Agenda and minutes

The Democratic Services Officer read out the procedure.

There were none.

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest,  (as defined in Part 2, A and B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officeror a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

There were none.

There was none.

The minutes of the 27 March 2015 and the 7 April 2015 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Chair explained the procedure to be followed for the next item of business.

Applicant: Burger and Lobster, represented by Thomas O’Maoileoin (Thomas & Thomas partners LLP) and Alex Neil (proposed Designated Premises Supervisor)

Other Persons: Simon Potter and Julian Parry.

The parties confirmed that they understood the procedure to be followed for the hearing.

The Public Protection Officer presented the report and outlined the application from Burger and Lobster for a new premises licence. Representations had been received from two local residents in respect of all four licensing objectives. Since the application sought authority to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises and was situated in the Cumulative Impact Area, a rebuttable presumption was raised that the application should be refused. The onus was therefore on the applicant to demonstrate that there would be no significant contribution to the cumulative impact from the application. Additional information, including proposed further conditions submitted by the applicant, had been received since the publication of the agenda, which had been circulated to Members and the parties.

Mr O’Maoileoin stated the case for the applicant.

He said that the premises were in the Octagon, which was situated by Milsom Parade, Milsom Street and Broad Street and was therefore in the Cumulative Impact Area.

He had had correspondence with the two Other Persons and as a result the applicant had proposed a number of additional conditions. He had hoped to meet the Other Persons, but unfortunately this had not happened because of a communication problem.

Burger and Lobster was a restaurant chain, which already had premises in London and Cardiff, and would shortly open in Manchester. There was also one in New York, off of Time Square. The product was of high quality, and Burger and Lobster had received good reviews in the national press. The company liked buildings which were slightly quirky, such as the Octagon. The premises were not ideal for a company that simply wanted to make a quick buck. Burger and Lobster was putting £2.4 million into the Octagon and was working with the Bath Preservation Trust, English Heritage and the Council’s building officers.

In response to a concern of the Other Persons, the applicant was now proposing to bring forward the terminal hour for licensable activities to 00:00 (midnight) seven days a week with a closing time of 00:30.

Another concern expressed by the Other Persons was the dispersal of customers. There were several exits from the premises, some of which led more directly to residential properties than others. The applicant had decided that the best exit route for customers at night would be to Green Street.

CCTV would be installed throughout the premises. The applicant did not feel that the provision of SIA security staff would be appropriate given the style of the premises; customers might expect them at a nightclub, but not at a restaurant. They were not provided at other Burger and Lobster premises. However, the two entrances to the premises would be supervised by members of staff. On arrival customers would be shown to a table.

There would be an area  ...  view the full minutes text for item 172.