The Licensing Panel B of Camden Council met to determine an application for a new premises licence for Bidborough Works, Ground; 2nd and 3rd floors of the former Camden Town Hall, Judd Street. It was resolved that the application be granted with amended and additional conditions. In a separate matter, the Panel agreed to suspend the licence for Blue Garden, Basement and Ground Floor, 74 Chancery Lane pending a full review hearing.

Bidborough Works Premises Licence

This application received 208 representations: 160 objecting to the application and 48 in support. The objecting representations came from local residents, residents' associations and community groups, businesses and ward councillors.

The applicant was represented at the meeting by Philip Kolvin KC, with Emillie Edberg, Ewen Macgregor, and Ned Crowe also in attendance. Mr Kolvin spoke in support of the application and addressed a number of points raised in the representations, including the intended use of the premises and the potential impact on the licensing objectives.

The interested parties, represented by Jon McLeod, Simon Burton, Rebecca Spark, and Councillor Jonathan Simpson, expressed concerns over the impact of the proposed licensing activities on the residential amenity of the area, particularly with regard to noise, light pollution, traffic congestion, and public safety.

The Panel carefully considered the representations and the information provided by the applicant. It noted that the premises was not located in a Cumulative Impact Policy Area and was within the council's framework hours except for the provision of late night refreshments. Some Panel Members were minded to grant the application subject to conditions to address the concerns raised in the representations, while others expressed concerns about the potential for disturbance to local residents. Ultimately, the Panel agreed that there was no valid reason to refuse the application, subject to the imposition of appropriate mitigations by way of conditions.

The Panel discussed the use of the Bidborough Street entrance and agreed that it should not be used after 21:00hrs. It also agreed that the condition regarding the noise management plan should be amended to include noise attenuating barriers, music levels, and noise leakage through doors used to access the terraces. Additional conditions were added to the licence to address concerns regarding taxi and private hire vehicle drop-off and collection, waste collection, light pollution, and deliveries to the premises.

Blue Garden Summary Review

The Panel considered an application for a summary review of the licence for Blue Garden. The application was made by the Metropolitan Police, who reported that the premises was associated with serious crime and disorder.

Following submissions from the Metropolitan Police and from the Licence Holder, the Panel resolved to suspend the licence for Blue Garden pending a full review hearing. Members agreed that it was in the public interest and would uphold the licensing objective of prevention of crime and disorder to suspend the licence.