Agenda item
Application by Abraham Ryan, Cyrus Abbasian & Malcolm McCaig for a review of premises licence for The Woody Grill (44 High Road Willesden NW10 2QA) pursuant to the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003
Decision:
That the premises licence for the Woody Grill 44 High Road Willesden be amended to include the following conditions to the licence in order to uphold the licensing objective (Public Nuisance).
1) Storage of waste oils should be kept within the curtilage of the building at all times
2) To ensure that refuse bins are able to store all daily refuse and be securely locked at all times
Following the application for a review of the premises licence by Abraham Ryan, Cyrus Abbasian and Malcolm McCaig the Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee (B) felt that with the two imposition of the two conditions aforesaid, the immediate concerns the applicant had raised regarding waste should now deal with the problem effectively giving rise to the promotion of the licensing objectives in respect of prevention of public safety and prevention of public nuisance.
Minutes:
The Senior Regulatory Services Manager informed the sub committee that an application by Abraham Ryan, Cyrus Abbasian and Malcolm McCaig for a review of premises licence for The Woody Grill (44 High Road Willesden NW10 2QA) had been received on the grounds of public nuisance, promotion of public safety and crime and disorder. She highlighted that the premises did not sell alcohol.
Abraham Ryan was invited to speak and raised the following points:
· The premises’ flue admitted smoke and fumes 24 hours a day which created noise and smells making his balcony unusable
· He suffered emphysema which was exasperated by the flue.
· Changes to the flue including a 1m extension had reduced the smoke but fumes were still omitted
· A second inspection from the Council was anticipated in regard to whether the changes were acceptable.
· There had been issues of refuse being left on Metropolitan Court and communications from the buildings management company were ignored for several months.
· The bin had now been relocated but there was concern that it could reoccur
· The Woody Grilled stored fat in the back yard of its premises which omitted smells and there was concern that it may attract rodents
· Customers frequently parked on the entrance to Metropolitan Court
· The premises was not displaying notices asking customers to leave quietly
· People loitered around the premises and residents had witnessed antisocial behaviour as well as incidents of drug deals
· He had made attempts to resolve issues with the premises which had been unsuccessful and generally felt the location of the premises was unsuitable
The Legal Advisor informed members that parking issues were not a licensable activity and should be disregarded.
During questions of the applicant the following points were clarified:
· The flue was checked by the noise team prior to Christmas although he hoped they would come around again as he believed it was not doing the job it should do
· The rubbish situation had improved although employees occasionally left personal waste and the management company had been notified
· Woody Grill had separate access to their back yard and did not need to gain access via Metropolitan Court
· Fat stored in the back yard was leaking through into the soil of Metropolitan Court gardens
· There were 37 apartments at Metropolitan Court and six above the Woody Grill
The licence holder for Woody Grill was invited to speak and made the following points:
· They had made large improvements to the premises and had tried to be peaceful with their neighbours
· Improvements to waste removal had been made with it now being removed daily following contracting a new company
· There had not been any complaints from the properties above and it was believed this was the first complaint with one of the applicants withdrawing their complaints
· The extractor flue had been checked and approved by the Council
· They had addressed the issues raised and were happy to work with the management company should issues occur in future
During questions of the licence holder the following points were clarified:
· The flue had charcoal filters that was maintained every three months and following the initial complaints they were checked for blockages and found to be working fine
· The premises had CCTV on site that recorded and stored for 31 days
· The licence and all hygiene certificates were displayed on the premises
· There had been no intention to cause disturbances and wished to apologise if that had occurred and wanted to run their business as peacefully as possible
· Fat was collected every three days but were happy to review this arrangement if it was found to be unacceptable
· Cartons of fat had the same packaging and were often stacked in the same way giving the appearance that they had not been removed
· There had been a recent change in management although it was recognised that communication with residents and the previous manager was not adequate
· Attempts to resolve issues had cost the business financially through ending the waste contract early to find a suitable alternative company
· Staff left the building at separate times and as such it was unclear how they could make large amounts of noise
· Evidence of the charcoal filters had been provided to the Council
· The premises usually closed at 5am
· Notices asking customers to leave quietly were displayed inside on the wall but they were happy to place them in more prominent positions such as on the windows
Abraham Ryan concluded that the Woody Grill had a negative impact on residents in terms of opening times, noise, fumes, antisocial behaviour, crime and disruption to access of parking and property. He noted that issues such as waste removal had improved although felt their could be serious health concerns from the fat and fumes.
The licence holder summarised that they were respectful to their neighbours and had tried to address all the complaints made to ensure a stronger relationship.
RESOLVED:
That premises licence for the Woody Grill 44 High Road Willesden be amended as follow
1) Storage of waste oils should be within the curtilage of the building
2) To ensure refuse bins are able to store all daily refuse and be securely closed at all times
Following the application for a review of he premises licence by Abraham Ryan, Cyrus Abbasian & Malcolm McCaig
Supporting documents:
- woody-grill-report, item 5. PDF 39 KB
- woody-grill-application, item 5. PDF 2 MB
- woody-grill-additional-police-objection, item 5. PDF 106 KB
- woody-grill-licence, item 5. PDF 20 KB
- woody-grill-red-rock-objection, item 5. PDF 2 MB
- woody-grill-photos, item 5. PDF 2 MB