Agenda and minutes

Jaks, 43 South Molton Street, W1

16/02285/LIPN

1.

Late Night Refreshment (Indoors)

Amendments to application advised at hearing:

None.

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

The Sub-Committee initially heard from Mr Kolvin, representing the Applicant.  Mr Kolvin stated that Mr Seferi ran six Jaks or Zefi restaurant/bars in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.  The venues he ran, Mr Kolvin informed Members, were for seated customers being served by waiter or waitress, were low key and in a lounge style.  There was a largely local and mature clientele aged between 25 and 50.  Mr Kolvin wished to emphasise that Jaks in South Molton Street would be a completely different type of operation from that of Amika, a nightclub whose licence had been revoked (this included the terminal hour which was two hours earlier than Amika). 

Mr Kolvin provided further information on the proposed operation.  The fourth floor was not in use for customers.  The third floor contained public toilets.  A proposed condition agreed between Environmental Health and the Applicant required alcohol to be ancillary to a table meal and customers to be seated on the first and second floors.  On the ground floor, alcohol would be served by waiter or waitress to seated customers.  From 21:00 alcohol would be ancillary to a table meal.  The basement would be laid out with tables and chairs (providing at least 120 seating places for customer use).  Mr Kolvin commented that anyone walking past would consider the premises a restaurant.  The kitchen would be open until midnight.  There would be no dance floor in the basement.  Mr Kolvin stated that off-sales were only proposed in an area outside the premises.  There would be no more than four tables and sixteen chairs in this area and these would be removed by 21:00.  Alcohol would be served by waiter or waitress to seated customers.

Mr Kolvin described the consultation process that his client had undertaken.  There had been a pre-application consultation letter to neighbours.  He had spoken with Councillor Glanz, the Ward Councillor and spoken to the Council’s Planning and Licensing departments.  Conditions had been agreed with the Police and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

B-Bar, 43 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1

16/02186/LIPV

1.

Late Night Refreshment (Indoors)

Amendments to application advised at hearing:

Mr Timms informed Members of the Sub-Committee that the Applicant had made a number of amendments to the application.  It was proposed that the extension sought for late night refreshment (indoors) would be limited to Wednesday to Saturday until 01:00 hours only.  There would be a reduced capacity to 35 members or their guests in addition to staff after 00:30 hours.

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

The Sub-Committee, with the agreement of the parties at the hearing, adjourned the application to a later date.  This was to give the Applicant the opportunity to further reflect on what was being proposed in the application, including in relation to the terminal hours and liaise accordingly with Environmental Health and Victoria Square Gardens Ltd.  It was recognised that the proposed conditions as drafted did not consistently reflect what the Applicant intended to do.  The inconsistency and poor drafting needed to be addressed.  An example of this was that one condition put forward by the Police and agreed by the Applicant (condition 42) set out that alcohol could only be consumed by members of the private club and up to four bona fide guests. This failed to recognise that alcohol could be sold to members of the public until midnight on Monday to Saturday and 23.30 on Sunday (provided the consumption was ancillary to a table meal during the final hour) and that alcohol could further be sold until 02.00 throughout the premises for people attending up to 24 pre-booked functions in a calendar year. The existing licence wasn’t at all clear as to whether the public were excluded when the premises were being used for pre-booked functions but this new application was complicating matters further by providing for a general extension to the licensable activities in the basement only (including the sale of alcohol) until 00.30 with a further extension in the basement until 02.30 but restricted to members of a private members club.   Another condition (condition 26) set out that apart from the 24 evenings  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

Burger King, Unit 1, Charing Cross Station, Strand, WC2

16/00209/LIPN

1.

Sale by Retail of Alcohol (On)

Amendments to application advised at hearing:

Ms Smith confirmed at the hearing that as a result of communications with Covent Garden Residents’ Association, who had subsequently withdrawn their representation, the terminal hour for on-sales of alcohol was amended to 21:00 hours on every day of the week.

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

The Sub-Committee initially heard from Ms Smith, representing the Applicant.  She confirmed at the hearing that as a result of communications with Covent Garden Residents’ Association, who had subsequently withdrawn their representation, the terminal hour for on-sales of alcohol had been amended to 21:00 hours seven days a week.  The other local resident objector, Ms Rice, had been informed of the amendment but had not responded.  The Applicant had agreed conditions with Environmental Health and a number of conditions with the Metropolitan Police including that customers would be limited to one branded beer or lager of no more than 4.8% Alcohol by Volume, per person, per meal of draught beer.  The beer provided would be no more than 570ml in volume. 

The two Police proposed conditions which had not been agreed were that ‘a menu on display shall clearly show when alcohol may be served with a specific meal plan’ and that premises licence holder would ensure that all staff engaged in the sale of alcohol would be trained to a minimum standard of BIIAB Level 1 or equivalent.  Ms Smith stated that the first condition would require a menu to be produced specifically for this Unit when Burger King had standard menus.  She added that the sale of alcohol was being restricted to a terminal hour of 21:00.  The Applicant was proposing that prominent signage would be displayed so as to be visible at the point of sale indicating the permitted hours for the sale of alcohol and that the sale of alcohol would be restricted to one sale per person per meal.  In terms of the second condition, Ms Smith informed those present that Burger King’s current staff training for the sale of alcohol complied with the BIIAB standard but what happened in relation to the BIIAB standard in the future was outside of the Applicant’s control.  The Applicant had no issues with the second part of the proposed condition that training records would be kept on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Restaurant, Basement and Ground Floor, 1 Grosvenor Gardens, SW1

15/07477/LIPN

Application adjourned prior to the hearing to enable the Applicant and the Landlord to discuss options regarding access to the site.

Japan Centre, 35B Panton Street, SW1

16/02493/LIPN

1.

Late Night Refreshment (Indoors and Outdoors)

Amendments to application advised at hearing:

None.

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

A discussion ensued at the beginning of the hearing regarding the premises licences on the ground floor, basement and sub-basement in the building.  This application was in respect of the basement with the entrance from the ground floor. As set out in the Licensing Service’s list of licences provided by Ms Anand-Patel, Busaba Eathai Limited already held a premises licence for the ground floor (16/00082/LIPDPS).  The proposed entrance for Japan Centre was on the ground floor and was one of Busaba’s fire exit doors.  The Japan Centre’s licensable activities would take place in the basement.  In the event that the Japan Centre application was granted, Busaba would be required to vary their plans to change the use of the fire escape route being used as the entrance to the Japan Centre premises.

Mr Thomas, representing the Applicant, referred to the fact that the Busaba licence was in effect but was not being used currently.  The freeholder, Stargas Nominees Limited, also held a premises licence with an entrance on the ground floor but with the potential for licensable activities in the basement that would enable it to operate as a nightclub (12/11144/LIPDPS).  The works condition on the freeholder’s licence had not been approved by Environmental Health.  This premises licence had a capacity of 400 people excluding staff.  The freeholder’s licence was subject to a condition that the licence would not come into effect unless the licence in the sub-basement had been varied so that no licensable activities were authorised for the basement or the licence had been surrendered.  This was the licence originally held by the Buzz Bar which was eventually superceded by the licence for Press. Mr Thomas stated that in his view this condition was being satisfied. 

The primary licence for Press had since been revoked by the Sub-Committee and the secondary licence was held by the freeholder (14/00930/LIPN).  The freeholder’s licence for the sub-basement had access through the ground floor and basement but all licensable activities were required to take place in the sub-basement.  Currently the licence had two works conditions on it.  These had not been approved by Environmental Health and therefore no licensable activities could take place under that licence. It did appear  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.