The Democratic Services Officer confirmed that the Sub-Committee would comprise Councillors G Saffery, Wenham and Allen-Williamson.

The Sub-Committee was asked to elect a Chair for the Hearing.

RESOLVED –

that Councillor Wenham be elected Chair for this Hearing.

There were no disclosures of interest.

The Licensing Officer confirmed that all parties expected were present.  There were several preliminary matters for members' attention:

The Licensing Officer set out the following amendments to the report.

•          Paragraph 4.8 on page 6, the last line should read as “pursuant to planning policy SE22, there shall be no public/customers permitted within the premises, and no cooking shall take place after 23:00 hours Monday – Thursday and bank holidays and after 23:30 hours Friday and Saturday.”

•          On page 14, paragraph 10.6, the reference should be 1.44 not 9.44

Introduction to the application

The sub-committee received a report from the Licensing Officer, which outlined an application for a new premises licence for Grilled Cottage, 85 Vicarage Road, Watford, WD18 0EJ, under section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003 for late night refreshment. 

The hours proposed were 23:00 to 01:00 Sunday to Thursday and 23:00 to 02:00 Friday to Saturday.  The business intended to operate as a hot food takeaway with no access to the public from 23:00 hours.

Two representations had been received: from Environmental Health in their role as responsible authority (appendix 4) and a local resident (appendix 5).  The Licensing Officer asked the Chair to note that the local resident was unable to attend the meeting but would like their representation to be considered.  There had been two previous noise complaints regarding the premises in November 2020 and December 2022.

The applicant had agreed to the 11 conditions put forward by the Police during the consultation period.  No representations had been made by the Police, and the conditions were included in the report. 

The Licensing Officer stated that the Licensing Sub-Committee would need to consider the proposed hours of operation, the effectiveness of the operating schedule submitted by the applicant, the representations received, the right the applicant had to operate a business and balance the residents’ rights to the quiet enjoyment of private and family life. 

The options available to the Sub-committee were as follows; grant the application in full or modify the proposed conditions of the licence or reject the whole or part of the application.

There were no questions from the applicant to the Licensing Officer.

There were no questions from the interested parties to the Licensing Officer.

There were no questions from the Council’s Legal Advisor to the Licensing Officer.

Representations

Mr Henson, Environmental Health Officer at Watford Borough Council, presented his concerns to the sub-committee.  He believed that the application needed to be more detailed.  That the noise from deliveries and the extract system after 11.00 pm would not provide residents in the area any respite during the night time.  Mr Henson recommended that the sub-committee refuse the licence unless the applicant could agree to the 12 conditions he had outlined to Mr Ahmad. 

Mr Henson informed the sub-committee that there had been a further noise complaint concerning the premises on 28 December 2022, in that the extractor fan had been left on overnight and doors had been slammed at 1.50 am. 

There  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.