Agenda and minutes

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interest they may have in any matter which is to be considered at this meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

Agreed.

The Council’s Licensing Officer presented a report in respect of an application for a premises licence submitted by Zim Bar, 20 – 30 London Road, Barking. She stated that:

·  The history of the matter was that the application was due to be heard on 24 April 2012; however, on the day of the meeting, the applicant’s representative requested that the hearing be rescheduled for four weeks later, on the basis that they required more time to examine the papers. The hearing was postponed to a later date and Board members, responsible authorities and interested parties wishing to attend the meeting were informed. The matter was brought before the Board on 22 May 2012; however, on this occasion at the meeting, the applicant requested that the matter be postponed again as they did not have legal representation due to a lack of funds. The Board agreed to the hearing being put back and, instructed that as it had been adjourned twice, the application would be heard on the next occasion whether the applicant had representation or not. The hearing was rescheduled for 20 June 2012.

·  The applicant was seeking a premises licence for the supply of alcohol, the provision of late night refreshment, and the provision of some regulated entertainment (music and dance). The times sought for the licensable activities were 11.00 to 01.00 on Monday and Wednesday and 11.00 to 03.30 on Tuesday and Thursday – Sunday.

·  The premises currently benefits from a premises licence which allows licensable activities to take place from 10.00 to 23.00. This covers the activities of live music, recorded music, performance of dance, facilities for making music, facilities for dancing and the supply of alcohol. The premises are permitted to open for trade between 10.00 and 23.00. The premises licence holder is “Club Ambassador Limited”.

·  The application submitted is for an entirely new licence, so the existing licence will not be impacted upon.  The Sole Director of both “Club Ambassador” and “Zim Bar” is Mr Lawrence Ssendege and the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) for both, Mr Peter Kamau.

·  The matter was before the Board as the Licensing Team had received valid representations opposing the grant of this premises licence from the following:

o  The Metropolitan Police

o  Environmental Health (Noise)

o  Community Safety and Public Protection (Child Protection)

o  Eight Local Residents

Counsel for the Metropolitan Police, Kevin Baumber, outlined the Police’s representations against the application as follows:

·  The premises currently benefits from a premises licence for “Club Ambassador”. This licence was subject to an expedited review on 26 October 2011 and as a result of it, the licensing hours were reduced to 10.00 to 23.00 by the Licensing and Regulatory Board.

·  This application for “Zim Bar” has been made by the same people who managed the premises under the name “Club Ambassador”. If they disagreed with the decision of the review in October 2011, they should have appealed, rather than submit a new application under a different name.

·  There were many examples of serious  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

The Licensing Officer is to inform the Board of any appeals made against its recent decisions.

The Licensing Officer stated that the appeal submitted by the premises, “Pot Luck”, against the Board’s decision of 31 January 2012 had been dismissed by the Magistrates Court. It was observed that the result shows the good work the Board is doing and how with the input of all board members and officers its decisions are being upheld.