Agenda item

Barr Invest Limited have made an application to vary the premises licence for Nikita Bar & Restaurant, 182-184 Alma Road.

The current premises licence permits the Supply of Alcohol for consumption on the premises 12:00 to 15:00 and 17:30 to 22:00 Tuesday to Saturday.

The applicant is seeking permission to extend the hours for the Sale of Alcohol 11:00 to 00:00 and Opening Hours 09:00 to 00:00 Monday to Sunday and to add Non-Standard timings on Bank Holiday Weekends, Christmas Eve and New Year’s eve to terminate activities at 01:00. Additionally, the applicant seeks to remove condition 2.1 requiring alcohol to be ancillary to food.

Present:

From BCP Council:

Ellie King – Licensing Officer

Linda Cole – Legal Advisor to the Sub-Committee

Christiane Tan – Clerk to the Sub-Committee

Michelle Cutler – Democratic Services Support

The Chair made introductions and explained the procedure for the hearing which was agreed by all parties.  

The Licensing Officer presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated and a copy of which appears as Appendix ‘A’ to these minutes in the Minute Book.

The sub-committee was asked to consider an application the premises known as Nikita Bar & Restaurant, 182-184 Alma Road, to permit the varying of the premise licence to extend the hours for the Sale of Alcohol 11:00 to 00:00 and Opening Hours 09:00 to 00:00 Monday to Sunday and to add Non-Standard timings on Bank Holiday Weekends, Christmas Eve and New Year’s eve to terminate activities at 01:00. Additionally, the applicant seeks to remove condition 2.1 requiring alcohol to be ancillary to food. In response to the application representation(s) had been received from three Other Persons on the grounds of the prevention of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance, public safety, and protection of children from harm licensing objectives.

The following persons attended the hearing and addressed the sub-committee to expand on the points made in written submissions:

Ellie King – Licensing Officer

Linda Cole – Legal Advisor to the sub-committee

Ricardo Barradas – Applicant

No objectors were present to make representations.

The sub-committee asked various questions of all parties present and were grateful for the responses received. All parties had the opportunity to ask questions. All parties were invited to sum up before the sub-committee retired to make its decision. Before concluding the hearing, the Legal Advisor advised all parties of the right of appeal.

RESOLVED that the application to vary the premises licence for Nikita Bar and Restaurant, 182-184 Alma Road, Bournemouth, BH9 1AJ be GRANTED subject to the amendments proposed and conditions offered by the applicant following consultation.

The following amendments were made:

·        Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 08:00 to 23:00 and Sunday 08:00 to 22:00.

·        Supply of Alcohol (On Sales only) Monday to Saturday 11:00 to 23:00 and Sunday 11:00 to 22.00.

·        Non-standard timings to 1am on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and 1 hour extension to 11 pm on Bank Holiday Sundays and one extra hour on New Year’s Day

The following conditions proposed by applicant shall be attached to the premises licence applied:

·        No live music, DJs or karaoke to be performed on the premises.

·        No external speakers or amplified music to be operated outside the premises.

·        Clear notices requesting customers to respect neighbouring residents and leave the area quietly shall be posted near the exit.

·        Doors and windows to remain closed after 21:00 except for access and egress.

·        The premises should continue to comply with Environmental Health requirements restricting deliveries and waste collections during late evening and early morning hours. This is outlined as no collection of waste or recycling materials (including bottles) shall take place between 21:00 and 07:00 the following day. No deliveries to the premises shall take place between 21:00 and 07:00 the following day.

·        Maintenance of CCTV and incident recording procedures in accordance with licence requirements.

The sub-committee considered all of the information which had been submitted before the hearing and contained in the report for Agenda Item 6 and the verbal submissions made at the hearing by the licensing officer and applicant.

The licensing officer presented the application to vary the licence, which sought to change the supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises. The applicant sought to extend these hours from 11.00 to midnight and to remove condition 2.1 which required alcohol to be served ancillary to food. The application attracted three representations from Other Persons. In response to the representations and acknowledgement that the current planning permission restricts the operating hours of the premise, the applicant amended his application for the supply of alcohol to 23:00 Monday to Saturday and 22:00 hours on Sunday and offered the conditions set out above. The three Other Persons did not withdraw their representations.

The applicant advised the sub-committee the reason for his application was so he could accomplish his aspiration in sharing food and the culture from Madeira in his local community. He reassured the committee that he took into consideration the objections made by the representations and understood them. He advised he lived a 3-minute walk from the restaurant and did not want to cause noise and nuisance for his neighbours. He advised he wanted to operate a responsible restaurant and uphold the licensing objectives. He said he is willing to listen to his neighbours, compromise, build a long-term relationship and gain the trust of his community.

The sub-committee were advised about the character of the restaurant, how it is intended to provide a relaxed dining experience where drinks and tapas can be consumed. He was going to open for breakfast, lunch and dinner to take account of customer choices and see when it will be best to trade. The sub-committee were advised that there was a plan to close one day a week, but that day is yet to be decided it will be dependent on trade.

The sub-committee was satisfied that if the premises operated in accordance with the conditions offered in the operating schedule of the application and the conditions and further amendments made by the applicant, that the premises should not undermine the licensing objectives and as such the application should be granted. 

In making this decision the sub-committee have had regard to the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council Licensing Policy, the revised guidance, as set out by the Secretary of State and the licensing objectives, as set out in the Licensing Act 2003.

It was noted however that a review of the premises licence may be sought at any time by a Responsible Authority or any other person should future issues arise that may undermine the licensing objectives.

All parties to the application have the right to appeal to the Magistrate’s Court within the period of twenty-one days beginning with the day on which the applicant is notified by the Licensing Authority of this decision in writing.