Excerpt of Tower Hamlets Council meeting held on 22 October 2024 (AI Generated Summary).
Summary
The sub-committee rejected an application for a new premises license from Tea Garden on 138 Whitechapel Road. The sub-committee also granted a new premises license to Quiz Room on the ground floor of Brody House, 19-25 Bell Lane, subject to conditions volunteered by the applicant, including that the licensable activities be ancillary to the quiz room experience.
Quiz Room, 19-25 Bell Lane
The application from Quiz Room UK Ltd sought the sale of alcohol from 11am to 10:45pm Monday to Saturday, and 11am to 8:45pm on Sunday. The application also sought permission for film showings and the playing of recorded music from 11am to 11pm Monday to Saturday, and 11am to 9pm on Sunday.
The Licensing Authority objected to the application because the premises are within the Brick Lane Cumulative Impact Zone. This is an area where the council operates a special policy that allows it to refuse applications for new licenses if it believes that they will exacerbate existing problems with crime and disorder, or public nuisance. The applicant had not explained how the operation of the quiz room would not negatively add to those impacts.
The Environmental Health Officer also objected to the application on the grounds of public nuisance. The officer believed that there was a likelihood of noise escaping from the venue and disturbing residents of Brody House and nearby Brune House.
Many residents of Brody House and nearby streets also wrote to the council objecting to the application. They objected on the grounds that the sale of alcohol at the venue would lead to an increase in antisocial behaviour, crime and disorder, and noise nuisance.
The applicant’s representative, Lana Tricker, explained that Quiz Room is an interactive entertainment venue where customers play knowledge-based quiz games. The business operates almost 70 such venues worldwide. Ms Tricker explained that this would be the company’s first UK venue.
Quiz Room has been operating for five years and there’s almost 70 Quiz Rooms around the world currently operating.
Quiz Room’s co-founder, Tristan Quinlan, explained that groups of between 5 and 10 people pre-book to play a series of quiz games that last between 1 hour and 90 minutes. Mr Quinlan said that the company does not target hen or stag parties. Tickets are between ÂŁ25 and ÂŁ28 per person.
After playing their games, guests are escorted to a reception area where they can purchase drinks.
People aren’t permitted to come to the premises and consume food or drink without playing the quiz room entertainment and this can be conditioned if need be in along the lines of alcohol sales can only be made to people who are the participants in the quiz room entertainment. So we’re not seeking to attract general bodies from outside coming in for a drink.
Ms Tricker said that the company does not see alcohol as central to the business, with drinks sales only accounting for around 5% of the revenue at its other venues.
We’re not a bar, we’re not a club, we’re not a restaurant and this is important when we’re looking at the impact in terms of the cumulative impact area. We are an exceptional concept. It’s an interactive entertainment concept and customers come, they play knowledge-based quiz games and it’s in groups of friends or colleagues.
Ms Tricker argued that because alcohol is not central to the business model, the premises should be granted a license as an exception to the Brick Lane Cumulative Impact Policy.
The sub-committee granted Quiz Room a license, subject to the conditions volunteered by the applicant and agreed with the police. The conditions include requirements for CCTV, a challenge 25 policy, an incident log, and staff training. The sub-committee also agreed a condition that restricts licensable activity to participants in quiz games.
The sub-committee added an additional condition requiring the applicant to tighten the wording of condition 1 on page 6 of the supplemental agenda.
The licensable activities authorised by this licence and provided at the premises shall be ancillary to participation in quiz activities
Tea Garden, 138 Whitechapel Road
Mr Fahim Uddin of AF Global BD Limited applied for a new premises license to sell late night refreshment1 at the Tea Garden between 11pm and 2am every day.
The Licensing Authority objected to the application because the premises are already under investigation for operating without a license and selling illicit tobacco.
This representation is mainly for the premises for within the CAZ area and the special policy create a revertible presumption the application for this current premises license which are likely to be added to the existing cumulative impact.
The Licensing Officer, Ibrahim Hussain, explained that the premises were visited on 1st June 2024 as part of Operation Dymock2. Licensing officers witnessed the sale of hot food and drink after 11pm, in breach of the Licensing Act 2003. They also found 1660 cigarettes concealed on the premises.
The premises were visited again on 15th June 2024, and again witnessed the sale of late night refreshment. Mr Hussain told the sub-committee that the manager, Mr Sekander Hossain, was warned not to trade after 11pm without a license.
Mr Hussain told the sub-committee that the premises had also been visited on 29th June 2024 and 27th July 2024, and was again found to be trading illegally. Mr Hussain said that Mr Hossain had been warned on each of these occasions that customers were congregating outside the shop, smoking, making noise, and blocking the pavement.
Officers observed Mr. Sekander Hossain, the manager, serving hot tea and coffee to customers through windows on June 29, 2024, at 00:15 hours and July 27,2024 at 00:25 hours. Mr. Hossain was warned both times for customers congregating near the store, lingering there, making noise, having cigarette’s, blocking the public pavement, and grouping in this location, both time warning was given to Mr Hossain.
Mr Hussain said that Trading Standards was pursuing legal action against the business for the unlicensed sale of late night refreshment and the sale of illicit tobacco.
The licensing authority sent the business a warning letter. Trading Standard is currently pursuing legal action for operating without a licence to provide late-night refreshments and for selling illegal cigarettes.
The Environmental Health Officer, Nicola Cadzow, also objected to the application on the grounds that it would add to existing public nuisance. The officer explained that she had emailed the applicant on 15th July 2024, but he had not responded to her request for further information.
The officer was concerned that the premises would create noise breakout, and that patrons would create noise and disturbance while entering and leaving the venue at unsociable hours. The officer explained that there are residential properties above the Tea Garden, and in the adjacent Medina House.
The sub-committee decided to reject the Tea Garden’s application for a new premises license.
I would like to conclude your question and get the answer yes on average you’re saying on a good success of day 40 to 50 people if it is fully booked and there’s 90 people in all the rooms just say will there be more people allowed for for example the next session into the room where they could be I don’t know having snack or having a bath no because even whilst there’s 90 people if it’s fully max when the rooms are booked they’re staggered bookings so you get people arriving you know at different times in terms of the rooms to deal with that so you wouldn’t have the masses of people you know coming in so one group would leave they’ve had their refreshment they’ve left and then another group can come in Councillor Ahmed yeah just thank you just a follow-up on this is there any chance of accumulating or gathering of more people in due to going through a very busy time so do you have are you able to accommodate the customers within your premises or they need to hang around outside if the case of yes there’s a reception area which I spoke of in my submissions where if they are booked into a room you’re explained all the rules and then you’re taken into the room so it’s not a matter of waiting on the street prior to you know entry or anything like that people come at a designated time they’re given an email confirmation in terms of the rules and procedures to deal with that reminding that there is a residential above etc to be quiet and then they’re explained what the rules are once they’re in the reception area so it’s not a matter of explaining outside on the street or people queuing up to get in the street because it’s got to be managed as well in terms of the room space so we don’t keep you know various groups of people within the reception area if you’ve got a booking you’ve got a time you arrive at a time and you’re shown into the room etc so it’s a free quite a free flow process yeah and so we precise in the confirmation email that the people are not welcomed if they are more than 15 minutes early so they are supposed to arrive exactly at the time and 15 15 minutes early but not if they are not in that slot they are not welcomed in the venue because it’s too it’s too much difficult for us to for operations we’ve now reached the point of summing up if I may could I please ask a couple of questions to assist the counselors to clarify a clarify a couple of things with the applicants I say a couple of things there would have been three but miss tricker very ably covered one of them in answering one of the chairs questions first point of clarification is if you can assist this is addressed to miss trigger could you please assist the counselors you one of your on page six of the supplemental agenda you propose the condition of the license activities authorized by this license provided the premises shall be ancillary to the main function of the premises as a quiz room at the team facility no dispassion of course you’re drafting but I’m sure you’ll appreciate that it’s possible of course for that to be open to various interpretations if the members were to grant the application this off today would the applicant be content if that wedding were tightened up to instead of as a quiz room entertainment facility to you for example part ancillary to participation in quiz activities which just makes it a little bit clearer yeah okay sorry yeah okay second point of clarification is and forgive me um something may have been missed in your initial delivery I know that you did address page one four five of the agenda and you explained of course or you point it out quite rightly that your clients premises are not a restaurant so for example you can’t have ancillary to a table meal what what’s the particular issue behind having a condition about vertical drinking if there were to be a grant of the application thank you thank you very much um do you have another question cancer cancer I made you another question we all move to summing up I’d invite um give each side a minute to sum up it’s not a long I’d if the objectives would like a to elect a person or do they do a 30 seconds each I don’t mind how you do it but would you like to say a few words in conclusion and then I’ll give the applicant a minute offices do you want to go first thank you chair from our perspective we still insisting on the committee you know making decision on this license we still believe that it’s going to cause nuisance to the residents that’s our perspective thank you I because the premises fall within the CIJ so we need to mind it they’re like now they’re the restrictions noise nuisance and crime and disorder could cause but I would not support vertical drinking but if subcommittee decide vertical drinking we want to ensure that like no not drinking vertical drinking take place within the quiz no quiz room also reduce from 18 people to either 10 to 15 people even the fully booked including staffs also condition one to get to be included within the license and salaries means to be added that’s what thank you well thank you everyone for stating things so clearly unfortunately my position has not changed at all I still remain deeply concerned about the increased footfall in principle I’m not opposed to a commercial property being there I do appreciate the fact that the landscape needs diverse tenants however the issue is people coming and going outside of regular business hours and many of them under the influence of alcohol and we do appreciate that it’s not your primary business I’m not for a second suggesting it is but my concerns really have not been addressed just listening to the discussion I think you know the issue is that it’s a novel usage and we don’t really know how things are gonna be and that makes it very very difficult and it’s certainly very worrying but it comes back to my earlier point you know what can we do down the line if things get noisy come back to us okay yeah mr. Sagetra if you anything to say quickly I have been muted we can hear you okay no sorry I didn’t know you unmuted me I just wanted to say there’s going to be 90 people per hour or one and a half hour per slot it’s a lot of people it’s a lot of drinking it’s a lot of something that is not there and shouldn’t be there that’s not the right zone go and do it on a high street I just want to say that I appreciate all the exchange we have today and I think it’s very important anyway to have a good behavior and good understanding of what all the people think regarding what we say I understand that there is a concern about noise I can understand that I really think regarding my experience that you won’t have any problem with that and actually I think we have very experienced manager that is going Rachel that is going to to to work and make sure that that there is no problem regarding noise and any behavior yeah I think we we talked about most of the the potential issues today and so I hope that you’re gonna be okay with granting a license because this this project is very important for my company and I think it’s gonna be a nice concept for British people as well thank you very much thank you for contributions the subcommittee will now deliberate privately after that meeting ends miss Yasmin will send from democratic services will write to you with the decision within five working days it will tell you whether we have agreed to override the CI said all otherwise it will give reasons for it and it will also give people the right to appeal the decision should they so desire meeting is now formally closed thank you very much you [BLANK_AUDIO]
The Licensing Act 2003 defines ‘late night refreshment’ as the sale of hot food or drink between 11pm and 5am.
Operation Dymock is a Tower Hamlets enforcement operation tackling illegal late night refreshment sales.
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