The Licensing Sub-Committee (5) of Westminster Council met on Tuesday 12th November 2019 to consider a review of the premises licence for 100 Wardour Street, London, W1F 0TN, due to public nuisance. After hearing evidence from residents and the premises licence holder, the Sub-Committee decided to impose additional conditions on the licence to promote the licensing objectives and address noise nuisance.

Review of Premises Licence for 100 Wardour Street

The Sub-Committee considered an application for a review of the premises licence for 100 Wardour Street, London, W1F 0TN on the grounds of public nuisance. The application was brought by several local residents, supported by the Environmental Health Service, the Licensing Authority, and Westminster City Inspectors. Residents have experienced noise nuisance from the premises for many years, particularly from music played at the venue.

During the hearing, residents, represented by Mr. Richard Brown from the Westminster Citizen's Advice Bureau, detailed their ongoing issues with noise. Mr. David Steele, one of the applicants, highlighted concerns about the effectiveness and setting of the venue's noise limiters, stating, the limiter appeared to have drifted from where it was set on 2nd October. Other residents, including Mr. Alan Geeves, Mr. Mustafa Abdo, Mr. Andy MacKay, and Mr. Isaac Romanov, shared their experiences of noise disturbance impacting their quality of life.

The premises licence holder, represented by Mr. Stephen Walsh QC, along with acoustic experts, presented their case, outlining the extensive efforts made to address the noise issues. This included significant investment in acoustic consultants and sound systems, costing approximately £112,000. Mr. Richard Vivian, an acoustic consultant for the licence holder, explained the technical aspects of the sound limiting system, referring to a gold standard two-stage limiter system that had been implemented. He assured the Sub-Committee that this system was robust and difficult to tamper with.

The Environmental Health Service, represented by Mr. Anil Drayan, confirmed that while there had been historical issues, recent testing had shown improvements. Mr. Drayan noted that since the testing on 23rd October, there had been no further reports of nuisance to his department. He explained that the primary cause of the issues had been bass frequencies and the identification of a previously unknown subwoofer.

Decision:

The Sub-Committee decided to impose a number of additional conditions on the premises licence. These conditions aim to ensure that the noise limiter is properly maintained and monitored by the operator, and that any potential difficulties in fulfilling these obligations are reported to Environmental Health. The Sub-Committee was satisfied that the operator had taken proportionate and credible steps to address the noise nuisance.

The imposed conditions include:

• Condition 42: A noise limiter must be fitted to the musical amplification system, set at a level determined by and to the satisfaction of an authorised officer of the Environmental Health Service, to prevent noise nuisance to local residents and businesses. The operational panel of the noise limiter will be secured by key or password, with access restricted to authorised personnel. No alterations to the sound system or the use of additional sound generating equipment will be permitted without prior agreement with the Environmental Health Service and must be routed through the limiter.
• Condition 50: When a band plays, a member of management must sign off after assessing that the band has been informed of the maximum music noise level, all amplified music is played through the in-house sound system, and any acoustic equipment is limited to low sound volume instrumentation. A record of this sign-off must be kept for at least six months.
• Condition 43: No noise generated on the premises, or by its associated plant or equipment, shall emanate from the premises nor vibration be transmitted through the structure of the premises which gives rise to a nuisance.
• Condition 44: All windows and external doors shall be kept closed after 21:00 hours, or at any time when regulated entertainment takes place, except for immediate access and egress.
• Condition 45: Notices shall be prominently displayed at all exits requesting patrons to respect the needs of local residents and businesses and leave the area quietly.
• Condition 46: Patrons permitted to temporarily leave and re-enter the premises for smoking shall be limited to three persons at any one time, supervised by a door supervisor.
• Condition 47: A direct telephone number for the manager at the premises shall be publicly available at all times the premises are open and provided to local residents and businesses.
• Condition 48: Any queue forming outside the premises must be orderly and supervised by door staff to prevent public nuisance or obstruction of the highway.
• Condition 49: Patrons leaving and re-entering the premises shall not be permitted to take drinks or glass containers with them.

The Sub-Committee encouraged ongoing dialogue between the operator and residents to improve their relationship. They also stated that the Committee, the Council, Environmental Health, and the wider Licensing team would be closely monitoring adherence to the new conditions. The Sub-Committee expressed hope that these conditions would set a standard for immediate improvement and strengthen the monitoring regime.