Agenda item

Ward CIA* SCZ**	Site Name & Address	Application Type	Licensing Reference No.
West End   * West End   ** None	75 Dean Street W1D 3PU	New Premises Licence	24/01292/LIPN
*Cumulative Impact Area ** Special Consideration Zone

 

WESTMINSTER CITY COUNCIL LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE NO. 1

(“The Committee”)

 

Thursday 13 June 2024

          

Membership:   Councillor Aziz Toki (Chair), Councillor Maggie Carman and Councillor Karen Scarborough

 

Officer Support:       Legal Adviser:                    Steve Burnett

Policy Officer:                     Daisy Gadd

                                Committee Officer:             Katherine Stagg

                                 Presenting Officer:             Kevin Jackaman

 

Other Parties:          Mr Alun Thomas, Thomas &Thomas Solicitors (Agent for the Applicant),

Mr Adan Price and Mr Ben Dossett, (Applicant - Company Soho Estates Limited,

 

Ms Karyn Abbott (Licensing Authority- LA),

Mr DB (Meard & Dean Street Residents Association (MDSRA)), Ms JD (Soho Society)

Mr Richard Brown, Westminster Citizens Advice Bureau Service, representing the Soho Society and MDSRA.

 

Application for a New Premises Licence in respect of 75 Dean Street, London W1D 3PU -  24/01292/LIPN

 

 

Premises

 

75 Dean Street

London

W1D 3PU 

 

Applicant

 

Soho Estates Limited

 

Ward

 

West End

 

Cumulative Impact

 

West End

 

Special Consideration Zone

 

N/A

 

Proposed Licensable Activities

 

Plays, films, Live and Recorded Music, Performance of Dance and Anything similar (Indoors)

 

Monday to Saturday 09:00 to 00:00

Sundays 09:00 to 22.30

 

Sale by Retail of Alcohol (Both)

 

Monday to Saturday 09:00 to 00:00

Sundays 09:00 to 22:30

 

Late Night Refreshments (Indoors)

 

Monday - Saturdays 23:00 to 00:00

 

Hours Premises Are Open to the Public

 

Monday to Saturday 09:00 to 00:00

Sundays 09:00 to 23:00

 

 

Summary of the Application

 

This is an application for a new premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003 (“The Act”).  This application seeks to licence a building which contains three screening rooms, a stage, a music studio and is hosting various educational and charitable programmes over the coming year to support young creatives and the local community.

 

The space also contains a café/bar area that will operate for members of the building and for visitors and guests hiring the facilities. The spaces, including the cafe/bar and studio will also be used for concerts, plays, films, events, PR launch and workshops.

 

There is an existing premises licence in place at the premises (Licence number: 23/05947/LIPN). This application is for the same hours and licensable activities as currently approved premises licence and is subject to the same conditions, with the exception of condition 11, which restricts the use to a period of three years, and condition 27, which restricts the use to All Is Joy (UK) Limited.

 

There is a resident count of 162.

 

Representations Received

 

·       Licensing Authority (LA)

·       3 Objections from Interested Parties

 

 

Licensing Authority states:

 

The premises are located within the West End Cumulative Impact Zone and it is intended that the premises will trade as a cultural venue and as such various policy points must be considered, namely CIP1, HRS1 and CCSOS1.

 

The resident states, there is no information as to which tenant would be using the licence; any such license should be for a specific tenant, with a clear proposed use and a defined management plan.

 

There is no end date, so if granted, the license could continue into the indefinite future, no matter what happened in the premises.

 

This application would result in up to 500 extra alcohol drinkers.

 

Interested Parties

 

Dean Street lies with the CIA, already has an over-abundance of licensed premises with the concomitant crime levels, endless deliveries in the early hours etc. Enforcing the man hundreds of existing planning and licensing Conditions is licensed premises in Dean Street is well beyond the Council’s resources.

 

The impact on residents from noise nuisance, increase in crime and disorder and cumulative impact of a new licensed premises with a capacity of 499 until midnight Monday to Saturday and 10.30pm on Sunday.

 

The vagueness and lack of detailed information on the operation of the premises, with a mixture of different uses. The applicant was asked to confirm how they meet the definition of a cultural venue and clarification on the use of the Premises.

 

Proposed condition 7 does not reflect the definition of a cultural venue as defined in CCSOS1 Section C.

 

Policy Considerations

 

HRS1 States:

 

A. Applications within the core hours set out below in this policy will generally be granted for the relevant premises uses, subject to not being contrary to other policies in the Statement of Licensing Policy.

 

The Core Hours for Cinemas, Cultural Venues and Live Sporting Premises Monday to Sunday: 9am to Midnight

 

Cinemas, Cultural Venues, Live Sporting Premises and Outdoor Spaces Policy CCSOS1) states:

 

B. Applications inside the West End Cumulative Impact Zone will generally be granted subject to:

 

1. The application meeting the requirements of policies CD1, PS1,

PN1 and CH1.

2. The hours for licensable activities are within the council’s Core Hours Policy HRS1.

3. The operation of any delivery services for alcohol and/or late-night

refreshment meeting the council’s Ancillary Delivery of Alcohol and/or Late-Night Refreshment Policy DEL1.

4. The applicant has demonstrated that they will not add to cumulative impact within the Cumulative Impact Zone.

5. The applicant has clearly demonstrated that the sale by retail of alcohol and late-night refreshment will be ancillary to the venue’s primary function as a cinema, cultural venue, live sporting premises or outdoor space.

6. The sale by retail of alcohol and/or late-night refreshment after 11pm is limited to customer, patrons or members of the audience who will or have made use of the primary function of the venue as a cinema, cultural venue or live sporting premises.

7. The application and operation of the venue meeting the definition for a cinema, cultural venue, live sporting premises or outdoor space.

 

SUBMISSIONS AND REASONS

1.     Mr Kevin Jackaman, Licensing Officer, outlined the application to the Committee. He advised that representations had been received from the Licensing Authority (LA), and three interested parties. The Premises are located within the West End Ward and in the the West End Cumulative Impact Area but not in the Special Consideration Zone. He confirmed that the additional submissions from the Applicant and the Interested Parties had been circulated.

 

2.     Mr Alun Thomas, solicitor for the Applicant, outlined the application to the Committee. He advised that the Applicant had a Planning Application submitted for the Premise to turn it into a Private Members Club and if this was granted, they would have to return before a Licensing Committee to vary the licence. He advised that the new licence mirrors the current licence while removing two personal conditions.

 

3.     He advised that Soho Estates are looking to renew and run the premise themselves as a co-working and events space, similar to how the premise was currently operating. He advised that the Applicant had worked for charitable and cultural offerings for many years including a pop-up in Greek Street and an artist workshop currently running in New Street, which they have operated without complaint.

 

4.      He advised the Committee that the objections received were due to the removal of the personal conditions on the current licence and advised that Mr Brown in the previous hearing stated that he was content with the application and referred the Committee to the previous Decision for the existing Premises Licence. The current licence fell within the cultural use policy and the application was not seeking to change that aspect.

 

5.     He advised that the capacity of 499 was throughout the whole building spread throughout their small rooms, with alcohol only being served in discreet areas. He advised that his client would be happy to have a condition on the licence that the capacity of the bar areas should be re-evaluated separately from the whole building.

 

6.     Mr Thomas advised that the premise and operation was already established has not added to the Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ). He also advised that he was happy for the use of the roof to be limited to maintenance. Mr Thomas advised on the legalities of the two conditions the Applicant removed from the licence and stated that they were not lawful unless the Applicant offered them. He advised that the operations requested had already been granted previously, the only difference with this application was who was operating it.

 

7.     In response to questions Mr Thomas advised that the capacity would be determined by Environmental Health. He also advised that Soho Estates would run the premise and while they do not have a management plan in place yet, they plan to operate it as a creative hub. Mr Adam Price, of the applicant company, advised that Soho Estates have had shadow licences granted to them for other sites before which they signed over to individual tenants.

 

8.     Mr Thomas advised that All Is Joy (UK) Ltd would remain in and operate the premise until at least September, with this licence not taking effect until at the earliest the end of 2024. He advised that Soho Estates would bring in an expert, to the same quality as Mr Levack of All Is Joy (UK) Ltd, to help run the premise and the core of the application was a co-working space with the screenings and event space ancillary which was not a high-risk venue to add to the CIZ.

 

9.     Mr Thomas confirmed that the Applicant was looking at options for the premise and would still consider having a Private Members Club if it gets granted by the Planning Applications Committee. Mr Thomas agreed that his client would be happy with additional wording on the works condition to ensure that it doesn’t take affect while the other licence was in operation.

 

10.Ms Karyn Abbott, Licensing Authority, advised the Committee that the venue falls under the CCSOS1 Policy and the applicant requested the same licence as the current one at the premise without two conditions, that was be operated by All Is Joy (UK) Ltd and be time limited. She advised that they have operating conditions on the application and have kept condition 30 on the application. She advised that WCC had received no complaints about the premise but was aware that it had been operating for a limited time. She advised that Members needed to be satisfied that this licence would not impact the CIZ.

 

11. Mr Richard Brown, representing the Soho Society, MDSRA and one resident, advised the Committee that they were happy with the way the premises operates under the current licence held by Mr Levack and wished for it to continue, The Soho Societies previous support of the licence was based on the two conditions removed by this application. He advised that Mr Levack, for the previous application, consulted greatly whereas this was not the case for this application. He advised that they had concerns about how the premise would be operated with no management plan and Soho Estates had no experience running licences themselves before. He advised that residents’ concerns were based on the use of the roof and the Applicant had proposed a condition to a mitigate this concern. Mr Brown advised on the lawfulness of the personal use condition. He advised that Condition 30c needed to reflect the proposed use more specifically.

 

12. Mr DB, representing MDSRA, advised the Committee that there were 280 housing units within 100 feet of the premise and 39 licenced premises with a capacity of up to 4,500. Mr DB advised that MDSRA were confused as to why the Planning Application had not been withdrawn if Soho Estates were serious about running a long-term cultural venue, if so, they should have to come back with an application once the Planning Application had been withdrawn. He advised that the MDSRA did not object to the existing licence due to the extensive negotiations, knowing the operator Mr Levack and the two conditions proposed to be removed by this licence. He advised that Soho Estates do not have a history of running cultural venues and have no management plan or creative team on board yet and this clarity was needed. Mr DB advised that for condition 30a he questioned who the co-working collective would be. He advised that Mr Levack would like to stay at the premise and had been asking Soho Estates for an extension to which Mr Thomas advised that Mr Levack’s lease could be extended.

 

13. Ms JD advised that Mr Levack, the current operator, had experience in running events and was very popular with tenants living nearby. She highlighted Soho Estates history of cultural venues many of which had closed and that the Applicant had no management plan or plans for the premise. She advised that the premises previously had a small private members club with a maximum capacity of 50 and advised that despite the capacity of 499 they do not get that number in.

 

14.In response to questions Mr DB advised that if the coworking space became commercial under this application many creatives may not be able to afford it and Soho had lost many live music venues due to increased rents.

 

15.In summing up the Licensing Authority advised that the licence would primarily be a cultural venue and if the Applicant wanted to vary this they would have to come back before the Committee. Mr Brown advised that he would like a personal condition on the licence but if the Committee was not minded to grant a personal condition then he would like condition 30c to be more specific. He advised that being a CCSOS1 Policy was not an automatic green light for the application to be granted. He advised that the capacity on the ground and first floor should be no more than 150 as it had a series of small rooms not one large event space. Mr DB advised that Soho Estates did not have a co-working collective set out in condition 30a. Ms JD had nothing further to add.

 

16.Mr Thomas in summing up advised that Soho Estates had supported the arts for years with many of its tenants being cultural venues and they had the experience of managing and curating 50 licensed premises across Soho with work done in the background to work with tenants. He advised that Soho Estates approved everyone who joins the co-working space currently and the licence had the same conditions on it which would not add to the CIZ.

 

17.Mr Thomas advised that the running of the premise was not a material consideration for the Committee and there should be no restrictions on holding events at the premise as it will restrict the financial viability of the premise. Mr Brown advised that events should be ancillary to the description of use and Mr Thomas agreed to amend condition 30c for this. Mr Thomas and Mr Brown agreed that the wording, ‘’ concerts, plays, films, events, PR launch and workshops’’ be added to existing condition 30 (c) Mr Thomas advised that there would also be a works condition on the licence, which is agreed.

 

18.Mr Steve Burnett, Legal Adviser, went through the condition with the Applicant and Interested Parties and agreed to wording of conditions.

DECISION:

 

19.The Committee realises that it has a duty to consider each application on its individual merits and did so for the purposes of this application.

 

20.In reaching their decision, the Committee took into account all the Committee papers and the submissions made by all the parties, supplementary submissions made by the Applicant, and the oral evidence given by all parties during the hearing in making its decision.

 

21. It was noted by the Committee that the Environmental Health and the Metropolitan Police, their experts in nuisance and crime and disorder, had not made representations against the application.

 

22. The Committee considered paragraph CCSOS1 of the SLP and all other relevant parts of the SLP.

 

23. The Committee was persuaded that the application met the policy requirements under the SLP.

 

24. Having taken into account all the evidence and the individual circumstances, in particular, but not limited to, the lack of complaints about the current operation under a very similar Premises Licence (save for 2 conditions), the Committee concluded that the conditions attached to the licence were appropriate and would promote the licencing objectives.

 

25. Having carefully considered the committee papers, the additional papers and the submissions made by all of the parties orally, the Committee has Decided, after taking into account all of the individual circumstances of this particular case and the promotion of the four licensing objectives: -

 

1.     To GRANT permission:

 

To Permit:

 

Plays, Films, Live and Recorded Music, Performance of Dance

and Anything similar (Indoors)

 

Monday to Saturday 09:00 to 00:00

Sundays 09:00 to 22.30

 

Sale by Retail of Alcohol (Both)

 

Monday to Saturday 09:00 to 00:00

Sundays 09:00 to 22:30

 

Late Night Refreshments (Indoors)

 

Monday - Saturdays 23:00 to 00:00

 

Hours Premises Are Open to the Public

 

Monday to Saturday 09:00 to 00:00

Sundays 09:00 to 22.30

 

2.     Relevant Mandatory Conditions to apply.

 

3.     To add conditions proposed to form part of the operating schedule:

 

Conditions consistent with the operating schedule

 

11. The licensable activities authorised by this licence and provided at the premises shall be ancillary to the main function of the building being used as a cultural venue.

 

12. CCTV Conditions

 

a) The premises shall install and maintain a comprehensive CCTV system as per the minimum requirements of the Westminster Police Licensing Team.

b) All entry and exit points shall be covered enabling frontal identification of every person entering in any light condition.

c) The CCTV system shall continually record whilst the premises is open for licensable activities and during all times when customers remain on the premises and shall include the external area immediately outside the premises entrance.

d) All recordings shall be stored for a minimum period of 31 days with date and time stamping.

e) Viewing of recordings shall be made available immediately upon the request of Police or authorised officer throughout the entire 31-day period.

 

13. A staff member from the premises or the external management company who are conversant and control the operation of the CCTV system shall be on the premises at all times when the premises is open. This person must be able to provide a Police or authorised council access to the recordings of recent CCTV images or data with the absolute minimum of delay when requested.

 

14. There shall be no advertising displayed on the building of the licensed facilities save for the name and nature of the business.

 

15. A 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.

 

16. 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 shall 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

g) any refusal of the sale of alcohol

h) any visit by a relevant authority or emergency service.

 

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

 

18. 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.

 

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

 

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

 

21. 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 condition and full working order.

 

22. 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.

 

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

 

24. Off sales shall be in sealed containers only unless purchased for consumption inside the building at 75 Dean Street, W1D 3PU.

 

25. Patrons permitted to temporarily leave and then re-enter the premises, e.g. to smoke or make a phone call, shall not be permitted to take glass containers with them.

 

26. No licensable activities under this Premises Licence 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 with a condition detailing the capacity permitted in the premises and the licenced areas (excluding staff) all of which shall not exceed:

 

Ground floor 150

First floor 150

Whole premises not to exceed 499

 

27. The first-floor windows shall be kept closed after 23:00 hours when regulated entertainment takes place.

 

28. Patrons permitted to temporarily leave and then re-enter the premises, e.g. to smoke or make a phone call on the highway, shall be limited to 15 persons at any one time.

 

29. Licensable activities at the premises shall only be provided to:

 

a) Members of the co-working collective and their guests.

b) Directors and employees of the licence holder and their guests; and

c) Persons attending a private pre-booked event or function, to include concerts, plays, films, events, PR launch and workshops. a list of such functions and the persons attending shall be kept at reception for inspection by the relevant authorities.

 

30. SIA licensed door supervisors shall be on duty at the premises whenever pre-booked private events are to take place, at a minimum ratio of 1:100 persons in attendance. They must correctly display their SIA licence(s) when on duty so as to be clearly visible.

 

31. At least 7 days' notice shall be given to the Council of any proposal to use scenery or properties and such scenery or properties shall only be used with the consent of the Council.

 

32. Scenery and properties shall only be stored in approved areas and where permitted, to be stored on the stage shall be limited to the approved amounts.

 

33. The doors to any scenery store shall not be kept open unless in use.

 

34. The scenery and properties used on an open stage shall be restricted to that of the actual production. No other storage shall be permitted in the stage area.

 

Condition agreed between the Parties.

 

35. There shall be no use of the roof terrace at the Premises, save for maintenance work.

 

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

 

The Licensing Sub-Committee

13 June 2024