Agenda item

Ward CIA* SCZ**	Site Name & Address	Application Type	Licensing Reference No.
West End None None	Deliciously Ella, 18 - 20 Weighhouse Street, London, W1K 5LU	New Premises Licence	21/00742/LIPN
*Cumulative Impact Area ** Special Consideration Zone

 

WCC LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE NO. 2

 

Wednesday 12 May 2021

 

Membership:          Councillor Tim Mitchell (Chair), Councillor Heather Acton and Councillor Aicha Less

 

Officer Support:       Legal Advisor:         Horatio Chance

                              Policy Officer:          Aaron Hardy

                              Committee Officer:  Matt Gaskin

                              Presenting Officer:  Kevin Jackaman

 

Application for a New Premises Licence 21/00742/LIPN

Full Decision

 

Premises

 

Deliciously Ella, 18-20 Weighhouse Street, London, W1K 5LU.

 

Applicant

 

The Mae Deli Ltd, represented by Mr Alun Thomas.

 

Cumulative Impact Area

 

This Premises is not in a Cumulative Impact Area.

 

Ward

 

West End.

 

Summary of Application

 

This is an application for a New Premises Licence under the Licensing Act 2003 (“The Act”).  The premises intends to operate as a restaurant with ancillary bar use limited to 20:00 hours. There are 48 covers inside the premises and 16 external seating outside until 22:00 hours. The hours applied for are below with New Year’s Eve having been withdrawn.

 

Proposed Activities and Hours

 

Sale by retail of alcohol [on and off sales]

 

10:00 – 22:00 Monday to Saturday and 12:00 - 18:00 Sunday.

 

Hours premises are open to the public

 

10:00 – 22:00 Monday to Saturday and 12:00 - 18:00 Sunday.

 

Representations received

 

·       Metropolitan Police (PC Dave Morgan) – withdrawn 23 March 2021

·       Environmental Health (“EH”) (Maxwell Koduah)

·       15 interested parties, including local residents

 

Summary of issues raised by objectors

 

·       The application as presented would have the likely effect of undermining the licensing objectives, specifically in relation to prevention of public nuisance and public safety.

 

Policy Position

 

Policy HRS1 and Policy RTN1 of the City of Westminster Statement of Licensing Policy apply.

 

DECISION

 

Mr Kevin Jackaman summarised the application as set out in the report. Mr Jackaman noted that the initial application was for longer hours, however, these were amended following consultation, to the hours above, and outlined in the report. Additional submissions had been received from the applicant and these had been circulated to the Sub-Committee.

 

Mr Thomas invited the owners of Deliciously Ella, Mr Matthew Mills and Mrs Ella Mills, to contribute. They outlined the vision and history of the Premises as a healthy food offer. The reasons for requiring an alcohol licence were outlined to tie in with the desire to turn the Premises into a restaurant and how alcohol sales would make up a very small percentage of overall sales, maintaining that the Premises would be food-led with alcohol as ancillary.

 

Mr Thomas noted the amended alcohol sale hours applied for and clarified proposed conditions, following discussions with local residents following the original application, meaning that after 20:00 hours alcohol could only be served ancillary to a table meal.

 

Mr Mills confirmed that there had previously been an isolated rodent problem that was promptly dealt with, but the problem does not remain. Music played at the Premises is merely low-level and background. In response to questions from the Sub-Committee, Mr Mills confirmed that this Premises, which has been operating at Weighhouse Street since 2016, was currently the only site managed by the applicant and that there were no plans to open more.

 

In response to questions from the Sub-Committee, Mr Thomas confirmed that concerns regarding refuse and dumping would be regularised by the proposed conditions. Mr Thomas also confirmed that Sundays are essential to the trading of the business. Representatives from Grosvenor highlighted the desire of the Premises to be an important part of the local community and referenced positive engagement with local residents. This has resulted in the amendments of the alcohol hours applied for and other concessions regarding how the unit will operate.

 

Mr Thomas confirmed that the rodent issue was isolated but that this issue is not uncommon based on the area in question and that the conditions agreed mitigate against the issues raised regarding waste, for example. The Sub-Committee encouraged the Premises to maintain an open dialogue between themselves and local residents.

 

Mr Koduah noted conditions put forward by the applicant within the Operating Schedule are sufficient in terms of public nuisance and, to an extent, public safety. In response to questions from the Sub-Committee, Mr Koduah confirmed that the only relevant complaint on file older than two years was raised on 29 October 2018 regarding an alarm that was disturbing local residents. Mr Koduah confirmed that no other public nuisance, noise or public safety complaints had been made against the Premises.

 

Mr Bright, a local resident objecting to the application, said the Premises was contributing, but not exclusively responsible for, the issue of rodents which had been ongoing for a number of years due to the refuse area of the Premises not being secure and argued that noise was a persistent issue. Mr Bright feared that if an alcohol licence was granted that the Premises would not be able to control issues such as litter generated by patrons.

 

In response to questions from the Sub-Committee, Mr Bright further detailed the insecure nature of the bins which added to the local problem of rodents. With regards to the pavement licence granted to the Premises in 2020, Mr Bright confirmed that issues were not caused specifically by the granting of this licence but that the alcohol licence, if granted, had the potential to create further problems.

 

In response to questions from the Legal Advisor to the Sub-Committee regarding the proposed conditions, Mr Bright confirmed that he was content that these would mitigate the concerns raised regarding noise and refuse and acknowledged the difficulty placed upon premises in controlling disruption and noise from patrons.

 

The Sub-Committee carefully considered the committee papers and the submissions made by all parties, both orally and in writing. The conditions agreed with the Responsible Authorities were considered appropriate; this included restricting the supply of alcohol after 20:00 hours  to seated customers having a table meal, with the alcohol being ancillary to their meal, and conditions to mitigate concerns regarding waste and potential noise from customers. An informative was added to encourage the premises licence holder to engage with local residents and businesses in the facilitation of regular meetings to discuss any issues connected to public nuisance.

 

Having considered all the evidence, the Sub-Committee was satisfied that the application was suitable for the local area and had addressed the concerns raised. The applicant had demonstrated that the application was appropriate, with the conditions proposed restrictive enough to ensure that it promoted the licensing objectives and would allay the fears of local residents.

 

The Sub-Committee decided to grant the application subject to conditions, and an informative being noted, below.

 

The Sub-Committee therefore granted the application as follows:

 

1.       To grant permission for the sale by retail of alcohol (on and off) the premises Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 22:00 hours and Sunday 12:00 to 18:00 hours. There are no seasonal variations.

 

2.       To grant permission for the hours the premises are open to the public

Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 22:00 hours and Sunday 12:00 to 18:00 hours. There are no seasonal variations.

                   

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

 

4.       That the 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 the hearing

 

5.       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.

 

6.       Save for alcohol consumed in any external seating area, all sales of alcohol for consumption off the premises shall be in sealed containers only and shall not be consumed on the premises.

 

7.       Alcohol consumed outside the premises building shall only be consumed by patrons seated at tables.

 

8.       The supply of alcohol shall only be by way of waiter/waitress service only.

 

9.       All outside tables and chairs shall be rendered unusable by 22.00 each day.

 

10.     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 is 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.

 

11.     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 is 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.

 

12.     Challenge 21 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.

 

13.     A record shall be kept detailing all refused sales 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. The record shall be available for inspection at the premises by the police or an authorised officer of the City Council at all times whilst the premises is open.

 

14.     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 patrons c. any complaints received concerning crime and disorder d. any incidents of disorder e. all seizures of drugs or offensive weapons f. any faults in the CCTV system, searching equipment or scanning equipment g. any refusal of the sale of alcohol h. any visit by a relevant authority or emergency service.

 

15.     No noise generated on the premises, or by its associated plant or equipment, shall emanate from the premises nor vibration be transmitted through the structure of the premises which gives rise to a nuisance.

 

16.     Notices shall be prominently displayed at all exits requesting patrons to respect the needs of local residents and businesses and leave the area quietly.

 

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

 

18.     No waste or recyclable materials, including bottles, shall be moved, removed from or placed in outside areas between 22.00 hours and 08.00 hours on the following day.

 

19.     During the hours of operation of the premises, the licence holder shall ensure sufficient measures are in place to remove and prevent litter or waste arising or accumulating from customers in the area immediately outside the premises, and that this area shall be swept and or washed, and litter and sweepings collected and stored in accordance with the approved refuse storage arrangements by close of business.

 

20.     Before the premises open to the public, the plans as deposited will be checked by the Environmental Health Consultation Team to ensure they are an accurate reflection of the premises constructed. Where the premises layout has changed during the course of construction, new plans shall be provided to the Environmental Health Consultation Team and the Licensing Authority.

 

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

 

22.     No licensable activities shall take place at the premises until the capacity of the premises has been determined by the Environmental Health Consultation Team and the licensing authority has replaced this condition on the licence with a condition detailing the capacity so determined.

 

23.     The Licence will have no effect until the works have been assessed as satisfactory by the Environmental Health Consultation Team and this condition has been removed from the Licence.

 

24.     Before the premises are open to the public under the [varied] licence, the plans as deposited will be checked by the Environmental Health Consultation Team to ensure they are an accurate reflection of the work carried out. Where the premises layout has changed during the course of construction new plans shall be provided to the Environmental Health Consultation Team and the Licensing Authority. Conditions proposed by the Police and agreed by the applicant so as to form part of the operating schedule.

 

25.     Alcohol can only be sold to persons seated and served by waiter/waitress service.

 

26.     Except for the external licensed seating areas, 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. Conditions proposed by the Environmental Health None Proposed page.

 

27.     After 20:00 hours the supply of alcohol at the premises (including in the external seating area) shall only be to a person seated taking a table meal there and for consumption by such a person as ancillary to their meal.

 

Informative

 

28.     The Premises Licence Holder is strongly encouraged to form and promote a live WhatsApp group or alternative communication system agreed with residents and businesses in order to facilitate regular meetings to discuss issues directly affecting them regarding the running and management of the Premises including any issues specifically connected to public nuisance.    

         

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

 

This is the Decision of the Licensing Sub-Committee which takes effect forthwith.

 

The Licensing Sub-Committee

12 May 2021