Agenda and draft minutes

Art of Tapas, 16 Churton Street, London, SW1V 2LL

17/02223/LIPV

1.

Conditions Being Varied, Added or Removed

Amendments to application advised at hearing:

The Sub-Committee was advised that Condition 35 proposed by Environmental Health should read 22:00 hours and not 23:00 hours.

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

The Sub-Committee considered an application by Mr Francisco Campillo for a variation of a premises licence in respect of Art of Tapas, 16 Churton Street, London, SW1V 2LL.

The Licensing Officer provided an outline of the application and informed the Sub-Committee that Condition 35 proposed by Environmental Health should read 22:00 hours and not 23:00 hours.

All parties were invited to make representations to the Sub-Committee in relation to the application.  The parties responded to members’ questions and were given an opportunity to ask questions of each other.

Mr Campillo explained that the Art of Tapas had been operating since September 2010 and had been licenced to sell alcohol for the last five years. Since the premises had been licenced no complaints had been received from local residents. The restaurant sold tapas and the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The Borderline, Orange Yard, Manette Street, London, W1D 4AR

16/14083/LIPV

1.

Performance of Live Music – Indoors

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 DHP Family Ltd for a variation of a premises licence in respect of the The Borderline, Orange Yard, Manette Street, London, W1D 4AR.

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

All parties were invited to make representations to the Sub-Committee in relation to the application.  The parties responded to members’ questions and were given an opportunity to ask questions of each other.

Mr Lucas, representing the applicant, clarified that the proposed amendment to the layout of the premises had already been approved and dealt with by way of a minor variation. As such the amendment described in the report would not form part of the application before the Sub-Committee. Mr Lucas explained that the request to change several of the conditions on the licence had been made as the licence was old and the conditions attached had simply been converted under the Licensing Act 2003 and this provided an opportunity to modernise some of them. It was proposed to delete conditions 10-36 and replace them with those conditions circulated before the hearing. The new conditions were substantially more restrictive and more appropriate for the premises. The other major aspect of the application was to extend the hours for licensable activities on Sunday evenings to 02:00 hours on the following day. It was a well-established premises with a reputation for dancing, music and entertainment. It was a landmark destination and the current hours already permitted for Monday to Saturday were well beyond the core hours policy. On Sundays the premises currently closed at 23:00 and it was proposed to extend this to 02:30. Mr Lucas recognised that concerns had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

29 Maddox Street, London, W1S 2PA

17/01629/LIPV

1.

Layout Alteration

To vary the layout of the premises by increasing the capacity on both the basement and ground floors.

Amendments to application advised at hearing:

The Sub-Committee was advised that the proposed capacity was 70 on the ground floor and 50 in the basement.

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

The Sub-Committee considered an application by SMD Concepts Ltd for a variation of a premises licence in respect of 29 Maddox Street, London, W1S 2PA.

The Licensing Officer provided an outline of the application and informed the Sub-Committee that the premises had been referred to as Hibiscus in the published report however a change in trading name request had subsequently been received which was currently being processed. It was also noted that the police had now withdrawn their representation on the understanding that the applicant had agreed to the inclusion of a detailed restaurant condition.

Mr Rankin, representing the applicant, provided the Sub-Committee with a background to the application. The applicants belonged to the Leela Group which operated the renowned chain of Jamavar restaurants of which the London operation was voted one of the best seven Indian restaurants in the UK by Forbes magazine. It was expected that the restaurant would achieve a Michelin star shortly. The applicant had taken over the property formerly called Hibiscus and it was proposed to increase the capacity of the premises for financial reasons in order to make the business viable. The report stated that the application was requesting a capacity of 80 persons on the ground floor and 60 in the basement however this was incorrect and the application was actually seeking a capacity of 70 on the ground floor and 50 in the basement. This represented an increase in 52 persons from the current permitted capacity. Environmental Health (EH) had undertaken a thorough audit of the existing conditions and it was agreed many were obsolete or required changing. This was why it was proposed to remove conditions 9 and 19 and change various others to modernise the licence. It was recognised that the contentious element of the application centred on the proposed increase in capacity for the premises. The current licence permitted the sale of alcohol half an hour beyond core hours Monday to Thursday and concern had been expressed that this would result in an increase in people inside the Cumulative Impact Area (CIA) beyond core hours. The Sub-Committee was advised that if this did cause concern the applicant  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Frog, 35 Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7HE

17/02037/LIPN

1.

Late Night Refreshment – Indoors

Monday to Thursday: 23:00 to 23:30

Friday to Saturday: 23:00 to 00:00

Seasonal Variations/Non-Standard Timings:

From the end of permitted hours on New Year’s Eve to the start of permitted hours on New Year’s Day.

Midnight on Sundays immediately before Bank Holiday Mondays.

Amendments to application advised at hearing:

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

The Sub-Committee considered an application by Adam Handling Ltd for a new premises licence in respect of The Frog, 35 Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7HE.

The Licensing Officer provided an outline of the application to the Sub-Committee and confirmed that Environmental Health (EH) had withdrawn their representation following discussions with the applicant. The premises was presently licenced however the current licence holder was untraceable and the licence was currently suspended following non-payment of the annual fee.

Mr Handling, the applicant, explained that he currently operated a restaurant in Shoreditch. He wished to expand his operations to Westminster to provide a more formal dining experience for customers then what was currently available at his other premises. He was the Chief Executive of the company and had been a head chef for thirteen years focussing on providing high quality food.

Mr Spiegler, representing the applicant, advised that the application was for a new premises licence which would effectively replace the existing premises licence. The existing licence authorised the sale of alcohol and late night refreshment beyond core hours and had no restrictions on recorded music or its capacity. There were two reasons why a new premises licence application had been submitted, i) There were substantial changes to the layout of the building, and ii) the landlord had applied to transfer the licence but the outgoing licence holder had not consented to that. Within the last week confirmation had been received that the transfer had been processed but it was not a licence that the applicant held and therefore was not in a position to surrender that licence. The application followed the planning permission granted and the advice provided by EH. Consultations had also been undertaken with the Covent Garden Community Association and they had not raised any concerns.

The proposed hours were within the Council’s core hours policy and the model restaurant condition would be attached to the licence. The Sub-Committee’s attention was also drawn to a limit on the capacity of the premises being introduced to limit the number of customers permitted in the premises (excluding staff) to 120. The proposals were far more restrictive than the licence currently in place. No  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Honest Burgers, Ground Floor, 4 Meard Street, London

17/01564/LIPV

1.

Layout Alteration

The applicant has applied to vary the layout of the premises to include the basement area for licensable activities. The ground floor layout will remain as existing.

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 Honest Burgers Ltd for a variation of a premises licence in respect of Honest Burgers, Ground Floor, 4 Meard Street, London.

The Licensing Officer provided an outline of the application and informed the Sub-Committee that the Metropolitan Police had withdrawn their representation following agreement of conditions with the applicant.

Mr Walsh, representing the applicant, explained that the application was seeking to authorise the use of the basement for licensable activities which would allow customers to consume alcohol with their food. The Sub-Committee was advised that Environmental Health (EH) had inspected the basement area and had indicated that it was suitable for use as a restaurant. The ground floor of the premises had been granted a licence before the Licensing Act 2003 had been implemented and this had been transferred to Honest Burgers in 2012. The capacity of the ground floor was currently unlimited, however EH had undertaken an assessment and advised that its capacity was approximately 100 persons. The applicant was not seeking to operate to the capacity though as it was purely a restaurant. The application was requesting that the whole premises, ground floor and basement, be conditioned and the capacity of the premises be restricted to 80 persons. Within the 80 persons the number of persons permitted in the basement would not exceed 28, excluding staff. Therefore it was suggested that the application would not increase the overall capacity of the premises. It was also proposed to add extra conditions to the licence to include restricting any noise generated, the removal of litter outside the premises and the installation of a CCTV system. Mr Walsh explained that there was a holding area located in the basement for approximately four customers who would wait whilst a table was cleared to ensure there was no waiting outside the premises.

Mr Walsh introduced the concept of the restaurant and how there was now a total of 23 open in the UK. The restaurant would sell a variety of burgers using the best fresh ingredients available. Customers would be shown to their table and there would be no fast food aspect to the operation as takeaways were not available. All food and drinks would be by waiter/waitress service and no  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.