Agenda item

Ward CIA* SCZ**	Site Name & Address	Application Type	Licensing Reference No.
West End   * **	Sophisticats 3-7 Brewer Street W1F 0RF	Sex Establishment Licence	22/08456/LISEVR
*Cumulative Impact Area ** Special Consideration Zone

 

WESTMINSTER CITY COUNCIL LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE N0.6

(“The Committee”)

 

Thursday 27 October 2022 – Item 3

 

          

Membership:           Councillor Aziz Toki (Chairman)

                                Councillor Md Shamsed Chowdhury

                                Councillor Laila Cunningham 

 

 Other Parties:         Jack Spiegler (Solicitor on behalf of the Applicant, Thomas & Thomas), Michael Bromley Martin (QC, on behalf of the Applicant), John McKeown (Applicant, John McKeown Clubs Ltd) and Tony Miah (City Inspector)

 

Application for the Renewal of a Sex Establishment Licence – Sophisticats

3-7 Brewer Street W1F ORF – 22/08456/LISEVR

 

 

                                           Full Decision

 

Premises

 

Sophisticats

3-7 Brewer Street

London W1F 0RF 

 

Applicant

 

John Mckeown Clubs Limited

 

Ward

 

West End

 

Activities and Hours applied for

 

Partial Nudity Striptease Monday to Saturday 09:00 to 03:00 hours

Sunday 09:00 to 23:00 hours.

 

Summary of Application

 

 

This is an application for the Renewal of the Sex Establishment Licence under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 as amended by the Policing and Crime Act 2009.  The Premises have operated as a sex establishment since 2012.  The Premises also has the benefit of a Premises Licence Reference 22/07500/LIPVM.  The Applicant has provided supporting documents at pages 189 to 190 of the Agenda Pack.  The Premises are located in West End Core CAZ North.  There is a resident count of 446.

 

 

 

 

Representations were received from Westminster’s City Inspector and two interested parties.

 

Representations received

 

City Inspector James Hayes (Licensing Enforcement)

Two local residents

 

Summary of Representations

The objections from Interest Parties were on the grounds of:

 

·       Touting

·       Public Nuisance

 

Policy Position

 

Suitability of applicant – SU1

 

The applicant has stated that no relevant offences have been committed. In addition, the Police and the Council’s Licensing Inspectorate have carried out fit and proper persons checks and have not made any objections to the application.

 

SEV carried on for the benefit of another person – SU2

 

The Police and the Council’s Licensing Inspectorate have undertaken appropriate checks and the comments from the City Inspectors are included in the objection which appears at Appendix E1.

 

Appropriate number of SEV in a locality – NO1

 

The appropriate number of sexual entertainment venues in the relevant localities is 25 in the Westminster core CAZ north. As the premises are currently licensed this application, if granted, will not exceed 25.

 

Character of the relevant locality – LO1

 

Brewer Street is in the heart of the West End with both pedestrian and vehicular access. Within a 100 metre radius of the premises, there is a resident count of 446.

 

Use of premises in the vicinity – LO2

 

The main use of the Premises in the immediate vicinity are commercial. There are three sex shops and two other SEV premises, within a 100 metre radius of the Premises. There is one school, and one place of worship within a 100 metre radius of the Premises. A map of the relevant locality is attached to this report as Appendix G.

 

Layout, character or condition of the venue – LO3

 

The Premises are spread over the basement and ground floor. Only the basement floor is included within the licensable area for Relevant Entertainment purposes.

 

Submissions

 

Ms Karyn Abbott, Senior Licensing, outlined the application.  She advised that representations had been received by two Interested Parties.  She confirmed that the additional submissions submitted by the Applicant had been circulated to the Sub Committee.

 

Mr Michael Bromley Martin QC, on behalf of the Applicant addressed the Sub- Committee.  He outlined that since the implementation of the 1982 Act, the Applicant’s management team had been deemed suitable to hold a SEV Licence 14 times by Westminster City Council.  He emphasised that there had been no representations from any of the Responsible Authorities. 

 

Mr Bromley Martin commented on the two anonymous objections both of which had made allegations about touting and various personal allegations against Mr Mckeown.  He advised that Mr Mckeown was a very experienced and an impeccable operator and did not engage in unauthorised touting, which was consistent with the findings of the Licensing Inspector.

 

Mr Bromley Martin briefly outlined how the Premises had applied for and been granted a variation to their Premises Licence during Covid which had expired at the end of October 2022.  During this time, the venue had not provided sexual entertainment. 

 

Mr Bromley Martin advised of the City Inspector’s three visits to the Premises and highlighted that no irregularities had been identified during any of the visits. 

 

Mr Tony Miah, representing the City Inspectors, confirmed that he had visited the Premises and that they were well managed.

 

Decision

 

The Committee has considered an application for a new Sex Establishment Licence under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 as amended

(“The Act”) for the premises known as Sophisticats, 3-7 Brewer Street, London   W1F 0RF.  The Committee noted that there were no objections to the application from the Police or the Licensing Authority.

 

The Committee having carefully considered the committee papers and the submissions made by the parties, both orally and in writing, decided to grant the renewal of the Licence for twelve months subject to the conditions specified below.

 

Standard Conditions:

1.     Whilst Relevant Entertainment is taking place no person under the age of 18 shall be on the licensed premises and a clear notice to that effect shall be displayed at entrance in a prominent position so that is can be easily read by persons entering the premises.

 

2.     Whenever persons under the age of 18 are admitted to the premises there will be no promotional or other material on display within the premises which depicts nudity or partial nudity.

3.     The licence or a clear copy shall be prominently displayed at all times so as to be readily and easily seen by all persons using the premises.

4.     No provision of relevant entertainment, or material depicting nudity or relevant entertainment, shall be visible from outside the premises.

5.     Menus and drinks price lists shall be clearly displayed at the front entrance of the club, reception area, tables and bar at such a position and size as to be easily read by customers. The price list shall show all consumable items and any minimum tariff including charges and fees applicable to Performers.

6.     Except with the consent of the Licensing Authority, no advertisements of any kind (including placard, poster, sticker, flyer, picture, letter, sign or other mark) shall be inscribed or affixed at the premises, on the surface of the highway or on any building, structure, works, street furniture, tree or any other property or be distributed in the street to the public that advertises or promotes the relevant entertainment at the premises.

7.     The licence holder or other person concerned in the conduct or management of the premises shall not seek to obtain custom by means of personal solicitation or touting, nor enter into any agreement with a third party to do so.

8.     Adequate toilets, washing and changing facilities for use by the Performers shall be provided.

9.     Either the licence holder or a named responsible person shall be present throughout the time the Relevant Entertainment takes place.

10. The premises will install and maintain a comprehensive CCTV system         as per the minimum requirements of a Metropolitan Police Crime Prevention Officer that ensures all areas of the licensed premises are monitored including all entry and exit points will be covered enabling frontal identification of every person entertaining any light condition. All cameras shall continually record whilst the premises are open for licensable activities 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. Recordings shall be made available immediately upon the request of Police or authorised officer throughout the preceding 31-day period with facilities for viewing.

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 are open to the public and this staff member should be able to show the Police recent data and footage with the absolute minimum of delay of the request.

12. An incident log shall be kept at the premises, and made available on request to the Licensing Authority or the Police, which will record the following:

(a)  All crimes reported to the venue;

(b)  All ejections of patrons;

(c)   Any complaints received;

(d)  Any incidents of disorder;

(e)  Seizures of drugs or offensive weapons;

(f)    Any faults in the CCTV system or searching equipment or scanning equipment;

(g)  Any refusal of the sale of alcohol;

(h)  Any visit by a relevant authority or emergency service;

(i)    Any breach of licence conditions reported by a Performer.

13. The licence holder shall produce a Code of Conduct setting out rules and obligations between the licence holder and performers whilst performing. All Performers shall sign the Code of Conduct in their proper name acknowledging that they have read, understood and are prepared to abide by the said Code of Conduct and a copy so signed shall be retained by the licence holder and shall be readily available for inspection by the Police and/or authorised persons upon reasonable request.

14. Individual records shall be kept at the premises of the real names, stage names and addresses of all Performers working at the premises. The record will include either a copy of their birth certificate, current passport, EU driving licence or national identity card and shall be made immediately available for inspection by the Police and/or the Licensing Authority upon request.

15. Details of all work permits and/or immigration status to persons working at the premises shall be retained by the licence holder and be readily available for inspection by the Licensing Authority, a Police Officer or Immigration Officer.

16. Relevant entertainment shall be given only by Performers and the audience shall not be permitted to participate in the relevant entertainment.

17. There shall be no physical contact between Performers whilst performing.

18. Performers will not request or give out any telephone number, address or any other contact information from or to any customer. Any such information given by a customer shall be surrendered to the premises manager as soon as is practicable.

19. Relevant Entertainment shall take place only in the designated areas approved by the Licensing Authority as shown on the licence plan. Arrangements for access to the dressing room shall be maintained at all times whilst Relevant Entertainment is taking place and immediately thereafter.

20. Customers must remain fully clothes at all times. The performer must not remove any of the customer’s clothing at any time.

21. Where Relevant Entertainment is provided in booths, or other areas of the premises where private performances are provided, the booth or area shall not have a door or other similar closure, the area shall be constantly monitored by CCTV, and access to the booth or other area shall be adequately supervised.

22. Whenever Relevant Entertainment is being provided there shall be no physical contact between Performers and customers or between customers and Performers except for the exchanging of money or tokens at the beginning or conclusion of the performance and only for the purpose of that performance. Clearly legible notices to this effect shall clearly be displayed in each private booth and in any performance area.

23. Performers must redress fully immediately after each performance.

Additional Conditions:

24. Whilst Relevant Entertainment takes place at least two door supervisors shall be employed in the part of the premises for table side dancing.

25. On any such night when Relevant Entertainment takes place, a minimum of four Westminster (now SIA licensed) door supervisors shall be employed on the premises during opening hours, at least two of whom shall be employed within the basement area monitoring striptease performance.

26. The maximum number of persons accommodated at any one time in the basement (excluding staff) shall not exceed 100 persons.

27. All emergency doors shall be maintained effectively self-closing and not held open other than by an approved device.

28. The edges of the treads of steps and stairways shall be maintained so as to be conspicuous.

29. Curtains and hangings shall be arranged so as not to obstruct emergency signs.

30. The approved arrangements at the premises, including means of escape provisions, emergency warning equipment, the electrical installation and mechanical equipment, shall at all material times be maintained in good conditions and full working order.

31. The means of escape provided for the premises shall be maintained unobstructed, free of trip hazards, be immediately available and clearly identified in accordance with the plans provided.

32. All exit doors shall be available at all material times without the use of a key, code, card or similar means.

33. Any special effects or mechanical installations shall be arranged and stored as to minimise any risk to the safety of those using the premises. The following special effects will only be used on 10 days prior notice being given to the Licensing Authority where consent has not previously been given.
i. pyrotechnics including fire works

ii. firearms

iii. lasers

iv. explosives and highly flammable substances

v. real flame

vi. strobe lighting

 

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

35. No Relevant entertainment shall take place at the premises until the premises have been inspected to the satisfaction of the Licensing Service and Environmental Health Department.

 

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

 

The Licensing Sub-Committee

27 October 2022