Wanstead Golf Club's bid for an alcohol licence has met with concerns from local residents, who fear potential disturbances in the quiet residential area, including late-night noise, potential anti-social behaviour, increased traffic, indiscriminate parking, litter, and disturbances affecting sleep, especially for young families. Some residents also voiced concerns about potential vandalism and public urination.
The Redbridge Licensing Sub-Committee is reviewing an application for a new premises licence for the Wanstead Golf Club on Overton Drive. The application, submitted by My Planning Consultancy Limited on behalf of James Nicholas John De Savary, seeks to authorise the sale of alcohol for consumption on and off the premises, from 08:00 to 01:00, Monday to Sunday, with the premises open to the public from 06:00 to 02:00. The Wanstead Golf Club currently holds a club premises certificate, which allows licensable activities for club members and their guests.
Several residents have voiced concerns that granting the licence could undermine licensing objectives, specifically the prevention of crime and disorder, public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm. Fourteen representations from local residents have been submitted to the sub-committee, outlining these concerns.
Councillor Emma Shepherd-Mallinson, stated she is aware that a number of local residents have raised concerns about the length of hours for the sale of alcohol and use of premises applied for in this application.
Sarah Murphy, a local resident, said: The applicant seeks a very significant extension of their current operating hours, from an 11pm closure to 2am. The applicant contends that they have no intention of regularly using these hours, but it is unclear why they cannot therefore continue to utilise temporary event notices for any one-off events. Furthermore Redbridge's Statement of Licensing Policy (SOLP) makes clear (page 29, para 12) that 'applicants should limit their applications to the hours they genuinely intend to operate and not submit 'speculative' applications.
The Metropolitan Police Licensing Team and Licensing Enforcement have reportedly reached an agreement with the applicant on reduced hours and additional conditions. The agreed amended hours are:
- Sunday to Thursday: 08:00 until 23:30
- Friday & Saturday: 08:00 until 00:30
- Premises open to the public: Sunday to Thursday: 06:00 until 00:00 (midnight)
- Friday & Saturday: 06:00 until 01:00
In addition to the reduced hours, several other conditions have been agreed upon with the Metropolitan Police Licensing Team and Licensing Enforcement, including requirements for CCTV, incident and refusal books, Challenge 25, and staff training. Specifically:
- Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) systems that capture head and shoulders images of persons entering the premises and all points of sale shall be installed, operate and record video images at all times that the premises are open to the public.
- All CCTV recordings made shall be retained for not less than 31 days and be made available to Police or an authorised officer of any responsible authority within one hour upon request. In accordance with current data protection legislation.
- A member of staff capable of operating the CCTV system and downloading images shall be at the premises at all times that the premises are open to the public.
- The CCTV system shall display on any recording, the correct date and time of the recording.
- An incident book shall be kept and maintained at the premises, which shall be made available to a police officer or an authorised officer upon request.
- The incident book shall be used to record the date and time of any incident, the name of the staff member and a brief description of the customer concerned.
- All incidences of the following shall be recorded in the incident book within 24 hours and retained for a minimum of 12 months:
- Incidents of violence by any person against another
- any other criminal incidents
- any ejections
- any visits by a relevant authority or emergency service
- A refusals book should be kept and maintained at the premises, which shall be made available to a police officer or an authorised officer upon request.
- All refusals of the following shall be recorded in the refusal book within 24hrs and retained for a minimum of 12 months;
- include refusal of sale of alcohol to any person who is under 18 years of age, or who appears to be under 25 years of age and fails to produce a proof of age identity
- any person who attempts to by alcohol on behalf of someone under the age of 18
- refusal of sale of alcohol to any person who is, or appears to be drunk.
- The refusals book shall be examined on a regular basis by the DPS or nominated person/s, date and time of each examination to be endorsed into the book. Analysis of staff refusals and data such as the time/day of refusals to be carried out by the DPS/nominated persons on a regular basis in order to predict trends and identify staff training.
- Prizes machines shall be positioned in sight of the bar servery.
- A prominent notice shall be displayed at the exit from the premises requesting that patrons leave quietly and respect the local area and residents.
- Windows shall be kept closed at all times that regulated entertainment is provided.
- Customers shall be supervised when leaving the premises and shall be asked to leave quietly.
- Ensure no glasses/bottles leave the grounds of the venue.
- A
Challenge 25
scheme that ensures any person attempting to purchase alcohol who appears to be under the age of 25 shall provide documented proof that he or she is over 18 years of age shall operate at the premises. - Proof of age shall only comprise a passport, a photo card driving licence, an industry approved proof of age identity card or a Ministry of Defence identity card.
- All reasonable steps shall be taken to verify that any identification documents produced by persons attempting to purchase alcohol are genuine and relate to the person producing them.
- A prominent notice shall be displayed at all points of entry and advising customers that the premises operates a
Challenge 25
proof of age scheme. - All staff responsible for selling alcohol shall receive regular training in the main offences under the Licensing Act 2003 including underage sales, sale of alcohol to drunks, and breaching the conditions of the Premises Licence. This training shall include providing each staff member with the conditions of the Premises Licence. Retraining shall take place on a regular basis at least every 6 months.
- A record of all staff training in the 'Challenge 25 policy, including the dates that each member of staff is trained and retrained for no less than 12 months, shall be maintained and made available within one hour on request by a Police Officer or an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority.
- Children under the age of 16 should be accompanied by an adult.
The Licensing Sub-Committee, composed of Councillor Zulfiqar Hussain, Councillor Kumud Joshi, and Councillor Jamal Uddin, will consider whether to grant the application, grant it with additional conditions, grant it in part, or reject it. A decision is expected within five working days. The Public reports pack 07th-Jan-2025 10.30 Licensing Sub-Committee outlines the procedure for the licensing hearing.
