A few days before Christmas I had the interesting experience of attending a Lambeth licensing sub-committee meeting to contest the proposed late Wheatsheaf licence.
The licence was granted to Tia Maria despite objections in the form of two petitions totalling about 100 signatures and three representations in person (from me, Cllr Jack Hopkins and someone from the Mawbey Brough estate).
Mind you, it did take them about half an hour to decide.
I won't bore you with the details of the hearing because some of it was rather surreal and I would rather no relive it but the letter I received yesterday sums it up:
Legal advice was given to the Sub-Committee on the options open to them and the need for any decision to be proportionate. The Sub-Committee decided to grant the application with conditions for the following reasons:• The management of the venue had run the premises without complaint• The Sub-Committee believed that the applicant had sufficiently addressed the concerns of the objectors by way of amended hours and a comprehensive schedule of conditions agreed with the police – notably condition 34, which stipulated that no customer would be able to enter or re-enter the premises after midnight
The italics are mine. Actually, if I'd known of that condition I doubt I would even have bothered objecting. The committee did also add an extra condition: "No food or beverages to be consumed or taken in the beer garden after 11pm".
Both of these conditions will be most helpful if the dominoes start to fall down South Lambeth Road...
By the way, in case you wondered what a Tapioca House might be, here's a a review of Tia Maria. I must say the goats cheese and caramelized onion sounds wonderful. I may have to don a false moustache, eat humble pie and drop in some day soon (I'll skip the chicken hearts though).
Anyway, for the record here is the complete list of conditions.
Police conditions
Compliance with Police Guidance
1. The management of the premises will adhere to the guidance in the Metropolitan Police’s “Safe and Sound” and “Counter Terrorism Protective Security Advice” policies (or updated versions when applicable), with documented door search policy including drug seizures and disposal of same.
Drugs Safe and Log
2. A drugs safe and log system will be employed at the premises to account for the seizure of drugs from customers.
The premises management will liaise with police for regular collection of seized drugs. All seized items will be placed into evidence bags provided by police. The bags will be sealed, signed by the person taking the drugs and times and dates written.
CCTV
3. A CCTV system covering areas inside and outside of the premises should be updated and maintained according to police recommendations with properly maintained log arrangements and recordings/tapes to be kept for a minimum of 30 days.
4. CCTV system is to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and must be working and recording correctly at all times the venue is open to the public.
5. A staff member from the venue who is conversant with the operation of the CCTV system must be on the premises at all times that the venue is open to the public. This staff member must immediately be able to show police or local authority officers’ contemporaneous and recent data or footage on request.
6. The premises are to use all reasonable efforts to provide police and local authority officers with recordings from the CCTV system on request (e.g. by supplying recordings on DVD, CD or tape). All recordings must be readily playable on local police computers.
Incident/Refusals Books
7. An incident/refusals book will be maintained and used at the premises. Upon request, it will be readily available for inspection by the police or local authority officer.
Search Policy
8. No person found with, or using, a weapon or illegal drugs may enter or remain on the premises.
9. Thorough searching of all customers, employees, promoters, artists and entertainers prior to entry, or re-entry, to the premises must be a requirement of entry. Each and every search must, at a minimum, consist of a metal detecting wand search and thorough frisk. All handbags and bags must be searched by hand. Police officers, local authority officers and emergency personnel need not be searched if they are on duty. At least one of the security staff must be female.
10. Search procedures must ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to avoid weapons and illegal substances such as drugs from entering the premises. Any customer who refuses to be searched must be refused entry and a corresponding entry must be made in the incidents/refusal book within 12 hours of the refusal.
11. DPS/Managers are to personally, and by use of the CCTV system, monitor the actions of the security staff at frequent, irregular intervals, and at the very least once an hour.
12. All searches must be carried out in full view of a CCTV camera.
Police Licensing Forums
13. A member of the premises management (whether the DPS or other owner/manager) must attend all Police Licensing
Forums organised by the local police when invited.
14. The management of the premises must join a local pubwatch scheme running in the area (e.g. Lambeth Business Against Crime – LBAC).
Event Promoters
15. The designated premises supervisor shall undertake a risk assessment of any significant promotion or event (as defined below) using the MPS Promotion/Event Risk Assessment (Form 696) or an equivalent and provide a copy* to the Metropolitan Police Service and the Licensing Authority not less than 14 days before the event is due to take place.
16. Where an event has taken place, the licensee shall complete an MPS After Promotion/Event Debrief Risk Assessment (Form 696A) and submit this* to the Metropolitan Police and the Licensing Authority, within 14 days of the conclusion of the event.
Note: Metropolitan Police Definition of a “Significant Event” This definition relates to events that require a Promotion/Event Risk Assessment Form 696.
A significant event will be deemed to be: any occasion in a premises licensed under the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003, where there will be a live performer(s) – meaning musicians, DJs, MCs or other artiste – that is promoted in some form by either the venue or an outside promoter; where entry is either free, by invitation, pay on the door or by ticket. *Submission of electronic documents by email is preferred.
Security Personnel
17. The details (including company name, address, telephone and SIA registration details) of any company or agency providing door supervisors to the premises, or the details of any individual employed by the premises directly as a door supervisor, must be provided to police no less than 14 days before the date they begin working at the premises. Following checks the police may, if they have good reason, veto the provider or individual door supervisor in the interests of preventing crime and disorder at the premises and the premises must comply with such a veto.
18. Security personnel, registered with the Security Industry
Authority (SIA), employed at the premises will enter their full name, address, valid phone contact details, SIA badge number, employing company, along with the times they are working in a register upon commencement of their work at the premises. The DPS/manager at the time will be responsible for ensuring that this is done and for confirming the security staff’s details and permissions to work, via the public SIA website facility.
19. The management must instruct security staff and other staff members to assist police or local authority officers with any enquiries they make in the execution of their duties.
20. The club itself will directly employ the security personnel or security company responsible for supplying personnel.
External promoters will not be allowed to use their own security personnel. The DPS and premises management must be responsible for the security staff at their premises.
21. At least two SIA registered security staff must be employed by the management to deal with all potential reasonable expectations of trouble within the premises, or caused by the premises in the near vicinity. One member of the security staff must be female.
22. Door supervisors are to use walkie-talkie or other forms of electronic communication devices to communicate with each other including the use of ear-pieces to ensure communications can be properly heard and understood at all times the premises are open to the public.
23. All reasonable efforts are to be employed by the management and security personnel to keep customers quiet and orderly prior to entry and upon leaving the premises.
“Private” Parties
24. The premises must provide the contact name and details (including telephone number and address) of the organiser of any private party at the premises at least 14 days before the event. Following checks the police may, if they have good reason, veto the holding of the private party in the interests of preventing crime and disorder at the premises and the premises must comply with such a veto.
25. Any private party must be for pre-invited guests only and a guest list must be kept of all attendees including name, address and contact telephone number(s). These records must be kept for a minimum of 12 months and made immediately available to police and local authority council officers upon request.
26. At least two SIA registered security staff must be employed by the management to deal with all potential reasonable expectations of trouble within the premises, or caused by the premises in the near vicinity. One member of the security staff must be female.
Excluded Persons
27. The premises are to permanently exclude any person found with weapons or illegal drugs at the premises as well as customers known to have contributed to crime or serious disorder in the premises.
28. The premises are to take all reasonable steps to make security and other staff members aware of the identity of excluded persons.
Co-operation with Authorities
29. Any information regarding crimes committed within the premises, including suspected drug dealing and violence, should be reported to the police immediately or as soon as is reasonably practicable.
30. The premises are to keep a record of all excluded persons.
This record is to be made available to police officers and local authority officers on request.
First Aid
31. A qualified first aider must be employed on the premises at all times that the premises are open to the public. The first aider will be proactive in checking customers prior to entry to the club for signs of drugs abuse. The venue will provide first aid facilities commensurate with the type of event and customers expected.
Open Bottles
32. No customers carrying open bottles shall be admitted to the premises. No customers shall be allowed to leave the premises whilst carrying open drinking vessels. (Open shall be taken to mean an opening of the original manufacturer’s sealing of the vessel).
Signage
33. The premises shall prominently display signage informing customers:
• To leave quietly and respect your neighbours
• Stating that CCTV is in operation and police have instant access to the footage
• Searching of customers prior to entry is a requirement of entry. No search – no entry
• Any person found carrying weapons or illegal drugs will be permanently excluded and the police will be informed
Hours of Entry and Re-entry
34. No customer will be permitted to enter or re-enter the premises after midnight.
Polycarbonate Glasses and Glassware
35. Polycarbonate plastic glasses/containers etc are to be used by all persons after midnight, on and off the premises.
36. The DPS will ensure that no glasses (pint, half or other), glass containers, glass bottles or glassware of any kind are used by any patrons/customers on or off the premises when the premises are open to the public after midnight; this includes private parties.
Proof of Age
37. A policy shall be employed at the premises requiring the production of “Proof of Age” for any sale that takes place where there is suspicion that the customer may be under 21
(Challenge 21 Scheme). The following are the only forms of identification that will be accepted by the shop staff:
• A photo driving licence.
• A valid passport
• A Portman proof of age card
If any doubt exists about whether a person has attained the age of 18 the sale will be refused.
38. An underage refusals book is provided to record every instance where age restricted goods are refused (e.g. alcohol and tobacco). The refused sale book will be available for inspection by an authorised officer of the licensing authority, Trading Standards officer or police.
Additional condition
39. No food or beverages to be consumed or taken in the beer garden after 11pm.
I'd rather like to be bored with the details of the meeting, actually. The two justifications for allowing the change in license are both utterly beside the point: 1) hasn't the pub just come under new management? and of course there were no complaints over a non-musical pub with last call at 11! 2) wouldn't it be more sensible to allow those who objected to determine for themselves if the new condidtions allayed their concerns?
ReplyDeleteLong sigh.
If that level of objection, raised at fairly short notice, wasn't enough to sway the committee, what would have been? Who are they working for Lambeth Council or the discotheque owners?
Matt - you've put your finger on the rather Kafkaesque nature of the meeting.
ReplyDeleteOver a pint, mate, over a pint...
Well, I'm glad, anyway that they got their license through. It'll be good to have something interesting and fresh in the area, especially after the loss of Di Lieto and the depressing arrival of costcutter and tesco.
ReplyDeleteI'd much rather have Tia Maria than yet another far from brilliant Portuguese cafe/bar or, worse still, an Albert style conversion into flats.
Radar I guess we'll wait to see what happens but I hope it's not as interesting as the antisocial behaviour coming from some of the restaurants in this area about a year ago when they overan their licenses played music so loud way into the morning had children running up and down the street at all hours. Drug dealing at the bottom of the street pissing on the side walks, as well as brawling and fighting and people yelling when they return to their cars.
ReplyDeleteSounds like most of London, David! Would you rather live in suburbia?
ReplyDeleteDrug dealing I have to say is something that I have never witnessed on South Lambeth Road (plenty of young men walking along smoking cannabis - just like everywhere else in London then). Obviously not a good thing but if you see it, call the Police, if you think it will help.
Loud music - except from cars and during the World/European cups, likewise, I've never really witnessed this on SLR. I do remember alot of sleepless nights on Tradescant road in 1992-1993 because of some noisy cross garden neighbours on Walberswick Street but that was one household of, well, noisy people.
Children running in the street - I'd rather see this than believe they are all locked away at home playing computer games. Don't you prefer it that adults in our area actually take their children out with them in the evening, rather than the "seldom seen, never heard" English Victorian attitude? I do.
Pissing in the street. (Side walk? Pavement!!!) Three thousand year history of cities suggests this is an inevitable consequence of allowing men out after 8pm. Lobby the council to put a pissoir out in front of bar Estrella if the pissing bothers you.
Brawling and fighting. Never acceptable. And regrettably, not uncommon in our country. Where are the Police and the CPOs? Look no further than Taste More by Stockwell tube. But they'll all be tucked up in their paperwork by 10pm anyway.