycling event, female long distance events, the opening party postponed from April and a book launch. 

 

Mr Dave Nevitt, representing the Environmental Health Service (EHS), referred to the Premises’ plans and highlighted where the café and retail areas were situated within the Premises.  He advised that he considered that this was a mixed use facility and that the café was ancillary to the retail shop.  He advised that the Premises had applied for several Temporary Event Notices (TENs) to hold events which had been so successful that they had decided to apply for this permanent Premises Licence.  Mr Nevitt explained that EHS wished for the Premises to remain as a retail shop and referred to the Environmental Health Services list of Conditions in the Additional Information Pack. 

 

In response to questions from the Sub-Committee, Mr Elford explained that at present the Applicant had a Premises Licence to hold pre-booked events from 7pm until 11am (all events were related to cycling) and that the Applicant was offering to reduce the closing hour to 10pm.  He advised that there was no set number of events on the Premises Licence and as the events were well organised and there had been no complaints, he was not minded to agree to a set number of events per year being attached to the Premises Licence.  Mr Nevitt emphasised to the Sub-Committee that the request for alcohol to be served without food during Live Events did not concern the Environmental Health Service.

 

PC Bryan Lewis, representing the Metropolitan Police Service, advised that the Police Service were maintaining their representation on Policy grounds as the Premises were in the West End Cumulative Zone.  He confirmed that the operation of the premises had never come to their attention and he was content that the Premises would remain a cycling retail shop. 

 

Ms Jessica Donavan, representing the Licensing Authority, advised that the Licensing Authority had maintained their representation as the Premises were situated in the West End Cumulative Zone.  She explained that initially the application had been considered under the Council’s policies: CIPI, RNTI and PB1 but following the revised Council’s policies and the agreement of the proposed conditions the application could now be considered under the Council’s policies:CIP1 and the Council’s new shop policy SHP1.  The Licensing Authority had proposed model conditions 38 and 39 however it has been noted that the Applicant had proposed alternative wording for the Sub-Committee to consider in the Additional Information Pack.  The Licensing Authority had noted that the current Licence would be surrendered on satisfactory grant of the new application. The Licensing Authority welcomed that the Applicant has agreed to model conditions 17 and 61 being attached to the Premises Licence and that the Premises would be operating within the Council’s core hours policy.  It was, therefore, for the Sub-Committee to be satisfied that this application was as stated because the Premises are within the West End Cumulative Impact Zone.

 

Mr Richard Brown, Licensing Lawyer, Westminster Citizens Advice Bureau, on behalf of the Soho Society, advised that Rapha was a very high-end retail shop which caused minimal impact in the West End area.  He confirmed that the Soho Society were content with the reduction in closing hours from 11pm to10pm.  He referred to the conditions at page 153 in the Additional Information Pack and advised that he wished to add the word ‘cycling’ in front of ‘retail shop’ at condition 1 in the event the shop was taken over by another business.  He queried whether the capacity needed to be 80 persons and wondered if the frequency of events should be added to the Premises Licence. He advised that the Soho Society were not keen on the ‘off’ sales of wine and beer. He reiterated again whether the capacity figure should be 80 persons.

 

Ms Jayne Doyle, representing the Soho Society, concurred with Mr Brown regarding the capacity of 80 person per event and the off sales of alcohol. She added that if off sales of alcohol were allowed that draught beer be excluded from the offer.  She emphasised that there needed to be a condition that stopped the Premises Licence being transferred to a different operator if Rapha stopped trading at 85 Brewer Street.

 

In response to questions from the Sub- Committee regarding the capacity of 80 persons for events, Mr Elford advised that the capacity on the existing licence of 40 persons was for the café area only.  He explained, however, that once the furniture was moved around, and with the increase in the café area, the Premises could now easily hold 80 persons.  Mr Nevitt confirmed that the café area had increased in size and an additional toilet had been installed to cope with the increase in people on the Premises.  Mr Brown advised that the capacity of 80 persons was not an issue for events but was for the café area during the day.  Mr Nevitt advised that an additional condition could be added to the Premises Licence to state that the capacity for everyday use remains at 40 persons, which the Applicant agreed could be added to the new Premises Licence. 

 

Conclusion

 

The Committee has determined an application for a grant of Premises Licence under the Licensing Act 2003 (“The Act”).

 

The Sub-Committee has a duty to consider the application on its individual merits and took into account all of the committee papers and the oral evidence given by all parties during the hearing in its determination of the matter.

 

In reaching its decision the Sub-Committee took into consideration that this was a cycling retail Premises which would operate as a café/restaurant within the Council’s Core Hours Policy.  The Sub-Committee noted that there had been no complaints raised when the Premises had operated under Temporary Event Notices (TENs) and that all events would have a cycling theme.  In addition, under this new Premises Licence the Premises would now close at 10pm instead of 11pm.  The Sub-Committee further noted that the proposed conditions had been agreed with all the Responsible Authorities and concluded that these conditions attached to the licence would alleviate the Soho Society’s concerns and were appropriate and would promote the licencing objectives.

 

Having carefully considered the committee papers and the submissions made by all of the parties, both orally and in writing, the Committee has decided, after taking into account all of the individual circumstances of this case and the promotion of the four licensing objectives to grant the application with the following permissions: - 

 

1.        To grant permission for Sale of Alcohol (On and Off Sales) Monday to

Sunday 12:00 to 22:00 hours.

 

2.        To grant permission for the Opening Hours of the Premises Monday to Saturday 08:00 to 22:00 hours Sunday 10:00 to 22:00 hours.

 

3.        That the Licence is subject to any relevant mandatory conditions.  

4.        That the Licence is subject to the following conditions imposed by the Committee which are considered appropriate and proportionate to promote the licensing objectives.

 

          

 

 

 

 

          

Conditions imposed by the Committee after a hearing with the agreement of the Applicant

 

 

9.        The tables on premises will be regularly cleared of empty bottles and glasses.

 

10.      All waste shall be properly presented and placed out for collection no earlier than 30 minutes before the scheduled collection times.

 

11.      No waste or recyclable materials, including bottles, shall be moved, removed from or placed in outside areas between 23:00 hours and 08:00 hours on the following day.

 

12.      Notices will be displayed asking patrons to leave the premises quietly and to have respect for local residents.

 

13.      Staff shall monitor customers smoking outside the premises on a regular basis and ensure patrons do not cause a public nuisance.

 

14.      A Challenge 25 proof of age scheme shall be operated at the premises where the only acceptable forms of identification are recognised photographic identification cards, such as a driving licence, passport or proof of age card with the PASS Hologram.  

 

15.     A record shall be kept detailing all refused sale of alcohol. The record should include the date and time of the refused sale and the name of the member of staff who refused the sale.

 

16.     Staff will be trained in the understanding of the Challenge 25 policy and training records maintained for inspection if requested by the Police or any other responsible authority. The record shall be available for inspection at the premises, by the Police or an authorised officer of the Council at all times whilst the premises are open.

 

17.      The supply of alcohol at the premises shall be ancillary to the use of the premises as a Cycling Retail Shop.

 

18.      The supply of alcohol at the premises shall only be to a person seated taking a table meal there and for consumption by such a person as ancillary to their meal.

 

19.      All sales of alcohol for consumption off the premises shall be in sealed containers only and shall not be consumed on the premises.

 

20.      Notwithstanding condition 18 above the premises shall be permitted to sell alcohol without food to up to 80 customers bona fide attending the premises for the showing of a live broadcast of one of the following cycling events:

 

a.     Cyclocross World Championships;

b.     Omploop Het Nieuwsblad;

c.     Milan San Remo;

d.     Tour of Flanders;

e.     Paris Roubaix;

f.      Giro D’Italia

g.     Tour de France;

h.     Vuelta d’Espana;

i.       Tour of Britain

j.       UCI World Championships; and

k.     Giro di Lombardia

 

21.      Notwithstanding condition 18 above the premises shall be permitted to sell alcohol without food to up to 80 customers attending a pre-booked function at the premises where the premises are closed to the general public.

 

22.      Sales of alcohol in relation to condition 18 shall be to customers who have pre-booked at least four (4) hours in advance only.  The customers’ names shall be recorded along with the date and time of their booking and if the booking is taken by a member of staff, the staff member’s name shall be recorded also.  Any customers booking within four (4) hours of the event shall be by signed permission of the DPS only.

 

23.      No events booked by external promoters shall be permitted to take place at the premises.

 

24.      Sales of alcohol in relation to conditions 20 and 21 above shall be by waiter/waitress service to seated customers.

 

25.      Off Sales of alcohol shall only be permitted between 12:00 to 19:00 hours.

 

26.      The capacity in the café shall be limited to 40 customers with the exception to condition 20 above and pre-booked functions.

 

27.      There shall be no off sales of draught beers.

 

28.      There shall be a Personal Licence Holder on duty at the premises at all times when alcohol is not being sold ancillary to food.

 

29.      A direct telephone number for the manager at the premises shall be publicly available at all times the premises are open.  This telephone number is to be made available to residents and businesses in the vicinity.

 

30.      Substantial food and non-intoxicating beverages, including drinking water, shall be available in all parts of the premises where alcohol is sold or supplied for consumption on the premises. 

 

31.      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 are 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.

 

32.      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 are 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.

 

33.      An incident log shall be kept at the premises and made available on request to an authorised officer of the City Council or the Police.  It must be completed within 24 hours of the incident and will record the following:

a) all crimes reported to the venue,

b) all ejections of customers,

c) any complaints received concerning crime and disorder,

d) any incidents of disorder,

e) any faults in the CCTV system,

           f) any refusal of the sale of alcohol,

g) any visit by a relevant authority or emergency service.

           h) all seizures of drugs or offensive weapons.

 

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

 

35.      There shall be a maximum of six (6) smokers outside the premises at any one time.

 

36.      No licensable activities shall take place at the premises until premises licence 18/08331/LIPDPS (or such other number subsequently issued for the premises) has been surrendered and is incapable of resurrection.

 

 

This is the Full Decision reached by the Licensing Sub-Committee

This Decision takes immediate effect.

 

Licensing Sub-Committee

11 November 2021