Agenda item

Introduction by the Licensing Officer:

 

Mr Steve Dormer, Licensing Officer at the London Borough of Hillingdon, introduced the report and the addendum relating to an application for a Grant of a Premises Licence at the premises formerly known as The William Jolle Public House in Northwood Hills. The applicant was Quillrise Ltd.

 

The Sub-Committee was informed that four representations had been received from local residents in respect of this application. Additional Conditions had been sought by the licensing authority to enable the four licensing objectives to be met by the applicants. Members were informed that the applicant had subsequently satisfied the licensing authority by agreeing and offering further conditions; the representation from the responsible authority had therefore been withdrawn. Copies of the conditions had been circulated to those present at the hearing.

 

Mr Dormer advised the Sub-Committee that the Licensing Officer’s recommendation was to grant the licence consistent with the hours applied for by the applicant. Two additional conditions were recommended:-

 

1)    Customers shall not be permitted to leave the building with open containers.

2)    Music shall not be played during the wind down period.

 

Members were informed that, in July 2018, the Licensing Sub-Committee had granted a premises licence to Compliance Direct Ltd. The licence granted had allowed for the sale of alcohol up until 01.00 with half an hour drinking up time on Fridays and Saturdays. Said licence had recently been transferred to Quillrise Ltd and variation to the Designated Premises Supervisor had also been completed. The Licensing Sub-Committee was advised that the applicant could choose to operate this licence, in conjunction with the new licence being applied for, should the latter be granted.

 

Representation by the Applicant:

 

Mr Charlie Merrett spoke on behalf of the applicant stating that Quillrise Ltd had an excellent history having operated in 18 different authorities; they were currently operating in 8 authorities with 20 licences. Mr Merrett confirmed that Quillrise Ltd had never had a licence reviewed or revoked. The Sub-Committee was informed that the licence being applied for mirrored that of the Misty Moon public house in Northwood. It was confirmed that the hours being applied for were as detailed on pages 24 and 25 of the agenda pack.

 

It was confirmed that, as illustrated in the map set out in the addendum document, there would be one window and one door to the front of the premises. There were no windows to the side and no windows or doors to the rear. Visitors would access and leave the premises via the door to the front only. The Sub-Committee was advised that all four objectors lived in roads to the rear of the public house; this would mitigate any potential impact on them. It was reported that the conditions proposed were adequate to meet all the licensing objectives and Quillrise had a good management style. Councillors were informed that Quillrise had no knowledge of the existing licence when they submitted their own application. It was noted that the proposed opening hours (10.00 – 00.30 Monday to Saturday and midday to 00.30 on Sunday) were shorter than those already agreed under the terms of the existing licence. Quillrise were also requesting extended hours on specified days as set out on page 26 of the agenda pack.

 

In summary, Members were advised that all the required conditions in relation to the Prevention of Crime and Disorder would be met and the representation from the Licensing Authority had been withdrawn. Moreover, it was claimed that there was little or no link between the streets where the objectors lived and the premises in question.

 

Responding to the Chairman’s questioning, the applicants confirmed that the doors to the front of the premises would be double doors. Live music would be played on Fridays and Saturdays in the area to the front of the cellar and kitchen. It was confirmed that door staff would only be employed on those occasions when the usual opening hours were extended; on such occasions security staff would work from 21.00 until close. Members requested further clarification regarding the proposed extended hours. It was confirmed that the premises would not necessarily stay open later on all the days specified in the application. Councillors raised concerns regarding the request for extended hours on Bonfire Night. In response, the applicants agreed to remove this request from the application to assuage Members’ concerns.

 

Representation by Interested Parties:

 

No interested parties were present at the hearing.

 

The Discussion

 

The Chairman requested further clarification regarding the Prevention of Public Nuisance. It was confirmed that persistent trouble makers would be barred from the premises in line with the PubWatch Scheme. Moreover, towards closing time, mineral water would be available for customers to mitigate the effects of alcohol consumption. Prominent signage would be displayed at the premises asking customers to respect local residents and vacate the premises quietly. Moreover, it was confirmed that there would be no deliveries before 09.00 or after 18.00 hours.

 

Responding to questioning from the Sub-Committee, the applicants confirmed that there would be a half hour wind down period at the premises to enable customers to disperse gradually. Any rowdy behaviour would be handled by management and all incidents would be recorded in a log book. With regards to taxis arriving late at night and disturbing local residents, the applicants confirmed that Uber drivers alert their customers via text rather than beeping to attract attention.

 

In respect of issues around drug taking, the applicant confirmed that any suspicious activity would be reported to management. Drugs would be confiscated and kept in a safe until the Police were able to collect them. The offenders would be told to leave the premises immediately.

 

The applicant, Mr Terry O’Sullivan, noted that he would be happy to share the office number and his personal mobile number with the objectors should they wish to meet him at a later stage.

 

Closing Remarks:

 

The Licensing Officer and the applicant confirmed that they had nothing further to add.

 

Committee Deliberation

 

All parties were asked to leave the room while the Sub-Committee considered its decision.

 

All parties were invited back into the room for the Chairman to announce the decision of the Sub-Committee.

 

The Decision

 

The Sub-Committee has considered all the relevant evidence made available to it and in doing so has taken into account:

 

·        The Licensing Objectives, Licensing Act 2003;

·        Hillingdon's Licensing Policy, particularly paragraphs 7.6, 9.1, 14.1, 17.1-17.3, 20.2, 21.1-21.4 and;

·        Guidance issued by the Secretary of State under Section 182 of the Act in particular paragraphs 9.42 to 9.44, 10.4, 10.8, 10.10 and 14.19.

 

The decision of the Sub-Committee is to:

·        grant the application subject to the following conditions. 

 

 

1.    The Premises Licence shall be issued for the on and off sale of alcohol and the provision of late night refreshment.

 

2.    The Premises timings are as follows: Monday - Saturday 10AM until 12 Midnight; Sunday 12 Noon until 12 Midnight.

 

3.    Non-standard timings are granted for New Years Eve from 08h00 until 08h00 the next day; and for Valentine's Day, St Patrick's Day, St Andrew's Day, St David's Day, St George's Day and Halloween until 1AM the next day.

 

4.    There will be a Challenge 25 policy operating at the premises. Challenge 25 means that the holder of the premises licence shall ensure that every individual, who visually appears to be under 25 years of age and is seeking to purchase or be supplied with alcohol at the premises or from the premises, shall produce identification proving that individual to be 18 years of age or older. The form of identification shall contain their photograph, date of birth and a holographic mark.

 

5.    There shall be no admittance or re-admittance to the premises after (2200 hours) except for Patrons permitted to temporarily leave the premises to smoke

 

6.    Any deliveries to the premises and emptying of glass goods shall take place between 09h00 and 18h00.

 

7.    Staff will be trained regarding appropriate steps to uphold the licensing objectives within 2 months of beginning employment. Records will be kept of such training which must be signed and dated by the members of staff who have provided and received that training.

 

8.    An incident log shall be kept with records of:

a)   all refusals of sale of alcohol;

b)   any complaints regarding crime, disorder and nuisance;

c)   any authorisations to staff for the sale of alcohol;

d)   any visit from the Local Authority;

e)   All instances when the CCTV is not fully in working order.

 

The Premises Licence Holder shall ensure that the incident log is checked, signed and dated on a weekly basis by himself or an authorised employee acting in place of the Designated Premises Supervisor. Page 5 Appendix 7

 

9.    The incident log will be held and maintained at the premises and will be available for immediate inspection immediately upon request of the Metropolitan Police Services and/or any Responsible Authority.

 

10. The premises shall install a CCTV system prior to opening the premises for business.

 

11. The CCTV system shall be maintained in good working order, covering all public areas of the licensed premises, including all public entry and exit points, the street environment, the bar area and the external terrace.

 

12. The CCTV shall be capable of recording a clear facial identification of all persons entering the premises by the main entrance door.

 

13. A CCTV monitor shall be provided at the bar which has the capability to show images of all the cameras for the information of bar staff.

 

14. The CCTV cameras shall continually record while the premises are open to the public and recording shall be kept available and unedited for a minimum of 31 days.

 

15. A staff member who is conversant with the operation of the CCTV system shall be present on the premises at all times when they are open to the public and must be able to produce/download/burn CCTV images upon request by a police officer or any authorised officer of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Any footage must be in a format that can be played back on a standard personal computer or standard DVD player.

 

16. An incident log shall be maintained to record all instances when the CCTV is not fully in good working order. The log will record the date the malfunction was noted, the date repair work was requested and the date that the repair work was carried out.

 

17. No sale of alcohol shall take place when the CCTV system is not fully in good working order.

 

18. The Designated Premises Supervisor shall be an active member of the local Pubwatch Scheme.

 

In reaching its Decision the Sub Committee noted the co-operative stance of the Applicant and recommends that the Applicant considers whether they should   employ security staff of Friday and Saturdays nights to secure the well-being of both staff and residents and thereby prevent potential crime and disorder.

 

As a reassurance to Residents and a warning to the Licence Holder, should the licensing objectives not be met a Licence Review may take place leading to the possible revocation of the premises licence.

 

Right of Appeal

 

Any person aggrieved by the Sub Committee's decision or by the imposition of any condition may appeal to the Uxbridge Magistrates Court within 21 days.