Agenda item

 

Ward CIA* SCZ**	Site Name & Address	Application Type	Licensing Reference No.
West End West End* None**	Basement To First Floor 25 Frith Street London W1D 5LB	Variation to the Premises Licence	21/01596/LIPV
*Cumulative Impact Area ** Special Consideration Zone

This will be a virtual meeting. Members of the Public can view the live broadcast using the media links on the Council’s website.

 

WESTMINSTER CITY COUNCIL LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE NO. 3

(“The Committee”)

 

Thursday 22 July 2021

 

Membership:      Councillor Jim Glen (Chairman), Councillor Barbara Arzymanow and Councillor Rita Begum

 

Officer Support:  Legal Adviser:         Viviene Walker

                           Policy Officer:         Aaron Hardy

                           Committee Officer: Cameron MacLean

                           Presenting Officer: Jessica Donovan

                            

Application for a Variation of Premises Licence – Ku Bar Basement to First Floor 25 Frith Street London W1D 5LB - 21/01596/LIPV

 

                                                FULL DECISION

 

 

Premises

 

Ku Bar

Basement to First Floor

25 Frith Street

London W1D 5LB

 

Applicant

 

Allied Promotions Limited

 

Cumulative Impact Area?

 

West End

 

Ward

 

West End

 

Summary of Application

 

This is an application for a variation of a Premises Licence under the Licensing Act 2003 (“The Act”).  The Premises currently operate as a bar. The Premises have had the benefit of a Premises Licence 18/09821/LIPCH from 2005. 

 

Applicant

 

Allied Promotions Limited

 

 

Proposed Licensable Activities and Hours

 

To vary the terminal hour for all licensable activities and the opening hours to 01:00 the following day on Monday to Saturday and Sundays immediately before Bank Holiday Mondays until 31 May 2023.

 

To add the following condition until 31 May 2023:

 

The permitted terminal hour for licensable activities shall be 01:00 the following day on Monday to Saturday and Sundays immediately before Bank Holiday Mondays until 31 May 2023, from 1 June 2023 the terminal hours for licensable activities shall revert back to Core Hours unless this condition is removed from the Premises Licence by way of a variation application.

 

Representations Received

 

·       Environmental Health Service (withdrawn 28 April 2021)

·       Metropolitan Police Service (Adam Deweltz)

·       Licensing Authority (Kevin Jackaman)

·       The Soho Society

 

 

Summary of Objections

 

·       The venue is situated within the Cumulative Impact Area.  If granted the application would undermine the Licensing Objectives in relation to the Prevention of Crime and Disorder.

·       There are concerns in relation to this application and how the premises would promote the four Licensing Objectives.

 

 

Policy Position

 

Under Policy CIP1, it is the Licensing Authority’s policy to refuse applications in the Cumulative Impact Areas for pubs and bars, fast food premises and premises offering facilities for music and dancing, other than applications to vary hours within the Core Hours under Policy HRS1.  Applications for other licensable activities in the Cumulative Impact Areas will be subject to other policies and must demonstrate that they will not add to cumulative impact in the Cumulative Impact Areas.

 

Under Policy HRS1, applications for hours within the Core Hours would, generally, be granted.  Applications for hours outside Core Hours would be considered on their merits, subject to other relevant policies.

 

Under Policy PB1, applications outside the West End Cumulative Zone will generally be granted subject to the matters identified in Policy PB1.

 

 

 

                                               SUBMISSIONS AND REASONS

 

 

Ms Donovan, Senior Licensing Officer, outlined the application.  Ms Donovan explained the Applicant had applied to vary the terminal hour for all licensable activities and the opening hours to 01:00 Monday to Saturday and Sundays immediately before bank holiday Mondays until 31 May 2023.  Representations had been received from Environmental Health Service.   However, they subsequently withdrew their representations after further investigations.  There have been 29 representations from interested parties.  The premises are situated within the West End Ward and fall within the West End Cumulative Impact Area.

 

Mr Jack Spiegler acting on behalf of the applicant stated that he would be representing the application on behalf of allied Promotions Limited and that he was accompanied by Mr Gary Henshaw, the General Manager.  Mr Spiegler introduced Mr Henshaw and invited him to address the Sub-Committee.

Mr Henshaw provided a brief history of the Premises and his involvement in managing and operating Gay venues in London’s West End. He described the layout and operation of Ku Bar, Frith Street, and its involvement in the LGBTQ+ community before describing the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the business. In conclusion, Mr Henshaw stated that the proposed variation to the existing Premises Licence was intended to mitigate the worst effects of Covid-19 on the business.

Mr Spiegler then addressed the Sub-Committee on the submissions made by Richard Brown of Citizens Advice Westminster, Licensing Project, on behalf of The Soho Society. He stated that this was an application for a time-limited variation and that it was not Mr Henshaw’s intention to transfer the licence to another operator.

Mr Spiegler addressed the policy considerations referred to in Mr Brown’s submission, noting that the Premises was one that should be protected by the Council’s Licensing policies. In response to Mr Brown’s submissions regarding precedents, Mr Spiegler referred the Sub-Committee to the case of Meade v. Brighton Corporation (1968) which he stated was authority for the proposition that there were no precedents in licensing applications.

Regarding Mr Brown’s submissions that the application might only be granted if the Sub-Committee was satisfied that it came within an exception to the Council’s existing cumulative impact area policy. Mr Spiegler noted that the examples of exceptions listed in the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy was not exhaustive and that there were a number of factors in the present application which, when taken in the round, would, he proposed, meet the requirement that the application was an exception to the Council’s Cumulative Impact Area Policy.

Mr Spiegler then referred to the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 and the requirement that there be a proportionate response by the local authority to maintaining the diversity of Licensed Premises in Soho. Referring to the Council’s policies on cumulative impact, Mr Spiegler stated there was no evidence in the Council’s recent “Assessment of Cumulative Impact” document to suggest that LGBTQ+ Licensed Premises added to cumulative impact in the West End. In addition, LGBTQ+ Premises tended to be self-policing, thereby promoting the Licensing Objectives.

Mr Spiegler then stated that there had been overwhelming support for the application and that no objections to the application had been received from residents, and that the applicant had a long history of operating Premises, including staging unique and culturally important LGBTQ+ entertainment and events, without complaint.

In conclusion, Mr Spiegler stated that the application was time-limited and was intended to allow the business to survive the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

In response to questions raised by Members of the Sub-Committee Mr Henshaw stated that at the very beginning the Government had used the venue as an example to show how the premises should be run during the pandemic.  They had put up a lot of screens, one-way systems. It had become more and more of a challenge as it was not clear what businesses were expected to do.  He stated that they had worked hard to keep staff safe and ensured that they were tested weekly as a minimum.

PC Lewis on behalf of the Metropolitan Police Service stated that the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) had maintained its representations opposing the application on the basis that, if granted, the application would undermine the Licensing Objective of the Prevention of Crime and Disorder. The reason being that the Premises were located in the West End Cumulative Impact Area (CIA), and the application was contrary to the Council’s Cumulative Impact Policy.

PC Lewis then gave a brief description of the concerns that the application raised for the Police, notably that people would be drinking for longer in the West End CIA thereby increasing the risk of crime and disorder, including the potential for customers leaving the Premises to become victims of crime.

In conclusion, PC Lewis stated that the Police were of the view that policy considerations were a matter for the Sub-Committee to determine and that the Police would support the decision made by the Sub-Committee.

PC Lewis answered a number of questions by Members of the Sub-Committee about the effects of having a greater number of people on the street late at night in the West End CIA, the operation of the Soho Angels and the effect of SIA door supervisors in deterring crime and how often the Police and City Inspectors visited Licensed Premises.

Mr Kevin Jackaman on behalf of the Licensing Authority summarised the representations of the Licensing Authority as set out in the papers before the Sub-Committee.

At the Chairman’s request, Mr Spiegler and Mr Henshaw addressed issues raised by the Licensing Authority in relation to the entertainment provided by the applicant, including the operation of the Premises as a LGBTQ+ venue offering entertainment and how this accorded with the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy.

In response to questions by Members of the Sub-Committees, Mr Jackaman stated that it was for Members to decide whether the application, in all the circumstances, constituted an exception to the Council’s policy on cumulative impact. He stated that the coronavirus pandemic had given rise to exceptional circumstances. However, each application had to be considered on its merits and the Sub-Committee had to be satisfied with regard to any particular application that there were exceptional circumstances that would allow the Sub-Committee to grant the application as an exception to the Council’s cumulative impact policy.

The Sub-Committee heard oral representations by several parties in relation to their written representations in support of the application. The written representations were set out in the papers before the Sub-Committee.

In response to a question by the Chairman, Mr Jeremy Joseph, supporting the application, stated that, because the Premises were of very few independent Licensed Premises in Soho catering for a minority LGBQT+ community, this was, in his view, sufficient to allow the Sub-Committee to treat the application as an exception to the Council’s Cumulative Impact Policy.

Mr Richard Brown on behalf of the Soho Society stated that the Soho Society had submitted a detailed representation opposing the application which was set out in the Additional Information Pack that was before the Sub-Committee. He then summarised the key points in the representation before referring to his submissions on behalf of the Soho Society.

Mr Brown stated that the Soho Society concurred with much of what had been said in support of the application with regard to the Premises being well managed and the important role it played as part of the LGBTQ+ community in Soho. However, the Soho Society’s concern was that the Premises are located within one of the busiest parts of Soho, within the West End Cumulative Impact Area (CIA) and that granting the application would add to the cumulative impact in the area.

Mr Brown stated that if the Licensing Sub Committee were to determine that an application was an exception to the Council’s cumulative impact policy, this would not set a precedent because, to be an exception to the policy, there was a requirement that the particular circumstances were unique to that application. Accordingly, financial hardship alone could not provide the basis for an exception to policy as many businesses would be able to claim financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr David Gleeson on behalf of The Soho Society made an oral submission based on the written representations of Ms Jane Doyle and The Soho Society, as set out in the papers before the Sub-Committee.  Mr Gleeson stated that, apart from Ku Bar having an area designated for use by women only, he did not consider the Premises to be in any way exceptional when compared with the numerous other LGBTQ+ Premises in Soho.

In conclusion, Mr Gleeson stated that, if the Premises were allowed to operate until a later hour, this would adversely affect residents in this area.

In response to a number of questions by Members of the Sub-Committee, Mr Gleeson and Mr Brown stated they remained opposed to the application for the reasons set out in their oral and written submissions. Mr Spiegler, on behalf of the applicant, stated that the applicant did not wish to amend the application and would be reluctant to accept a condition that imposed any restrictions on the transfer of the Premises Licence to another operator. However, the applicant was willing to give an assurance that it was not his intention to transfer the Premises Licence in the foreseeable future.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

 

The Sub-Committee appreciated the fact that the Applicant had positively engaged with the Responsible Authorities.  The Sub-Committee noted that the Applicant had operated the Premises for many years without complaint, including a number of Temporary Event Notices until 03:00 hours.  It was also noted that the Soho Society had acknowledged that the Premises were well managed.

 

The Sub-Committee was satisfied that the Premises were operated in such a way as to promote the Licensing Objectives.  The Sub-Committee were mindful of the significant number of written representations received in support of the application.

 

The Sub-Committee noted that the application was for a time limited variation of the existing Premises Licence which would be in line with the Council’s Statement promoting inclusivity in the evening and night-time economy as set out in the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy.

 

The Sub- Committee appreciated that the Applicant was agreeable to the imposition of a number of licence conditions which would promote the Licensing Objectives, ensuring that the extended hours of operation would not add to the cumulative impact in the area.  The Sub-Committee noted that:

 

(a)  Any variation to the existing Premises Licence would not be transferable and only the applicant, as the current operator, would be permitted to operate the Premises in accordance with any approved variation to the existing Premises Licence.

(b)  As agreed with the applicant during the course of the proceedings, there would be a minimum of two SIA approved door supervisors on duty at all times the Premises were operating during the hours permitted by any approved variation to the existing Premises Licence; and

(c)  The Dispersal Policy included in the application for the Premises Licence variation, with the applicant’s agreement, would be available on the Premises at all times for inspection should such a request be made by a either a Police Officer and/or or authorised officer of Westminster City Council.

 

Accordingly, the Sub-Committee concluded that the licence would promote the Licensing Objectives.

 

Having carefully considered the committee papers and the submissions made by all the parties, both orally and in writing, the Committee has decided, after taking into account all the circumstances of this application and the promotion of the licensing objectives to grant the application with the following permissions:

 

1.     To grant permission to extend the permitted terminal hours for Regulated Entertainment within the basement, ground and first floor areas of the premises to 01:00 Monday to Saturday and Sunday 22:30 until 31 May 2023.  Seasonal Variations: Sunday immediately before Bank Holiday Monday 09:00 to 01:00.

 

2.     To grant permission to extend the permitted hours for playing of Recorded Music within the basement, ground and first floor areas of the premises to 01:00 Monday to Saturday and Sunday 22:30 until 31 May 2023.

Seasonal Variations: Sunday immediately before Bank Holiday Monday 09:00 to 01:00.

 

3.     To grant permission to extend the permitted hours for Late Night Refreshment within the basement, ground and first floor areas of the premises to 01:00 Monday to Saturday until 31 May 2023. 

Seasonal Variations: Sunday immediately before Bank Holiday Monday 23:00 to 01:00.

 

4.     To grant permission to extend the permitted terminal hours for Sale by Retail of Alcohol within the basement, ground and first floor areas of the premises to 01:00 Monday to Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 22:30 until 31 May 2023.

Seasonal Variations: Sunday immediately before Bank Holiday Monday 10:00 to 01:00.

 

5.     To grant permission to extend the permitted terminal hours the Premises are open to the Public within the basement, ground and first floor areas of the premises to 01:00 Monday to Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 22:50.

Seasonal Variations: Sunday immediately before Bank Holiday Monday 10:00 to 01:00.

 

6.     To add conditions in the terms specified below.

 

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

 

8.     That the varied Licence is subject to any relevant mandatory conditions.

 

9.     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.

 

The varied Licence is subject to the following Conditions

Conditions reproducing the effect of conditions subject to which the

relevant existing licences have effect Conditions for Sale of Alcohol

 

11. Substantial food and suitable beverages other than intoxicating liquor (including drinking water) shall be available during the whole of the permitted hours in all parts of the premises where intoxicating liquor is sold or supplied.

 

12. No striptease, no nudity and all persons on the premises to be decently attired.

 

13.There shall be no payment made by or on behalf of the licensees to any person for bringing customers to the premises. 

 

 14.There shall be no gaming on the premises, other than machines authorised by Part III of the Gaming Act 1968 or by the Licensing Justices in accordance with Section 6 of the Gaming Act 1968.

 

15. A closed circuit television shall be installed, maintained and operated correctly as specified by the Metropolitan Police Crime prevention officer.

 

Conditions which reproduce the effect of any restriction imposed on the use of the premises by specified enactment

 

16.On New Year's Eve: from the end of permitted hours on New Year's Eve to the start of permitted hours on the following day (or, if there are no permitted hours on the following day, midnight on 31st December).

 

17. No person under fourteen shall be in the bar of the licensed premises during the permitted hours unless one of the following applies:

 

(a)    He is the child of the holder of the premises licence.

(b)    He resides in the premises but is not employed there.

(c)    He is in the bar solely for the purpose of passing to or from some part   of the premises which is not a bar and to or from which there is no other

  convenient means of access or egress.

(d)    The bar is in railway refreshment rooms or other premises constructed,

  fitted and intended to be used bona fide for any purpose to which the

  holding of the licence is ancillary.

 

 In this condition "bar" includes any place exclusively or mainly used for the consumption of intoxicating liquor. But an area is not a bar when it is usual for it to be, and it is, set apart for the service of table meals and alcohol is only sold or supplied to persons as an ancillary to their table meals.

 

 18. The terminal hour for late night refreshment on New Year’s Eve is  

        extended to 05:00 on New Year’s Day.

 

 

  Conditions consistent with the operating Schedule

 

19. The number of persons accommodated at the premises shall be:

      First Floor - 40 persons excluding staff.

      Ground Floor - 40 persons excluding staff.

      Basement - 80 persons excluding staff.

 

20. External patrols shall be undertaken to monitor noise escape from the

      premises.

 

 21. Notices shall be displayed at exits asking patrons to disperse quietly and

       respect neighbours.

 

 22. Loudspeakers shall not be placed in the entrance lobbies or emergency

       escape route staircases.

 

23. The door at the bottom of the emergency escape staircase leading to Old Compton Street shall be kept closed at all times except for the immediate access or egress of persons. 

 

Conditions attached after a hearing by the licensing authority

 

 24. The premises will maintain a comprehensive CCTV system that  

       ensures all areas of the licensed premises are monitored including all   entry points and which enable frontal identification of every person entering in any light condition. All cameras shall continually record whilst the premises are open to the public and the recordings shall be kept available for a minimum of 31 days with time and date stamping. Recordings shall be made available to an authorised officer or a Police Officer together with facilities for viewing.

  The recordings for the preceding two days shall be made available

  immediately on request. Recordings outside this period shall be made

  available on 24 hours notice. (Subject to the Data Protection Act 1998).

 

25. The means of escape in emergency provided for the premises shall be

      maintained unobstructed, free of trip hazards, be immediately available and clearly identified.

 

26. No noise shall emanate from the premises nor vibration be transmitted through the structure of the premises which gives rise to a nuisance.

 

27. All windows shall be kept closed after 21.00 hours.

 

28. All waste to be properly presented and placed out for collection no earlier than 30 minutes before the schedule collection times.

 

Additional Conditions imposed by the Committee after a hearing

 

29.  The permitted terminal hour for licensable activities shall be 1am the

        following day on Monday to Saturday and Sundays immediately before

        Bank Holiday Mondays until 31 May 2023.  From 1 June 2023 the

       terminal hours for licensable activities shall revert back to Core Hours

       unless this condition is removed from the Premises Licence by way of 

       a variation application.   

 

30.   The permitted extended terminal hours shall only apply when the

        Premises are operated by Allied Promotions Limited as a LGBTQ+   

        Venue.

 

31.   At least 2 SIA licensed door supervisors shall be on duty during the

  extended hours until 31 May 2023.

     32.    A copy of the Premises Dispersal Policy shall be made readily

              available at the Premises for inspection by a Police officer and/or an  

              authorised officer of Westminster City Council.         

                     

  This is the Full Decision reached by the Licensing Sub-Committee. 

  This Decision takes immediate effect.

 

  Licensing Sub-Committee

22 July 2021.