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Agenda item

St Nicholas Filling Station, 148-158 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, SW1V 2RE

 

App

No

Ward /

Cumulative Impact Area

Site Name and Address

App

Type

Licensing Ref No.

2.

Vincent Sq Ward/ Not in Cumulative Impact Area

St Nicholas Filling Station

148-158 Vauxhall Bridge Road

London

SW1V 2RE

Premises

Licence

Variation

20/03577/LIPV

 

Minutes:

WCC LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE NO. 3

 

Thursday 25th June 2020

 

Membership:           Councillor Jacqui Wilkinson (Chairman), Councillor Louise Hyams and Councillor Aicha Less

 

 

Officer Support:       Legal Advisor:         Horatio Chance

                                Policy Officer:          Aaron Hardy

                                Committee Officer:  Kisi Smith-Charlemagne

                                Presenting Officer:  Jessica Donovan

 

 

Application for Variation of a Premises Licence [20/03577/LIPV]

 

Full Decision

 

Premises

 

148-158 Vauxhall Bridge Road

London

SW1V

 

Applicant

 

Motor Fuel Limited

 

Represented by Robert Botkai – Winckworth Sherwood Law.

 

 

Cumulative Impact Area

 

None

 

 

Ward

 

Vincent Square

 

 

Summary of Application

 

The Premises currently operates as a petrol forecourt store located on Vauxhall Bridge Road.  The Applicant sought to add the provision of late-night refreshment between the hours of 2300 and 0500 daily and to remove condition 23.  The Applicant also sought to add the following condition: “The entrance door to the shop will be closed to customers between the hours of 23:00 and 05:00. Any sales between these hours will be made through the night pay window”.  The Premises are not located in any area of Cumulative Impact Area.

 

Current and proposed licensable activities and hours

(Ground and lower ground floors)

 

 

Late Night Refreshment [Indoors]

 

Proposed Variation

 

Monday to Sunday    : 23.00 to 05.00 on the following day                          

 

Compared to existing licence 19/03563/LIPT

 

Not currently licensed for late night refreshment

 

 

Retail Sale of Alcohol [On and Off sales]

 

Proposed Variation

 

No change.

 

Compared to existing licence 19/03563/LIPT

 

Monday to Saturday  : 08.00 to 23:30

Sunday                     : 10.00 to 22:30

 

 

Hours premises are open to the public

 

Proposed Variation

 

No change.

 

Compared to existing licence 19/03563/LIPT

 

Monday to Sunday    : 00.00 to 00.00

 

Conditions being Varied

 

Condition 23

 

Proposed Variation

 

The entrance door to the shop will be closed to customers between the hours of 23:00 and 05:00. Any sales between these hours will be made through the night pay window.

 

Compared to existing condition

 

There shall be two members of staff on duty at the premises at all times when alcohol is being sold.

 

                                          

Condition 24

 

Proposed Variation

 

The provision of late night refreshment will be limited to the provision of hot drinks only

 

Compared to existing condition

 

Not currently licensed for late night refreshment.

 

 

Representations Received

 

·       Local resident objector - Mr Thomas Blackman

·       Environmental Health Service (“EHS”) - Mr Dave Nevitt 

 

Brief summary of issues raised by objectors

 

·       The EHS stated that the application proposals were likely to increase the risk of Public Nuisance and the hours sought for late night refreshment were in excess of the Core Hours as defined in the City Council's Statement of Licensing Policy (“SLP”). 

·       The resident objector stated that there are residents living nearby who could be adversely affected by the variation. 

 

Policy Position

 

Policies HRS1 and FFP1 apply. There is no policy to refuse this application as the Premises are not situated in a Cumulative Impact Area. The application must, therefore, be determined on merit.  

 

 

DECISION

 

The Presenting Officer Ms Jessica Donovan outlined the nature of the application to the Sub-Committee. Ms Donovan advised that this was an application for a variation of the Premises Licence on behalf of the Applicant Motor Fuel Limited in respect of St Nicholas Filling Station 148-158 Vauxhall Bridge Road London SW1V 2RE currently operating as a petrol forecourt store. The Applicant seeks to add the provision of Late-Night Refreshment between 23:00 Hours and 05:00 Hours (amended to Hot drinks only) to remove condition 23 relating to staff members on the Premises and to add an additional condition regarding sales through a night pay window at permitted times. Representations were received from the EHS and one local resident. The Premises is not in any area of Cumulative Impact.

 

Mr Botkai, Solicitor representing the Applicant presented the application on behalf of Motor Fuel Limited.  He explained that the Applicant was seeking to add late night refreshment, limited to hot drinks only, and advised that no hot food would be served on the Premises.  Mr Botkai stated that the Applicant also sought to remove condition 23 with regard to the number of staff members on duty when alcohol was served and sought to add conditions with regard to closing the entrance and serving through a night pay window.  He confirmed the wording of condition 23 which read “The entrance door to the shop will be closed to customers between the hours of 23:00 and 05:00. Any sales between these hours will be made through the night pay window”.

 

Mr Botkai advised that efforts were made to contact the local resident who had objected but that they had not responded. Mr Botkai went onto state that he did not feel the crime and disorder licensing objective would be impacted because the Police had not objected and there was no evidence to suggest that this would be the case in any event. He added that paper cups would be used for the sale of hot drinks. It was envisaged that night workers and those using the Premises to buy petrol during the later hours would be the main customer focus.

 

Mr Botkai stated that the Premises would not become a hub whereby people would be attracted to it because it was not that sort of Premises where large crowds of people would gather and congregate. There would be no queueing of customers causing nuisance and smoking was strictly prohibited on the forecourt. Mr Botkai said that without hearing evidence from the resident that had objected the application should be granted.

 

.  Mr Dave Nevitt, on behalf of the EHS advised the Sub-Committee that the application proposals were likely to increase the risk of public nuisance and the hours sought for late night refreshment were in excess of the Core Hours as defined in the SLP.  Mr Nevitt stated that if the application for late night refreshment was granted it would need to be taken into account that the area was quite residential in character given that there are residents nearby. Mr Nevitt agreed that the application is to be restricted to solely hot drinks and no other food sales. Mr Nevitt said that customers would not be able to enter the Premises after 23:00 hours because sales of hot drinks would be through the night payment window and that the proposed conditions offered were also acceptable.

 

The Legal Advisor to the Sub-Committee clarified the meaning of an “off sale” and confirmed that in the context of selling hot drinks this was for takeaway for immediate consumption. The Sub-Committee was also directed to the policy considerations contained at paragraphs 2.5.18-2.5.20 on pages 48 and 49 of the Fast Food Policy namely FFP1 when looking at the merits of the application.

 

 

The Sub-Committee noted that there were residents living nearby who could be adversely affected by the variation.  However, the Sub-Committee was persuaded by the arguments put forward by Mr Botkai that the Premises had the appropriate safeguards in place for drinks to be given to paying customers meaning the Premises would not be open to customers which could cause nuisance at the later hours. The Sub-Committee took comfort from the fact that only hot drinks would be served and not hot food, and the application was in line with other petrol stations located in the area and was reassured by the various undertakings given by the Applicant in terms of its day to day management of the Premises when it came to running a well-managed Premises that would promote the licensing objectives. The Sub-Committee appreciated that with the logistical running of a petrol station, it was customary practice for such a Premises to provide the sale of hot drinks in this way during the early hours given that other Premises in the area were doing similar. However, this does not automatically follow that the application should not be properly scrutinised to ensure that local residents are not adversely affected by crime and disorder and nuisance.

 

The Sub-Committee considered the sale of hot drinks outdoors and queried the possibility of anti-social behaviour and queues forming as a result of customers waiting for hot drinks to be made and served through the night window.  The Sub-Committee decided that the Applicant had provided valid reasons as to why the granting of the application would promote the licensing objectives, in particular the public nuisance licensing objective. The Sub-Committee noted that the application was slightly amended during the hearing whereby the Applicant confirmed that no on sales would take place on the Premises.  The Sub-Committee concluded that there would be limited time spent on the Premises by customers buying their drinks and then leaving, resulting in minimal disruption thereby reducing public nuisance.

 

Having carefully, considered the committee papers and the submissions made by all of the parties, both orally and in writing, the Sub-Committee decided,after taking into account all of the individual circumstances of this case to grant the application subject to the following:-

 

 

1.        To grant permission to add Late Night Refreshment off the Premises from 23:00 hours to 05:00 hours Monday to Sunday.

2.        To remove Condition 23 from the licence which requires that two members of staff will be on duty at the premises at all times when alcohol is being sold.

3.        To add conditions in the terms specified below.

4.        That the varied licence is subject to any relevant mandatory conditions.

5.      That the existing conditions on the licence shall apply in all respects except in so far as they are varied by this Decision.

 

6.        That the varied licence is subject to the following additional conditions imposed by the Committee which are considered appropriate and proportionate to promote the licensing objectives.

 

Conditions imposed by the Committee after a hearing

 

7.        The entrance door to the shop will be closed to customers between the hours of 23:00 and 05:00. Any sales between these hours will be made through the night pay window.

 

8.        The provision of late-night refreshment will be limited to the provision of hot drinks only.

 

If problems are experienced, then an application for a Review of the Premises Licence can be made.

 

The Licensing Sub-Committee

25 June 2021

 

Supporting documents: