Agenda item - The Red Rooms, 8 Queens Road, Brighton

Report of the Assistant Director of Public Safety (copy attached).

100.1        The Panel considered an application for variation of a premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003 for The Red Rooms, 8 Queens Road, Brighton, BN1 3WA (for a copy see minute book).

 

100.2        Mr Cavanagh and Ms Neath, local residents, and Ms Sharma, Environmental Protection Officer, attended the hearing to make representations against the application.

 

100.3        Mr Whitelegg began by summarising the application and stating that the variation was to extend regulated entertainment hours. Representations had been received from local residents and the Environmental Protection Department. Sussex Police had withdrawn their representation following agreement to conditions. Mr Whitelegg noted that the application was in the Cumulative Impact Area where new applications were normally refused unless the applicant could demonstrate that there would be no negative cumulative impact as a result of their application.

 

100.4        The Chairman asked if there were any questions of Mr Whitelegg’s statement. Councillor West asked if all the police conditions had been agreed to and Mr Whitelegg confirmed this.

 

100.5        The Solicitor to the panel asked Mr Whitelegg to confirm that the applicants, who were not present at the hearing, had been notified of the hearing date in due time, and he confirmed this.

 

100.6        Ms Sharma began her representation and stated that the applicant had failed to demonstrate how public nuisance would be prevented by this application. She noted the premises was in the Cumulative Impact Area where applications were normally refused and she did not feel the applicant had adequately demonstrated that there would be no adverse impact on the area.

 

                  A number of noise complaints had been received about the premises and emergency calls to the police had been made regarding disorder and fights at the premises. However, no statutory noise nuisance had been witnessed but the premises was still under investigation. To ensure there would be no negative impact on the area in terms of additional noise nuisance, Ms Sharma recommended a number of conditions to be attached to the licence.

 

100.7        Ms Neath began her representation and stated that there had been a fight at the premises after she had sent in her representation and she witnessed the owner chasing a customer up the street with a baseball bat. The music at the premises was very loud and continued usually until around midnight, and the sound reverberated up the walls to their flat.

 

100.8        Mr Cavanagh did not make an initial representation.

 

100.9        The Chairman asked if there were any questions of the representations and Councillor West asked how much the music disturbed Ms Neath and Mr Cavanagh. Mr Cavanagh replied that although the music was played in the basement, it travelled up a stairwell in the building to their flat and was very loud to the extent that the walls vibrated at times.

 

100.10      Councillor West asked if there was a noise problem from smokers standing outside the premises and Ms Neath replied that there was, but they were not the worst problem. She recognised she lived on a busy road and was used to some noise in the evenings, but felt that the music was excessively loud and constant.

 

100.11      Councillor West asked if there were more customers at the premises when the music was played loudly and Ms Neath replied she had not noticed a difference. She stated that if the applicants adhered to their current operating schedule she did not believe there would be a problem at the premises.

 

100.12      Councillor Phillips asked if Ms Neath felt that confining music to the basement would help to solve the problem and Ms Neath felt that if it was played through the limiter it would be acceptable in the basement. Ms Sharma raised concerns that the limiter was being circumvented on a regular basis and was not as effective as it might be.

 

100.13      The Chairman asked how many smokers were usually outside the premises and Ms Neath replied there were generally around four or five.

 

100.14      Mr Whitelegg began his final statement and stated that this premises was in the Cumulative Impact Area where applications were normally refused unless the applicant could demonstrate through their operating schedule how there would be no negative cumulative impact. He referred the panel to the Statement of Licensing Policy and added that if the application were approved, any conditions should be clear, enforceable and proportionate to the type and style of the application.

 

100.15      Ms Sharma began her final representation and stated that she did not support the variation. She felt that the current history of complaints at this premises made it difficult to prevent public nuisance occurring in this setting and she asked the panel to refuse the application.

 

100.16      Mr Cavanagh began his final representation and stated that when the applicant complied with their current licence there was not a problem at the premises. However, they were breaching their licence conditions and playing music much louder and much later at night. He felt that an effective limiter on the sound system would solve many of the problems.

 

100.17      The Solicitor to the panel clarified that if the panel refused the application they could not attach additional conditions to the licence.  Mr Whitelegg added that if the panel were minded to grant they did not have to grant the full application.

 

100.18      RESOLVED – That the panel considered the relevant representations and submissions from the Responsible Authority and interested parties.

 

The Panel have decided to grant the variation of the Premises Licence with the following conditions as agreed with Sussex Police and amended by the Panel:

 

1.   A minimum of two SIA registered door supervisors will operate from the premises on Friday and Saturday nights and on Christmas Eve, New Years Eve and Bank Holidays from 20:00 hours until close. Door Supervisors will not dual role as bar staff etc.

 

2.   The premises will contract for the provision of a recognised mobile support unit which will provide SIA qualified Door Supervisor backup 24 hours a day.

 

[N.B.: inclusion of the above conditions will render existing condition Annex 3 (4) redundant].

 

3.   Door Supervisors ancillary conditions:

 

a)   Records shall be maintained at the premises containing the full name, date of birth and home address of ever Door Supervisor employed.

b)   On initial employment of the door supervisor, authentic proof of identity shall be obtained in the form of a passport, driver’s licence or a birth certificate.

c)   The record shall include all dates and times when a door supervisor is employed.

d)   If staff are employed through an agency, the name and address of the agency must be included in the entry referring to the person employed by the agency.

e)   Any such record must be in a form approved by the licensing authority (in the event that no form is either issued or approved by the licensing authority, the management may draft their own form but this must contain all the information stipulated in this section).

f)    The DPS (or in the absence of the DPS the person with delegated authority) will ensure door supervisors display their SIA badges at all times they are on duty.

 

4.   Digital CCTV and appropriate recording equipment to be installed, operated and maintained throughout the premises externally and internally (including the basement) to cover all public areas with sufficient numbers of cameras as agreed with Sussex Police. CCTV footage will be stored for a minimum of 28 days, and the management will give full and immediate cooperation and technical assistance to the Police in the event that CCTV footage is requested for the prevention and detection of suspected or alleged crime. The CCTV images will record and display dates and times, and these times will be checked regularly to ensure their accuracy and will be changed when British Summer Time starts and ends.

 

5.   The premises will operate a “Challenge 25” policy whereby any person attempting to buy alcohol who appears to be under 25 will be asked for photographic ID to prove their age. The only forms of ID that will be accepted are passports, driving licences with a photograph or Portman Group, Citizen Card or Validate proof of age card bearing the PASS mark hologram. The list of approved forms of ID may be amended or revised with the prior written agreement of Sussex Police and the Licensing Authority without the need to amend the licence or conditions attaching to it.

 

6.   Suitable and sufficient signage advertising the “Challenge 25” policy will be displayed in prominent locations in the premises.

 

7.   All staff members engaged, or to be engaged, in selling alcohol on the premises shall receive the following training in age-restricted sales:

     

i)    Induction training which must be completed, and fully documented, prior to the sale of alcohol by the staff member; and refresher training thereafter at intervals of no less than 8 weeks.

 

ii)   All age-restricted sales training undertaken by staff members shall be fully documented and recorded. All training records shall be made available to Sussex Police and Brighton & Hove Trading Standards Service upon request.

 

8.   All persons under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. No persons under 18 shall be allowed on the premises after 21:00 hours (other than children living on the premises or of the people working on the premises).

 

The conditions proposed by Environmental Protection shall be attached to the licence with the following amendments and omissions:

 

Omit – “Music will be confined to the basement”.      

 

9.   Recorded, live and amplified music can only be played in, and must be confined to, the basement bar.

 

Omit – “Instructions will be issued to musicians, DJs etc, to keep noise levels lower after 23:00 and this will be enforced by the licensees.

 

Omit – The amplified sound equipment shall be governed by a sound limiting device set at a level approved by the licensing authority.

 

10. The amplified sound equipment used for regulated entertainment shall be governed by a sound limiting device set at a level approved by the licensing authority.

 

Further conditions to be added to the Licence as follows:

 

11. No more than 5 customers shall be permitted outside after 23:00 hours. The Door Supervisors shall be instructed to monitor and control these numbers, and the levels of noise when on duty. Staff to monitor at all other times.

 

12. Self closers to be fitted on all external doors and windows where deemed appropriate by Environmental Protection Officers.

 

The Panel believe that these conditions will uphold and promote the licensing objectives.