Agenda item

26 Circus Road, NW8

18/01634/LIPN

1.

Sale by retail of alcohol: Off sales

Monday to Sunday:                                     07:00 to 20:30

Amendments to application advised at hearing:

During the course of the hearing, the Applicant Company’s Representative advised of the following amendments

Monday to Sunday:                                     08:00 to 20:30

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

Shannon Pring (Presenting Officer) confirmed that the Police had withdrawn their representation following agreement of conditions with the Applicant.

Mr Robert Jordan (Applicant’s Representative) began by confirming agreement of conditions with the Police who had subsequently withdrawn their representation. He stated that there were some conditions proposed by Environmental Health that the Applicant was not in agreement with, however he was not sure that the conditions showing as agreed in the report matched those with the email he had received from the Police.

At this point, to provide clarity, the Sub-Committee invited Mr Jordan to go through the conditions in the report requested by Environmental Health and the Police and confirm on behalf of the Applicant whether they were in agreement with them or not. Mr Jordan then confirmed on behalf of the Applicant agreement with conditions 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 20 and 21 in the report. In respect of condition 10, he suggested that “in line with data protection law” be added at the end of this condition, as agreed with the Police. Mr Jordan advised that conditions 12, 14, 19 and 22 in the report were not agreed by the Applicant.

The Chairman then invited Mr Jordan to explain why the Applicant did not agree to some of the conditions requested by Environmental Heath in the report. Mr Jordan asserted that in respect of condition 12, which proposed that alcohol be secured in a locked store room or behind locked grilles, screens or cabinet doors outside the permitted hours for the sale of alcohol, the Police had withdrawn their request for this condition on agreement that the Applicant agree to condition 17, as requested by Environmental Health, that there be prominent signage displaying the permitted hours of the sale of alcohol at the entrance of the premises, where alcohol was on public display, and at the point of sale. In respect of condition 14, requesting that no single cans or bottles of beer, cider or spirit mixtures shall be sold, Mr Jordan commented that the Police had not asked for this condition to be included on the licence. He added that some items would cost £2.80 per bottle and this would be expensive if the customer was required to purchase a 4 pack and the Applicant had already agreed to there being no beers, lagers, ciders or spirits above 5.5% ABV being sold at the premises.

In respect of condition 19 stating that there shall be no deliveries to the premises between 23:00 and 08:00, Mr Jordan stated that some products, such as newspapers, were delivered earlier than 08:00 and he requested that this condition only be applicable to alcohol. Turning to condition 22 requesting that a personal licence holder shall be on the premises at all times when alcohol was permitted to be sold, Mr Jordan asserted that the Police had not requested this and that they were content with an alternative condition requesting that staff receive regular training in respect of selling alcohol. At this point, Yolanda Wade (Licensing Service) advised that the Licensing Service had not received details of any condition being agreed between the Applicant and the Police in respect of a training condition.

Ashish Patel (Applicant’s Designated Premises Supervisor) stated that in respect of proposed condition 12, alcohol would be sold to the right side of the entrance and a curtain would be drawn across this area outside the permitted hours so these products could not be seen and he therefore felt that grilles, screens or cabinets were not necessary.

Mr Jordan, on behalf of the Applicant, confirmed that he was satisfied with Environmental Heath’s amendment to the Applicant’s proposed condition 6 in relation to recording refused sales of alcohol.

David Nevitt (Environmental Health) then addressed the Sub-Committee and advised that proposed condition 12 was a model condition and this would be consistent with other off licences where this condition was also applied. In addition, the condition also helped ensure staff’s safety as customers could become aggressive and demand to be sold alcohol if they were able to pick up these products. In respect of condition 14, Mr Nevitt stated that if customers could buy single cans or bottles of alcohol, this purchasing habit was often associated with street drinkers which could give rise to public nuisance. Mr Nevitt advised that he agreed with the re-wording of condition 19 that no deliveries shall take place between 23:00 and 08:00 only apply to alcohol and that he had also suggested this to the Applicant. He confirmed that he had not requested condition 22.

Mr Nevitt confirmed that model conditions 1, 17, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33 and 48 that he had requested in his written representation had been agreed with the Applicant as confirmed at this hearing. In respect of model condition 47 concerning proof of age scheme, he indicated that he would be content with the Sub-Committee’s discretion on whether they agreed to a Challenge 21 or Challenge 25 scheme.

Mr Nevitt maintained his objection to the proposed hours for sale of alcohol and requested that these be within core hours, with a commencement hour of 08:00 Mondays to Saturday and 10:00 on Sunday. He noted that the resident had also maintained their objection to the application.

At this point, Mr Jordan stated that the Applicant had agreed the hours for sale of alcohol from 08:00 to 20:30 Monday to Sunday with the Police. He indicated on behalf of the Applicant that he would be happy to amend the application accordingly to these hours. Barry Panto (Legal Adviser) then asked if the Applicant wished to formally amend the application for the hours for sale of alcohol to be 08:00 to 20:30 Monday to Sunday and this was confirmed by Mr Jordan on behalf of the Applicant. Mr Jordan felt that a commencement hour of 08:00 for the sale of alcohol on Sundays would not be an issue and staff would be fully trained and there would normally be three staff on the premises.

Mr Nevitt reiterated that a commencement hour of 08:00 for the sale of alcohol on Sundays was outside core hours and it was a common request from residents that the commencement hour be within core hours on Sundays as they were particularly concerned about public nuisance on this day. He added that the nearby Tesco, whose hours for sale of alcohol were within core hours on Sundays, may be tempted to apply for a variation for an earlier commencement hour if this application was granted for the hours applied for and this could lead to a greater impact on residents.

The Chairman asked Mr Nevitt’s view on permitting the Applicant to sell alcohol at an earlier hour on Sundays when cricket matches were taking place at Lord’s. Mr Panto asked if the area was specifically known for public nuisance caused by street drinking and would this be an issue on cricket match days too.

In reply, Mr Nevitt stated that permitting an earlier hour for sale of alcohol on Sundays when there were cricket matches at Lord’s was an option that could be explored, however this could result in a number of Sundays where the Applicant could sell alcohol at an earlier hour as cricket matches at Lord’s were frequent during the cricket season. He suggested that the Applicant could apply for temporary event notices for big matches at Lord’s. Mr Nevitt added that an ongoing permission to sell alcohol from hours earlier than core hours on Sundays may give rise to public nuisance. He advised that he was not aware that street drinking was a particular problem in the area, although there was a small risk that the Applicant could add to street drinking.

Mr Jordan and Mr Patel were invited to comment on Mr Nevitt’s response. Mr Jordan acknowledged that the views of local residents was important, however he stated that the address given for the resident who had submitted a representation was also the same as that of Panzer Delicatessen, which was also licensed to sell alcohol and so he queried the motive of this representation. On behalf of the Applicant, Mr Jordan indicated that he would be satisfied if the Applicant was permitted to sell alcohol earlier than core hours on Sundays only when there were cricket matches taking place at Lord’s. Mr Patel added that Lord’s had a policy of only accepting two cans or bottles of beer into the ground. He also commented that one day international cricket matches started at 10:00 and test matches at 11:00 at Lord’s. Mr Patel confirmed that he would also be content with alcohol being permitted to be sold earlier than core hours on Sundays only when there were cricket matches at Lord’s.

The Sub-Committee invited Mr Jordan to further clarify on behalf of the Applicant about the conditions requested by Environmental Health in their written representation. Mr Jordan confirmed agreement of model conditions 1, 17, 29, 31, 32, 33, 47 and 48. He also agreed to model condition 65, providing that it was only applicable to alcohol. In respect of model condition 28, Mr Jordan contended that this was not necessary as he felt that curtains would be sufficient to restrict access to alcohol during the hours when it was not permitted to be sold. He also objected to model condition 30 as he felt that preventing sale of single cans or bottles of beer, cider and spirit mixtures was a Police matter and they had not requested such a condition.

The Sub-Committee granted the application, subject to the hours for the sale of alcohol being 08:00 to 20:30 Monday to Saturday and 10:00 to 20:30 Sunday. The Sub-Committee considered that a commencement hour of sale of alcohol on Sunday at 10:00 was appropriate as this would be within core hours and it took into account the fact that the Applicant was yet to have any experience of selling alcohol and so had not had the opportunity to demonstrate their ability as an alcohol retailer operator. The Sub-Committee also agreed that the condition requested by Environmental Health that alcohol be secured in a locked store room or behind locked grilles, screen or cabinet doors outside the permitted hours for the sale of alcohol be added as it considered that this would help the Applicant to uphold the licensing objectives and ensure staff’s safety. The Sub-Committee agreed that the condition relating to no deliveries between 23:00 and 08:00 apply only to alcohol as it acknowledged that some products, such as newspapers, would be delivered at earlier times in the morning and this was essential to the premises’ operation. The Sub-Committee did not apply the condition requested by Environmental Health that no single cans or bottles of beer, cider or spirit mixtures shall be sold as it considered that it was not appropriate as the Sub-Committee acknowledged that the area was not known for having particular issues relating to street drinking, as also acknowledged by Environmental Health at the hearing, and so it did not consider that allowing such sales would impact significantly on public nuisance in the area.

The Sub-Committee determined that the conditions to be added to the premises licence would help the Applicant uphold the promotion of the licensing objectives (prevention of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance, public safety, and protection of children from harm).

The Sub-Committee added an informative requesting that the Applicant ensure that staff are appropriately trained in respect of activities relating to the sale of alcohol. The Sub-Committee emphasised to the Applicant the importance of staff being appropriately trained in this area and reminded them that any premises licences could be subject to reviews if conditions were breached as provided by the Licensing Act 2003.

2.

Hours premises are open to the public

Amendments to application advised at hearing:

None.

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

Granted, subject to conditions as set out below (see reasons for decision in Section 1).