Agenda item

To receive and consider the attached report of the Chief Officer (Elections and Regulatory) regarding an application for the grant of a premises licence, made by Treehouse Bars Otley Limited, for Treehouse Bar And Kitchen 40 Bondgate, Otley, LS21 1AD.

The report of the Chief Officer Elections and Regulatory requested Members consideration on an application for the grant of a premises licence, made by Treehouse Bars Otley Limited, for Treehouse Bar and Kitchen 40, Bondgate, Otley, LS21 1AD.

Present at the meeting were:

• Frank Stott – Director of Treehouse Bars Otley Limited
• Benjamin Comstive – Proposed DPS
• Cllr Colin Campbell – Objector
• Cllr Sandy Lay - Objector

The Legal Officer set out the procedure for the hearing.

Mr Comstive requested that the following documents be tabled:

• Door Etiquette Policy
• Dispersal Management Policy
• Smoking Policy
• Noise Maintenance Policy

It was agreed by all parties that the documents could be tabled, and a five-minute adjournment was given for all parties to read the documents.

The Licensing Officer presented the application providing the following details:

• Members were advised of the following errors in the report:
  • The representations from both the Environmental Protection Team and West Yorkshire Police had been negotiated and agreed prior to the hearing.
  • Five other representations had been received from Otley Town Council, two local residents and 2 Local Ward Councillors.

• It was noted that the premises had previously been licensed for the

sale of alcohol, live music, recorded music, performance of dance, and entertainment similar to live, recorded music or dance. However, this premises licence could not be utilised at this current time, due to the extensive refurbishment that the premises has undergone, hence the application for the grant of a new premises licence with similar hours to those already granted.

• The applicant’s name was Treehouse Bars Otley Limited, and the proposed designated premises supervisor was to be Benjamin Comstive.
• A summary of the application was set out at Paragraph 3 of the report and a copy of the application was appended to the report at Appendix A.
• Members were advised that the applicant proposed to uphold the licensing objectives by taking steps outlined in a document which had been received with the application and this was attached as Appendix B.
• A map identifying the location of the premises was attached at Appendix C.
• Members were informed that two representations had been received from responsible authorities, namely Environmental Protection Team and West Yorkshire Police. Prior to the hearing Environmental Protection had negotiated with the applicant and measures for the operating schedule had been agreed. A copy of this agreement was appended to the report at Appendix D. It was noted that the representation from West Yorkshire Police had also been negotiated and agreed prior to the hearing and the email trail for this was attached at Appendix E.
• Representations had also been received from two members of the public, two Local Ward Councillors and the Otley Town Council, these we appended to the report at Appendix F.
• A list of premises in the local area and their licensed hours and activities was provided at Appendix G for Members information.

Mr Comstive addressed the Sub-Committee providing the following information:

• The Treehouse Bar and Kitchen has been operational in Haworth for 3 years. Otley would be the second venture. They wanted to create a city centre style venue in Otley, for all demographics in the area.
• The applicant had not realised that with the number of changes made to the premises that they would require a new premises licence.
• The premises had living accommodation above which would house the DPS, and his 3-year-old son, and the house next door would be the applicant’s parents who were in their seventies.
• The operating schedule would be for
  • Monday - Wednesday 10:00 – 23:00
  • Thursday 10:00 – 00:00
  • Friday and Saturday 10:00 – 01:00
  • Sunday 12:00 – 22:30
• Food would be served seven days a week and it was the intention that breakfast would also be served, but they would wait and see if there was a demand for this. The food menu would include:
  • Lite bites
  • Main menu
  • Childrens menu
  • Sunday Roasts
• They would be selling cocktails, wines and local beers.
• It was proposed that there would be live acoustic sessions Mondays 19:00 – 21:00, Thursday – Saturday 18:00 – 22:00 and Sunday 16:00-18:00. There would also be controlled recorded background music, which would be played through an internal system and would type of music played would appeal to all age groups.
• The premises would have SIA door staff from 19:00 till close to ensure that people felt safe and were respectful to neighbouring properties when leaving the premises.
• External areas to the rear would only operate until 22:00 and the doors would be locked and monitored by door staff and only used as a fire exit. It was proposed that anyone wishing to smoke after 22:00, would use the front of the premises and this would be monitored by door staff.
• Noise would be monitored with hourly checks, and it was noted that the closest properties would be owned by the applicant and lived in by family members.
• Environmental Protection Team and West Yorkshire Police had visited premises and all measures proposed by them had been agreed with the applicant.
• It was not the intention of the applicant to exercise the use of the off-licence sales.
• Staff training would be provided on all aspects of the premises licence.
• The applicant was aware of issues in running this type of business as they have the premises in Haworth and had strong principles and knew the importance of working with neighbours. They would offer neighbours contact numbers should an issue arise. They would also be living in the community and wanted to be part of the community.
• The premises would employ 50 people to include front of house and kitchen staff.

In response to questions from Members the following points were noted:

·  The applicant was aware that there had been dispersal issues at the previous premises called Korks. This had been through discussions with neighbours.

·  It was noted that smoking would be outside the front of the premises when the external areas to the rear were closed. Door staff would monitor this and if not smoking would be asked to return inside. No drinks would be allowed outside to the front of the premises. It was also noted that there would be no shelter or seating provided to the front of the premises so would not be an area where people would want to be if it was raining.

·  Members were informed that the applicant had attempted to copy the activities/hours of the existing licence for Korks. However, they would not be operating some of the hours or activities on the submitted application, and for clarity they confirmed the proposed hours and activities that they would be operating.

·  They had inherited the Korks application and in their naivety had not realised that the refurbishments were substantial enough to warrant a new application.

·  It was not their intention to use the extended operational hours till 2:00am unless it was for New Years Eve.

·  The Off Sales Licence would only be used where a bottle of wine had been purchased with a meal and not finished, then the customer would be allowed to take this with them.

·  The outside area to the rear would be closed at 10.00pm. Members noted that the proposed sound system for the premises was measured at 90 decibels, which was lower that the decibels from the car garage beyond the premises outside area. However, it was acknowledged that the garage would not be operating late into the evening.

·  To create the outside area and extra space for diners, the Moonlight Nightclub which had been part of Korks had been demolished.

Councillor Campbell provided the following information to the Sub-Committee:

• These premises were listed, and he welcomed that they had been brought back into use.
• There had been concerns about the use of the outside area opening until 2.00am as Korks had not had an outside area, but this concern had been alleviated after hearing the applicant.
• Although this is a town centre location there were still residential properties in the area and there were still some concerns about noise and nuisance to neighbours.
• It was the view of the Councillor that if more information had been provided about the operating hours and activities then most of the comments and concerns would not have been made.
• It was the view that the closure of the external area at 10.00pm was a reasonable compromise and it was requested that this be conditioned as part of the licence.
• It was the view of Cllr Campbell that Thursday in Otley was the same as any other day of the week, with only Friday and Saturday being the busiest days of the week.
• The Councillor was agreeable to the music as described by the applicant but asked that it should not be audible at adjacent properties.
• There had been issues with Korks due to unruly behaviour at closing time. However, it was the view that the Door Etiquette Policy from the applicant would address these issues. It was the view that those smoking outside should be managed effectively, so as not to cause issues for neighbouring properties.
• Concern was raised that there was the potential for noise nuisance whilst customers waited for taxis’, and it was requested that customers were asked to remain inside whilst they waited.
• Cllr Campbell appreciated that the applicant had taken onboard the comments made and had tried to work with the community.

Cllr Lay made the following comments:

• If all the information provided in the tabled papers had been known before the meeting, then the concerns would have been mitigated.
• Cllr Lay agreed with the request for conditions as set out by Cllr Campbell.
• He welcomed the investment made into the premises.
• Acknowledged that the DPS and his son and the applicant’s parents would be living on site and within close proximity, so would ensure that noise nuisance was managed.
• He was pleased that there was to be no music in the outside areas.
• It was accepted that smoking after 10.00pm would be better outside the front of the premises so as not to disturb neighbours. However, it was requested that the cigarette butts were disposed of in a litter bin and that the area was kept clean and tidy.

Responding to questions from the Sub-Committee the following information was provided:

• There would be a taxi pick/ drop off point. Local firms would be asked to pick up customers as quickly as possible.
• The applicant said that they would be willing to agree with all suggested conditions.
• Any off-licence sales would stop as soon as they stopped serving food.

The applicant in summing up said that they were agreeable to all proposed conditions, and they had taken onboard all the comments made. They acknowledged that the front of the premises was not an ideal place for smoking but were of the view that this was the best solution to avoid noise breakout from doors opening onto the rear outside area. They needed to be part of the community and work with the authorities if the venture was to be successful.

Members discussions included:

• Agreed conditions with Environmental Protection Team and West Yorkshire Police.
• All agreed that alcohol sold for consumption off the premises should be until 11.00pm.
• The Applicant have made clear the operating schedule the hours, activities and provided the tabled papers earlier, which would have reduced concerns from residents and Councillors.
• The Applicant had offered to provide a litter bin for the disposal of cigarette butts and maintain the cleanliness of the front of the premises.
• This is a family run business with the DPS having a young son and family members living close by.

RESOLVED – To grant the premises licence with the following amendments to the operating schedule and conditions:

• Licensing Hours to be as follows with the premises closing 30 minutes after the licensed hours:
  • Monday to Thursday 10:00 – 23:00
  • Friday and Saturday 10:00 – 01:00
  • Sunday 12:00 – 22:30
• Off licence sales until 23:00

Additional condition:

·  The licence holder/designated premises supervisor shall provide litter patrols and litter generated by customers shall be cleared away in front of the premises regularly.

Condition agreed with the Environmental Protection Team to read:

• No use of the rear external area or of speakers after 22:00.