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Notification of decision following a Licensing Panel hearing to
determine an application for the grant of a premises licence under
section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003
 
PREMISES:    Bluetable Café & Restaurant,
104-108 Chiswick High Road, Hounslow W4 1PU
 
APPLICANT:  Healthspan + Ltd
(Company number 14525114)
  
TAKE NOTICE THAT
on Monday 10th February 2025following a
hearing before the Licensing and General Purposes Sub Committee
(the “Licensing Panel” or
“Panel”),
 
HOUNSLOW COUNCIL,
as the Licensing Authority for the Premises
RESOLVED as follows:
 

1.         
The Panel convened to determine an application by
Healthspan + Ltd (Company number 14525114) (the
“Applicant”) for a new premises
licence for Bluetable Café & Restaurant, 104-108
Chiswick High Road, Hounslow W4 1PU (the “Premises”) under the Licensing
Act 2003. 
 

2.         
The Premises were not currently licensed and were
located on the ground and basement floors of a building with
residential flats above it, and in an area of mixed commercial and
residential properties. 
 

3.         
The application, a copy of which was shown as Appendix A, sought the following
hours: 
 

Supply of alcohol for consumption on and off the premises:
Monday to
Saturday:  11:00 to 23:00
Sunday: 12:00 to
22:30
 

Hours premises are open to the public:
Monday to
Sunday:  07:00 to 23:00
 

4.         
The proposed licenced area was on the ground floor
only and was shown edged red in the licence plan.  The ground floor also included a studio area that
was not included within the licenced area. The application also
included proposed conditions.
 

5.         
The hearing was held in-person before a 2-Member
Licensing Panel.  All Members of the
Licensing Panel were in attendance throughout the hearing, and
during deliberation which took place in a closed
session. 
 

6.         
The Licensing Panel carefully considered all the
relevant information including:
 

·      
Written and Oral representations by all the
parties

·      
The Licensing Act 2003 and the steps
appropriate to promotethe
Licensing Objectives

·      
The guidance issued under section 182 of the
Licensing Act 2003 (the “Statutory
Guidance”)

·      
Hounslow Council’s Statement of Licensing
Policy 2020-2025 (the “Council’s
Policy”)

·      
The Human Rights Act 1998
 

7.         
During the consultation period one representation
was received from a local resident, who raised issues of public
nuisance, public safety and cumulative impact.  A copy of the representation is at Appendix
B.  The Police and Licensing Enforcement
Officer did not make formal representations, but agreed times and
conditions with the Applicant, and these are shown at Appendix C
and D, respectively.  Those conditions
re-word some of the Applicant’s proposed conditions with
wording in line with the Licensing Authority’s model
condition wording.
 

8.         
At the hearing the Applicant was represented by
their Solicitor, Mr Baylis, and the company’s Director, Mr
Freeman. The Objector was also in attendance.
 

9.         
In brief, the Applicant proposed to open a
“blue zone” restaurant café and restaurant,
which sought to emulate healthy lifestyles found in areas of the
world where people appeared to have longer and healthier
lives.  Whilst alcohol is inconsistent
with this lifestyle, the Applicant appreciates that some customers
may want an occasional drink which is why they were seeking this
licence.  Therefore, the Applicant
proposed to provide a limited range of alcohol and to limit this to
no more than 175ml per person, which could be monitored by the
staff and through the bar/ kitchen order system. 
 

10.      
The Applicant proposed to have multi-purpose studios
for various classes, as well as treatment areas in the basement
area of the building, which are not within the proposed licenced
area shown edged red in the licence plan.  They are aware that noise is unavoidably being
created as part of the works to covert the existing furniture store
to their business, but that they would be installing noise and
vibration absorbing materials, which appeared to have been required
not just as part of their planning change of use, but also under
the terms of their lease.
 

11.      
The restaurant and café areas would be open
to the public and customers would be served at their tables, and
they only proposed to play background music.  Mr Freeman mentioned in passing that customers can
come in to get a takeaway coffee, and if that is the case then then
if the Panel decided to grant the licence, this may require
amendment to condition 7 of the conditions agreed with the
Licensing Enforcement team, which required all patrons to be seated
and served at a table by waiting staff.
 

12.      
The Applicant still appeared to be at an early stage
of the works, with a proposed opening date in and around July 2025,
so issues such as CCTV placement and waste collections services had
yet to be arranged.   In response
to questioning, the Applicant stated that they would be happy to
have a condition prohibiting the collection of waste after 23:00
and prohibiting deliveries before 07:00.
 

13.      
They did not have a dispersal policy as they do not
envisage that this will be an issue. They would also not have a
smoking area as this is again against the ethos of the
business.
 

14.      
With respect to off-sales of alcohol, this would be
limited to the service of alcohol to customers using any pavement
seating area for the Premises that the Applicant might apply for in
the future, and a condition to this effect is in the
application.  Mr Baylis confirmed they
had not yet made an application for a pavement licence.
 

15.      
The Objector lives above the Premises and so is at
most at risk of any issues at the Premises and the impact this may
have on the enjoyment of her home. She explained her property has
windows opening to the front and rear of the Premises and is
concerned that she would not be able to open her windows and enjoy
her property without further controls on the use of the Premises
and noise emanating from it. She was of the opinion that the
application should be refused, but that if it was granted then
additional mitigation measures were required.  She believed restrictions needed to be added with
regard to noise control, litter collection and traffic
management.  With respect to deliveries
to the Premises and waste collection from the Premises, she stated
this should be limited to between 9am to 7pm to avoid undue
disturbance.
 

16.      
She also mentioned other issues about alcohol being
a risk to public safety, and the number of other licensed premises
in the area and cumulative impact of the same, but issues of
competition are not within the remit of the Panel and the Premises
are not located in a cumulative impact area.  With regard to public safety, this is more to do
with the safety of the public when using the Premises, as opposed
to general issues about the health effects of alcohol.
 

17.      
Questions were also asked regarding the air
conditioning and kitchen ventilation from the Premises, which Mr
Freeman confirmed would be installed, with suppression equipment to
reduce the noise and smells from the same. 
 

18.      
In so far as the Objector raised concerns about
traffic management, this is again something not usually within the
scope of consideration of the Panel. 
During questioning the Objector also confirmed that none of her
other neighbours had made any objection to the
application.
 

19.      
During the summing up, Mr Freeman commented that he
did not have any problem reducing the hours for the supply of
alcohol to 10.00pm, which would also allow customers time to finish
their drinks before closing.
 

20.      
The Statutory Guidance states that:
 

“2.15 The 2003 Act enables
licensing authorities and responsible authorities, through
representations, to consider what constitutes public nuisance and
what is appropriate to prevent it in terms of conditions attached
to specific premises licences and club premises certificates. It is
therefore important that in considering the promotion of this
licensing objective, licensing authorities and responsible
authorities focus on the effect of the licensable activities at the
specific premises on persons living and working (including those
carrying on business) in the area around the premises which may be
disproportionate and unreasonable. The issues will mainly concern
noise nuisance, light pollution, noxious smells and
litter.
 

21.      
The Panel notes the written and oral submissions
made by the parties and was thankful for their contributions at the
hearing. The Panel understood that the Premises were intended to be
used as part of a healthy living establishment, and to that end the
Applicant proposed to serve a limited amount of alcohol to
customers. At the same time, the Panel had to take account of
potential issues that may arise, particularly with regard to public
nuisance and crime and disorder.
 

22.      
Having taken all matters into account the Panel
considered that the conditions agreed between the Applicant and
Licensing Enforcement and the Police go a long way towards
mitigating any adverse impact the Premises may have on the
licensing objectives.
 

23.      
With the Applicant proposing to allow takeaway
coffees, the proposed condition 7 agreed with the Licensing
Enforcement team would need to be amended to make it clear the need
for patrons to be seated only applies to customers who order
alcohol.
 

24.      
The Panel was pleased to hear the Applicant offered
a condition restricting the times of deliveries and collection of
waste and considered it reasonable in relation to the prevention of
public nuisance objective, for this to be restricted between the
hours of 9.00am to 7,00pm.
 

25.      
The Panel also acknowledged the Applicant’s
offer to reduce the licensing times for the supply of alcohol from
11.00pm to 10.00pm, and the Panel thought this would be reasonable,
again for the prevention of public nuisance, to restrict alcohol
sales to this time from Monday to Saturday.  In relation to Sundays, the Panel considered a
similar 1-hour reduction in termination time to 9.30pm would be
reasonable.
 

26.      
With regard to the Objector’s concerns about
increased litter due to alcohol consumption, the Panel notes the
Applicant’s comments about off-sales being limited to any
pavement seating they may apply for in the future.  Accordingly, a condition limiting off-sales to any
pavement seating, as contained in the application, should be
included in any licence but the Panel did not consider it
appropriate to include conditions on litter picking.  Similarly, given the fact that any recorded music
is to be played as background music and given the sound and
vibration insulation that the Applicant had installed, or would be
installing, the Panel did not agree that further noise mitigation
measures, such as a noise limiter as suggested by the Objector,
were appropriate.
 

27.      
In relation to the conditions agreed with the
Police, these are the same as those agreed with the Licensing
Enforcement Team save for condition 3 that proposed a condition on
what to do in the event of a serious assault on the Premises. Given
the proposed use of the Premises and limited supply of alcohol the
Panel did not consider there was a high risk of serious assault and
therefore did not propose to include this condition.
 

28.      
With the Premises seeking to stay open until 10.30pm
on Sunday and 11.00pm the rest of the week, the Panel considered it
prudent for the Premises to have a sign reminding customers to be
mindful of residents when leaving the Premises, as proposed in the
application.  For the purposes of
clarity and consistency, the Panel the Licensing Authority’s
model conditions regarding such a Notice would be preferable to
use.
 

29.      
Taking all matters into consideration, the Licensing
Panel has therefore decided to GRANT the application for a
premises licence, amended as follows:
 

Supply of alcohol for consumption on and off the premises:
Monday to
Saturday:  11:00 to 22:00
Sunday: 12:00 to
21:30
 

Hours premises are open to the public:
Monday to
Sunday:  07:00 to 23:00
 

Additional conditions:

 

1.         
The premises shall install and maintain a comprehensive CCTV system
as per the minimum requirements of the Hounslow Police Licensing
Team. All entry and exit points will be covered enabling frontal
identification of every person entering in any light condition. The
CCTV system shall continually record whilst the premises is open
for licensable activities and during all times when customers
remain on the premises. All recordings shall be stored for a
minimum period of 31 days with date and time stamping. Viewing of
recordings shall be made available upon the request of Police or
authorised council officer as soon as possible and during opening
hours.

 

2.         
A staff member from the premises who is conversant with the
operation of the CCTV system shall be on the premises at all times
when the premises are open. This staff member must be able to
provide a Police or authorised council officer copies of recent
CCTV images or data with the absolute minimum of delay when
requested.

 

3.         
All staff responsible for selling alcohol shall receive regular
training in the Licensing Act 2003.Written records of this training
shall be retained and made available to Police and Council officers
with the absolute minimum of delay when requested.

 

4.         
An incident log shall be kept at the premises and made available on
request to an authorised officer of the Hounslow Council or the
Police. It must be completed within 24 hours of the incident and
will record the following:

a.    
all crimes reported to the venue

b.    
all ejections of patrons

c.    
any complaints received concerning crime and disorder

d.    
any incidents of disorder

e.    
all seizures of drugs or offensive weapons

f.     
any faults in the CCTV system

g.    
any visit by a relevant authority or emergency service.

 

5.         
A challenge 25 proof of age scheme shall operate at the premises.
Signage shall be displayed advising customers that the scheme is in
place. All staff authorised to sell alcohol will be trained in the
Challenge 25 scheme and this training will be documented to include
the date the training was given, the name of the person who gave
the training, the person who received the training and signatures
by both trainer and trainee.’

 

6.         
All Supply of Alcohol for consumption on the premises shall be
ancillary to a table meal.

 

7.         
All Patrons ordering alcohol shall be seated and served at table by
waiting staff.
 

8.         
The supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises shall be
limited to supply to patrons taking a tablemeal at any external
table on the highway outside the premises subject to the grant of a
pavement licence by the licensing authority.

9.         
Any deliveries to the premises and waste collections from the
premises shall be between 09:00 to 19:00 Monday to Sunday.

 
10.      
Notices shall be prominently displayed at all exits requesting
patrons to respect the needs of local residents and businesses and
leave the area quietly.
 
 
Right to Appeal
 

30.      
Any party aggrieved with the
decision of the Licensing Panel on one or more grounds set
out in
schedule 5 of Licensing Act 2003 may appeal to the local
Magistrate’s Court within 21 days of notification of this
decision.