Agenda item

The report of the Chief Officer Elections and Regulatory requests Members consideration on an application for the Grant of a Premises Licence for Jamrock Leeds, 30 - 31 Kirkgate, Leeds, LS2 7DR.

The report of the Chief Officer Elections and Regulatory presented an application for the grant of a premises licence for Jamrock Leeds Ltd, for Jamrock Leeds, 30 - 31 Kirkgate, Leeds, LS2 7DR.

In attendance at the hearing were:

• Andrea Forrest – Solicitor
• Oral Blackford – Applicant

At the hearing, despite best efforts, it was noted that the Sub Committee was made up of two Members, rather than three. All parties to the hearing agreed to proceed with two Members.

The Legal Officer set out the procedure for the hearing and the Licensing Officer presented the application. The following was outlined to members:

·  That the premises will operate as a ground floor restaurant with seating capacity for approximately 50 people and proposes the sale by retail of alcohol and late night refreshment.

·  The application was for sale by retail of alcohol (for consumption both on and off the premises) Sunday to Thursday 12:00 – 22:30, Friday and Saturday 12:00 – 01:00, Late Night Refreshment Friday and Saturday 23:00 – 01:30, Non-standard timings On New Year’s Eve from 12.00 to 01.00 hours the following day.

·  The application was for a new license, the premises had previously been a Domino’s Pizza which had surrendered its license in 2020.

·  Representations had been received from statuary consultations, West Yorkshire Police and Environmental Protection; the application had been amended after West Yorkshire Police’s response and they had no further comments, an agreement had been made with the Environmental Protection Team which is contained in Appendix D of the Agenda pack.

·  Three letters of objection had been received from the public which noted concerns of public nuisance.

Andrea Forrest presented the case and the Licensing Sub Committee was informed of the following points:

• The applicant business had previously been joint owned, under the same name at 42 Call Lane, which was predominately a drinking establishment. For the new license at a different premises the intention was to be more food based, as a Caribbean restaurant which would serve cocktails.
• Mr Blackford had previous experience working in a variety of licensed venues and would be the designated premises supervisor (DPS) for Jamrock.
• In response to the three received objections, it was noted, with the business proposed to be food orientated, the noise nuisance would be very limited, the opening hours not extensive and also the referenced courtyard area will not be part of the licensed premises. The Planning Department had supported the approval of the Licensing application and the approved planning application has robust conditions attached which the applicant was content with. A contact phone number had been offered to local residents to voice any concerns they had, and time was given to object with advertisements of the application in the premises window and local newspaper. No objectors were present at the meeting.
• An additional document was circulated at the meeting noting the distances between the premises and location of objectors in order to address the comments received regarding noise and impact on sleep, however some of the information was deemed not accurate due to an error with addresses. The objections were considered general objections to bars and nightlife by the applicant team and noted historically premises in this area have often been open until 5am, many sites local to this premises sell alcohol past 1am and the cumulative impact assessment (CIA) licensing policy had been worked with and considered.
• It was outlined that the consultation process had been sound, the Police and Environmental Health were content with the grant of the license and all pre-safety conditional had been met which will limit the impact on the public.

Responding directly to questions from Members Andrea Forrest and Oral Blackford provided the following information:

• The process for meeting the Environmental Protection conditions relating to design and operations will be soundproofing the building, consulting sound engineers and implementing technology such as having speakers on springs or mats to limit vibrations to neighbours.
• A local resident consultation has been conducted which received no response, which would lead to the assumption that impact on local residents would be limited.
• The courtyard area will be used for bin storage and there are planning conditions which restrict disposing of waste to 8am to 8pm and deliveries and waste collection to 9am to 6pm.

RESOLVED – Grant as applied for with the condition the external courtyard area will not be used for licensable activities