Redbridge Council is considering a new premises licence application for Popeyes, a Louisiana chicken restaurant on Ilford High Road, that would allow it to provide late-night refreshment. The decision has been met with objections from local authorities, who cite concerns about crime, public nuisance and the health of local residents.
The application by PLK Chicken UK Limited requests permission to provide late night refreshment from 11pm to 3am, Monday to Sunday. The restaurant plans to close to the public at 1am, operating a delivery-only service between 1am and 3am.
However, the application has met with resistance from several responsible authorities. The Metropolitan Police Licensing Team, the Council's Licensing Enforcement Team, and public health officials have all lodged objections, raising concerns about the potential impact on crime and disorder, public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm.
The Metropolitan Police Licensing Team argued that granting the licence could undermine the prevention of crime and disorder, and the prevention of public nuisance. To support their claim, they cited the council's statement of licensing policy regarding premises supplying takeaway food and drink, which notes that such premises can attract large groups of customers who have consumed alcohol, potentially leading to noise and disturbance. They also highlighted that the premises is located within the Ilford Town Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ), where there is already a high concentration of late-night establishments. The police expressed concern that granting the license would increase footfall late at night and in the early hours, attracting patrons already under the influence of alcohol, leading to increased noise, anti-social behavior, and crime in the area. The police stated that the application had not expressed any exceptional circumstances for it to be granted, and asked that the application be refused in full.
PLK Chicken UK Limited has proposed a schedule of conditions to promote the licensing objectives, including closing to the public at 1am and operating a delivery-only service between 1am and 3am to negate any cumulative impact. The proposed conditions also include:
- Installing and maintaining a CCTV system.
- Maintaining an incident/accident book.
- Prohibiting entry to persons carrying open alcohol vessels.
- Ensuring a 'glass free' environment in public areas.
- Displaying notices requesting quiet and orderly departure.
- Delivering only to residential or business addresses, not public spaces.
- Displaying notices requesting delivery drivers not to loiter.
- Managing delivery drivers to prevent nuisance.
- Ensuring the front of the premises is kept clean.
- Ensuring patrons do not congregate outside.
- Employing WAVE Training, Ask Angela, and Child Safeguarding Policies.
The Council's Licensing Enforcement Team also objected, stating that granting a premises licence based on the application received would undermine the prevention of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance, and protection of children from harm.
Public Health officials raised concerns about public nuisance and safety, and the protection of children from harm. They noted that the premises is located within a CIZ with a high number of licensed premises, and that levels of obesity and diabetes in the area are higher than average. They stated that regular consumption of fast food is directly linked to increasing obesity levels, and that studies suggest that consuming calories later in the day is associated with increased risk of developing obesity and metabolic syndrome.
The council's statement of licensing policy outlines framework hours for licensed restaurants and cafes in the Ilford Town area as:
- Monday to Thursday: 10:00 to 23:00
- Friday and Saturday: 10:00 to 00:00
- Sunday: 11:00 to 23:00
The report noted that the application sought hours significantly beyond these recommended framework hours, and that the activities and timings proposed suggested the venue may be operating closer to what would be expected from a premises supplying takeaway food and drink.
The licensing sub-committee is scheduled to convene to consider the application. In determining whether 'exceptional circumstances' exist that would justify granting the license despite the objections and the Cumulative Impact Zone policy, the licensing sub-committee may consider factors such as:
- Small premises with a capacity of fifty persons or less who only wish to operate during Framework Hours.
- Premises operating as bona fide restaurants under strict 'restaurant conditions' making alcohol sales ancillary to food who only wish to operate within Framework Hours. Examples of restaurant only conditions can be found in the 'Premises Policies' section of this policy under 'Restaurants, Cafes and Coffee Houses' in Appendix 4.
- Instances where the applicant has recently surrendered a licence for another premises of a similar size and providing similar licensable activities in the same CIZs.
- Exceptions mentioned in the Area Policies above.
- The premises will be well managed and run.
- The premises will be constructed to a high standard.
- The applicant operates similar premises elsewhere without complaint.
To address concerns about crime, disorder, and public nuisance in a Cumulative Impact Zone, conditions may be added to licenses to address the prevention of public nuisance objective. These include restrictions on hours of regulated activities, measures to prevent noise and vibration, noxious smells and light pollution. The provision of door supervisors is also suggested as a condition that addresses public nuisance concerns and dispersal noise.
Conditions may be added under the prevention of crime and disorder objective, conditions should be targeted on deterrence and preventing crime and disorder including the prevention of illegal working in licensed premises. Licence conditions that are considered appropriate for the prevention of illegal working in licensed premises might include requiring a premises licence holder to undertake right to work checks on all staff employed at the licensed premises or requiring that evidence of a right to work check, either physical or digital (e.g. a copy of any document checked as part of a right to work check or a clear copy of the online right to work check) are retained at the licensed premises.
Where there is good reason to suppose that disorder may take place, the presence of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras both inside and immediately outside the premises can actively deter disorder, nuisance, anti-social behaviour and crime generally.
The licensing sub-committee has several options:
- Grant the application
- Grant the application, including the addition of terms and conditions
- Grant the application in part only, including the addition of terms and conditions
- Reject the application
Official notice of the decision will be sent to all parties within 5 working days.