Agenda item

To consider a report by the Head of Elections, Licensing and Registration which sets out details of an application to vary a premises licence held by Turtle Bay, Unit A14, The Light, Albion Street, Leeds, LS1 8TL.

(Report attached)

The report of the Head of Elections, Licensing and Registration presented an application to vary a Premises Licence held by Turtle Bay, Unit A14, The Light, Albion Street, Leeds.

The Licensing Officer presented the application.  The Sub-Committee was informed that the premises fell within the red zone of the Cumulative Impact Area and a previous application to vary the Licence had been refused in June 2017.  The applicant had now provided additional information to support their application.  The applicant had originally been presented to the Sub-Committee on 20 March 2018 when it had been adjourned at the request of the applicant’s representative.  Objections to the application had been received from West Yorkshire Police and the Applicant’s representative.

The Sub-Committee was informed of the licensing history of the premises and this application sought to extend the hours for the sale of alcohol and provision of recorded music until 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays; the provision of Late Night Refreshment and opening hours of the premises until 01:30 hours on Fridays and Saturdays.

The following were in attendance for this item:

-  Anthony Lyons – Representing Turtle Bay

-  Steven Entwistle – Development Director, Turtle Bay

-  PC Cath Arkle – West Yorkshire Police

-  Susan Holden – Licensing Authority.

The Applicant’s representative addressed the Sub-Committee.  Attention was brought to Turtle Bay’s Licensing Presentation pack which had been included in the Agenda papers.  He highlighted the following in support of the application:

·  The premises were currently allowed to remain open until 01:00.  This application would only permit a further 30 minutes.

·  The applicant has designed and delivers the same package across other cities in the UK and wants to do the same in Leeds.

·  Turtle Bay was primarily a food led business and the brand operated in 40 cities across the UK. 21 of these premises were located in Cumulative Impact Zones including Newcastle, Nottingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Birmingham and York. The applicant representative reported that York has issues with crime and disorder with stag and hen do’s, but Turtle Bay trades there and without issue.

·  Drink offers at the premises were limited and jugs of alcohol, shots and spirits by the bottle were not sold.

·  The only draft beer is Red Stripe, there is a limited range of cocktails and ten wines available by the glass.

·  Following the previously refused application, Leeds Council’s Licensing Policy had been analysed and it was felt that the reasons outlined in the supporting document demonstrated that this application would not contravene the licensing objectives.  The premises had recently operated extended hours with the use of Temporary Event Notices and these had been successfully operated without incident.

·  The applicant acknowledged that there had been an increase in crime statistics for the red zone of the cumulative impact area and a freedom of information request had highlighted that no incidences of crime had been attributed to customers or the operation of Turtle Bay.

·  If the police had any issues with the premise, this would have been disclosed. Previous issues in 2017 have since been addressed. There is no evidence about irresponsible behaviour, drunkenness or underage drinkers at the premise.

·  In response to questions from the Sub-Committee the following was discussed:

o  Spending at the bar was no more than 10% of takings at the premises.

o  Dispersal of customers was overseen by staff from the premises including door staff.  There had never been any problems or incidents during the period when customers were leaving.

o  It was estimated that 75% of takings in the restaurant operation were from the sale of food.

o  The premises were operated as a restaurant in line with the relevant planning permission.

The Sub-Committee heard from PC Cath Arkle.  The following was highlighted:

·  The objection to applications in the red zone was due to the area rather than an individual premises.  The problems in the area tended to occur when people had left the premises and congregated in food takeaways, on the streets and taxi queues. 

·  Police statistics had shown that crime statistics had risen in the area.

·  This was a third application for the premises to have these extended hours.  Since the first application the only change in the area had been rising crime.

·  The peak time for crime was between 23:00 and 04:00 with a further peak between 01:00 and 03:00.

·  From a police visit this year, it was noted that the kitchens at the premises closed from 23:00 onwards and thus we are concerned about the sale of alcohol rather than food after this time

·  There had been past breaches of the Licence in relation to the operation of the BACIL radio system and CCTV which does not support an “exceptional operator”.

·  The offer at the premises after 23:00 was alcohol led with loud music giving the impression of a nightclub style operation.

·  The impact on the area following the operation of temporary event notices at the premises could not be measured. The applicant can show what happens within their premise, but not what happens after their customers leave. They cannot evidence their customers do not add to the problems in that area. TENs are not covered by Cumulative Impact Policies so that is why no objection was made.

Sue Holden, Licensing Authority addressed the Sub-Committee.  The issues highlighted by PC Arkle were re-iterated and reference was made to the original application for the premises which was granted in 2015.  Sue Holden noted that the applicant’s solicitor had talked a lot about how Turtle Bay operated in other parts of the country, but that is not accepted within Leeds City Councils Policy.

The original application also sought the hours of operation that were now being applied for.  The licence had only been agreed with the reduced hours currently operated. This issue had been considered by two other Licensing Sub Committees and the Licensing Authority had not seen anything in this application to show that this committee should make an exception to the Policy. Her view was the applicant should be making the area better, not holding it to the same standard and even with their current hours, they have not made the current crime rate go down.

In summary, the Applicant’s representative made reference to other similar premises in the vicinity that had later opening hours and queried the location of the premises within the Cumulative Impact Area.  Reference was also made to another application that had been granted in the red zone of a Cumulative Impact Area in Leeds.  Further reference was made to the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and the Sub-Committee’s ability to grant applications where exceptional circumstances could be demonstrated. The Applicants representative confirmed that there is no entry to new customers after midnight; this application was not about attracting new customers at that time, it was to provide a service to existing customers and for an extra half an hour to disperse from the premises.

Following an adjournment, the Applicant was asked to consider whether they would be willing to remove their existing 2 for 1 cocktails offer that they promoted after 22:00.  The Applicant was not willing to do this as it was the style of operation across the entire Turtle Bay chain.

The Licensing Sub-Committee carefully considered the Statement of Licensing Policy, the application, report and the representations made by the applicant’s representative, West Yorkshire Police and the Licensing Authority.

RESOLVED – That the application be granted as applied for.