The Licensing Sub-Committee of Wandsworth Council scheduled a meeting to discuss licensing applications for Dilectio Coffee and the Co-Operative. Councillor Katrina Ffrench, Chair of the Licensing Committee, Councillor Guy Humphries, and Councillor Sarmila Varatharaj were appointed to the Licensing Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee was scheduled to consider applications made under the Licensing Act 2003.

Dilectio Coffee, 32 Bellevue Road, London, SW17 7EF

P&D Coffee Ltd, trading as Dilectio Coffee at 32 Bellevue Road, London, SW17 7EF, applied for a new premises licence.

The application requested permission for:

• The sale of alcohol for consumption on and off the premises from 10:00 to 23:59, Monday to Sunday.
• The provision of regulated entertainment (recorded music) from 07:00 to 23:59, Monday to Sunday.
• Late night refreshment from 23:00 to 23:29, Monday to Sunday.

The report pack noted that the Metropolitan Police had initially raised concerns that the operating schedule did not properly address the prevention of crime and disorder, specifically regarding the sale of single cans of beer, lager, cider and the volume of spirits. The applicant amended their operating schedule to include an additional condition, and the police withdrew their representation.

The Trading Standards Officer had also raised concerns about the proposed age verification procedures, particularly regarding staff training. The applicant agreed to include additional conditions in their operating schedule, leading to the withdrawal of the Trading Standards Officer's representation.

Four representations were received from other persons, raising concerns about:

• Noise from the coffee machine, kitchen activity, music and patrons within the premises.
• Noise from patrons smoking outside and leaving late at night.
• Odours from the premises.
• General crime and disorder from patrons who have consumed alcohol.

Appendix A of the report pack contained the conditions arising from the applicant's operating schedule, including:

• Operating as a coffee bar during the day and transitioning to a wine bar in the afternoon and evening.
• Installation and maintenance of a comprehensive CCTV system.
• Maintaining an incident log.
• Staff training on the Challenge 25 scheme¹, licensing hours and activities, refusal register maintenance, recognising signs of drunkenness, and emergency procedures.
• Restrictions on the sale of single cans of beer, lager, or cider above 6% ABV², and spirits in bottles of less than 20cl.
• Displaying prominent notices stating the operating hours.
• Providing a telephone number for local residents to contact in case of noise nuisance or anti-social behaviour.
• Restrictions on deliveries between 23:00 and 07:00.
• Measures to remove and prevent litter and waste.
• Restrictions on waste collection between 23:00 and 07:00.
• Implementation of a written age verification policy with a Challenge 25 requirement.
• Maintenance of an alcohol sales refusal register.

Appendix B contained suggested conditions arising from relevant representations, including:

• Closing the premises at 18:00 or 19:00.
• Implementing effective soundproofing and noise management measures.
• Adhering to a comprehensive Noise Management Plan, including a noise limiter and acoustic soundproofing.
• Adopting a designated management plan to ensure patrons disperse quietly and quickly.

Four letters of representation from other persons were included in the report pack.

One resident and homeowner of a property sharing a party wall with Dilectio Coffee, stated that their primary bedroom is situated in the basement of their property, which is directly level with and in close proximity to the bar's proposed operational area and WC. They raised concerns about noise nuisance and loss of amenity due to structural transmission of noise from the coffee machine, refrigeration units, music, and patrons, as well as public noise from patrons gathering outside. They also raised concerns about anti-social behaviour and public disturbance, and the impact on their health and well-being due to sleep deprivation. They believed that granting the licence would undermine the four key licensing objectives set out in the Licensing Act 2003³. They requested that the application be refused, or that strict conditions be applied, such as a closing time no later than 19:00, a comprehensive Noise Management Plan, a designated management plan for patrons leaving the venue, and the provision of a direct contact number for the designated premises supervisor.

Another resident stated that they were writing to formally object to the application for a late-night licence submitted by P&D Coffee Ltd, for Dilectio Coffee. They stated that they reside in very close proximity to the venue in question. They raised concerns about the potential negative impact on the local residential environment, including increased noise levels, disturbance from late night activity, and potential anti-social behaviour.

Another resident stated that they were concerned that granting a late-night license will lead to a significant and unacceptable deterioration in their quality of life, and the value of their property due to noise nuisance and loss of amenity, anti-social behaviour and public disturbance, and impact on health and well-being.

Another resident stated that they were writing as local residents and homeowners to object to the application by Dilectio Coffee for a late-night licence. They stated that their home is situated close to the premises, and they already experience the general sounds of activity from that part of the street during the day. They raised concerns that extending operations into the late evening would create a level of noise and disturbance entirely incompatible with the largely residential nature of this area. They also stated that as new parents with a young baby (5 months), their main concern is the effect that additional late-night activity would have on their family's ability to sleep and feel secure in their home.

Hadley Page was named as the director of P&D Coffee Ltd in the application form.

Co-Operative, 27-35 Battersea Bridge Road, London, SW11 3BA

Co-operative Group Food Ltd applied to vary the premises licence for Co-Operative at 27-35 Battersea Bridge Road, London, SW11 3BA.

The proposed variation included:

• Extending the hours for the sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises to 24 hours a day, Monday to Sunday.
• Amending condition 2 on Annex 2 of the existing licence from: The sale of alcohol between the hours of 23:00-02:00 shall be for pre-ordered delivery only to The sale of alcohol between the hours of 23:00-07:00 shall be for preordered delivery only .
• Changing condition 5 on Annex 2 of the existing licence from: All CCTV recordings shall be retained for a minimum of 28 days and shall be date and time stamped to All CCTV recordings shall be retained for a minimum of 31 days and shall be date and time stamped.

The Environmental Services Officer (Noise) raised concerns that the hours sought were outside the recommended hours in the council's licensing policy and regarding the possible increase in noise disturbance from third party delivery vehicles.

Appendix A of the report pack contained the conditions arising from the applicant's operating schedule, including:

• There shall be no customer access to the premises between the hours of 23:00-07:00.
• The sale of alcohol between the hours of 23:00-07:00 shall be for pre-ordered delivery only.
• The Premises Licence Holder shall install and maintain a CCTV system at the premises giving coverage of all customer entry points and areas to which customers have access in any lighting conditions.
• The CCTV system shall be in operation whilst the premises are open for licensable activities and shall be capable of providing frontal identification of customers.
• All CCTV recordings shall be retained for a minimum of 31 days and shall be date and time stamped.
• CCTV recordings should be made immediately available for inspection upon receipt of a request by the Police and Authorised Officer of the Licensing Authority.
• A member of staff shall always be present on the premises whilst they are open who is capable of operating the CCTV system and able to facilitate immediate viewing of CCTV footage upon the request of the Police and Authorised Officer of the Licensing Authority.
• An Incident Record, whether kept in written or electronic form, shall be maintained at the premises and made available on request to the Police or an Authorised Officer of the Licensing Authority. The Incident Record shall record any complaints received in connection with the licensable activity committed at the premises, any faults with the CCTV system, any refusal to sell alcohol at the premises, and any visit to the premises by a responsible authority in connection with the licensable activity permitted at the premises.
• Duty managers will have access to the ProtectUK app/protect UK when on duty at the site; both of which provide Counter Terrorism advice and guidance.
• A Proof of Age Scheme, such as Challenge 25, shall be operated premises whereby the only acceptable forms of identification are a valid passport, UK driving licence, any form of identification containing the PASS hologram, military identification or any other form of identification time to time approved by the Secretary of State.
• Challenge 25 Notices shall be prominently on display at the premises.
• A refusals record shall be maintained at the premises which records every refusal to sell alcohol. Such a record shall make reference the time and date of the refusal, and the member of staff making the refusal.
• Age prompt tills shall be used at the premises.
• All relevant staff shall be trained in relation to their responsibilities under the Licensing Act 2003.
• Training Records shall be correct and made available for inspection upon receipt of request from the Police or an Authorised Officer of the Licensing Authority.
• Staff that undertake the sale or supply of alcohol shall receive appropriate refresher training at intervals of no more than 6 months.
• Staff training records shall be maintained by the Premises Licence Holder and made available for inspection by the Police or an authorised Officer of the Local Authority upon request.
• An age verification policy shall be operated by the delivery partner at the point of delivery.
• The Premises Licence Holder shall instruct delivery partner personnel attending the premises not to cause a noise nuisance when making deliveries or whilst waiting to collect deliveries.
• All sales of alcohol arising from a telephone call or online orders for delivery must be paid for by debit or credit card.
• Delivery drivers shall conduct the delivery in a manner that will not cause a noise disturbance to the occupiers of any residential properties surrounding the delivery address.
• All deliveries of alcohol shall only be delivered to a premises address with a valid postcode and will only be delivered directly to that property and not to any public/open spaces.
• The Premises Licence Holder will instruct that all delivery drivers using combustion engine vehicles to park in Howie Street when attending the premises.
• The Premises Licence Holder shall risk assess day to day licensable activities at the premises and have sufficient staff on duty to promote the licensing objectives.
• The Premises Licence Holder shall risk assess the need to deploy SIA⁴ registered security staff during the hours when licensable activities are taking place. The Premises Licence Holder shall implement any measures identified by the risk assessment.
• When SIA registered security staff are deployed a record shall be maintained of their SIA number and the dates and times of their deployment.

Robert Newby-Walker, Senior Environmental Services Officer (Noise and Nuisance Team) within the Regulatory Services Partnership, made a representation against the application on the grounds of Public Nuisance. He stated that the current Licensing Policy for London Borough of Wandsworth was formed in order to promote the licensing objectives and as such any deviation from policy increases the chances of a noise nuisance being caused. He stated that the applicant currently holds a licence slightly beyond policy with alcohol sales permitted until 2am daily, but this variation seeks to extend alcohol sales between 02:00 and 07:00 so as to allow continuous 24hr sales, which would place it well beyond policy for all days of the week. He stated that it is not the contention of the Noise Team that the policy should be a blanket response to applications but that it should form a guidance as to what is expected along with additional consideration as to the individual circumstances of a premises. He stated that the variation requested here brings a greater degree of risk to residents. He stated that whilst it is acknowledged that the premises is located on a busy main road and that this would bring noise that would potentially mask the specific noise of the couriers visiting the premises, this is not expected to be true where background noise levels would be expected to fall significantly after 02:00. He stated that there are residential premises here directly opposite the premises with the nearest approximately 25m away. He stated that the operation then intended with this variation would bring noise to the area in the dead of night when residents might rightly expect an absence of such operations.

A supplementary document provided by the applicant included a noise impact assessment, which stated that Noise Solutions Ltd (NSL) had been appointed to provide a noise assessment to support a proposed extension of licencing hours to sell alcohol from the existing Co-operative site 24 hours a day. The assessment stated that Rob Newby-Walker had objected to the proposals on the grounds of Public Nuisance, centering around the noise impact of third-party delivery riders/drivers. NSL stated that they had attended site to complete an environmental noise survey and a reference noise survey of existing online collection activities taking place at the site. The measured levels were analysed to determine the noise impact of the proposed hours extension. The assessment stated that the store is located on the east side of Battersea Bridge Road, and the nearest noise sensitive receptors are four-storey flats along Paveley Drive, around 25m west of the store entrance.

The noise impact assessment stated that the lowest recorded LA90,15mins during the proposed extended hours (37dBA) is only 3dBA lower than the lowest recorded LA90,15mins during the currently approved hours (40dBA). It stated that a 3dBA change in noise level is generally regarded as the smallest change that is just perceptible to the average human ear under normal listening conditions, and that the EHO's objection states that 'background noise levels would be expected to fall significantly after 02:00', but the results of the environmental survey suggest that this is not the case. The assessment stated that noise levels associated with vehicle arrivals for online orders were measured and observed to be low in comparison to noise from otherwise passing traffic, and that vehicle departures for online orders are entirely in keeping with the noise climate of the area. The assessment concluded that there is no evidence that noise from online collections during the proposed extended hours will result in a noise nuisance, and that noise should not be grounds for refusal of an extension to licencing hours.

Cheryl Scott was named as the Licensing Assistant of Ward Hadaway, solicitors for the applicant, in the application form.