Issue - meetings

Application for a new premises license at The Opera House, 2 Chesnut Road, Tottenham, London, N17 9EN.

At the start of the hearing, the Committee members confirmed that they had no prior contact with any of the parties in respect of the application. The applicant’s representative, Mr Rankin, advised the Committee that he had late evidence to submit in relation to residents neighbouring the premises, who had reported that they had not experienced any problems of public nuisance from the Opera House. The Committee accepted the submission of this evidence.

Ms Barrett presented the report on the application for a new premises licence, and advised that the hours applied for were the same as on the previous, lapsed licence. The Fire Officer had commented on the capacity of the venue, and this was reflected in the report. Representations had also been received from the Noise Team and from Cllr Reg Rice, a local Ward Councillor, on the grounds that the premises would cause public nuisance and that excessive noise would disturb local residents at night.

In response to a question from the Committee, Ms Barrett clarified that the applicant had accepted the capacity outlined by the Fire Officer, and that the overall capacity at the venue would be 550.

The Noise Team officer, Mr Buckle, addressed the Committee in respect of the application, and advised that he had recommended a number of conditions in relation to noise. In response to questions from the Committee, Mr Buckle advised that there was parking near to the venue, but that he was not aware whether any complaints had been received from local residents regarding parking in the vicinity. The Committee asked whether the Noise Team had measured the noise emanating from the venue from outside, in response to which Mr Buckle advised that they had not.

The applicant’s representative, Mr Rankin, advised the Committee that the site had been a licensed premises for around 30 years, and that if there had been issues in relation to noise during this time, these would have been reported. Mr Rankin advised that residents closest to the premises had been contacted and had indicated that they had no complaints with regards to noise. The Committee was advised that the previous licence had expired when the former owners of the site had ceased trading, and the new owners were now seeking a new licence to replace the previous one. The hours applied for and the conditions had been lifted straight from the previous licence, which had been operated for 15 years with no issues. A number of new conditions had also been added to this new application to address any potential concerns, and it was reported that a sound engineer would be on the premises whenever they were open, to monitor the sound levels and ensure that these were within the accepted limits.

Mr Rankin advised the Committee that, were the hours to be pegged back, this would result in a large number of customers leaving the premises at the same time, causing a disturbance to local residents. The extended opening hours permitted customers to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23