This application to vary a premises licenceis made by Mr Mentor Spahia under section 34 of the Licensing Act 2003. 

Licensing Act 2003

Notice of Decision

PREMISES

Royal Lounge

Unit 1-2,

14 Victoria Road

Romford

RM1 2JH

APPLICANT

Mr Mentor Spahia

Details of requested licensable activities

The application to vary a premises licence is made by Mr Mentor Spahia under section 34 of the Licensing Act 2003.  The application was received by Havering’s Licensing Authority on 27th January 2025.

Introduction

The Licensing Sub - Committee (“LSC”) has considered an application for the variation of the premises licence in respect of the Royal Lounge Restaurant situated at Unit 1-2, 14 Victoria Road, Romford, RM1 2JH (“the premises”).

The current premises licence contains the following times in respect of the licensable activities of the Supply of alcohol and Late Night Refreshments:

      Supply of alcohol (on supplies only)

                 Sunday to Thursday      11:00 to 22:45

               Friday & Saturday         11:00 to 23:45

Late night refreshment

              Friday & Saturday          23:00 to 00:00

The current opening hours for the premises are:

              Sunday to Thursday      06:00 to 23:00

               Friday & Saturday         06:00 to 00:00

There were 2 amendments to the application. The first amendment was agreed between the Premise Licence Holder and the council’s Noise Nuisance Team prior to the hearing and substantially reduced the licensing hours applied for and set out a number of new conditions to be applied to the licence. The 2nd amended application was brought to the attention of the Licensing Sub-Committee during the hearing and sought only to vary the times for the supply of alcohol to the following-

      Supply of alcohol (on supplies only)

                 Sunday to Thursday      11:00 to 22:30

               Friday & Saturday         11:00 to 00:00

The applicant did not seek any change to the Late Refreshment times. Although the original application had sought to add the playing of live music on Fridays & Saturdays between 23:00 to 00:00 this was not pursued in the 2^nd application.

There were no representations from any Responsible Authorities. There was one objection to the application from Councillor Jane Keane who addressed the Sub- Committee.

Prior to the Applicant’s submission of the re amended application Councillor Jane Keane (a ward councillor) raised concerns about the management of the premises’ trade waste. She stated that the additional licensing hours would exacerbate anti-social behaviour in the area. She also mentioned the drug and alcohol problems in the town centre and doubted that the premises management would “have the wherewithal” to deal with intoxicated visitors. The councillor also raised concerns re insufficient cctv in the alleyway and the side and rear of the premises. She worried that any evacuation of the premises would be unsafe. She noted that the proposed additional time to supply alcohol on Thursday nights, (the first amended application had requested an additional 1hour, 15 minutes), would have an adverse effect of school children the following morning. In addition, the councillor submitted that there was violence against women and children in some of the area’s residences and she raised concerns that women would be reluctant to approach the male staff at the premises.

In addition, the Sub-Committee heard from the Applicant, Mr Mentor Spahia and the Applicant’s licensing agent, Ms Dilek Alagoz from Kaplan Consulting UK.

At this stage the Applicant submitted the further amended application with the proposed licensing hours listed above at paragraph 3 of this decision notice.

Decision

Having considered the written evidence and the oral submissions made during the hearing, the Licensing Sub-Committee decided that the application to vary the licence times as set out above should be granted with conditions to be added to the licence.

Reasons for the Decision

The Sub-Committee must promote the licensing objectives and must have regard to the Secretary of State’s National Guidance created under s182 of the Licensing Act 2003 and the Council’s own Statement of Licensing Policy. 

The premises is situated in a Cumulative Impact Zone (“CIZ). There is therefore a rebuttable presumption that the increased licensing hours will aggravate the problems in the area.

The Sub-Committee noted that the revised application reduced the hours for the sale of alcohol by 1.5 hours from Sundays to Thursdays and increased it by 30 minutes on Friday and Saturday nights. Over an entire week the sale of alcohol hours would be reduced by 35 minutes. The applicant also no longer sought a licence to play live music which would reduce the possibility of noise nuisance coming from the premises.

The Sub-Committee was concerned about the inability of the Premises Licence Holder to fully set out his understanding of the licensing objectives and noted Councillor Keane’s concerns. Bearing this and the concerns raised by Councillor Keane in mind and to further promote the licensing objectives, the Licensing Sub-Committee imposed the following conditions on the licence:

Conditions

(a)  All premises’ staff are to undergo training in the “Ask for Angela” scheme

(b)  Signage about the “Ask for Angela” scheme is to be placed in the public toilets at the premises

 (c)  The contact details for the Premises Licence Holder of the premises

 (including the PLH’s name and direct telephone number) shall be        publicly displayed on a prominent sign at the premises

 (d)  All staff are to undergo training on the licensing objectives

Right of Appeal

Any party who has made a relevant representation may appeal to the Magistrates’ Court within 21 days of notification of the decision.

On appeal, the Magistrates’ Court may:

1.         Dismiss the appeal; or

2.         Substitute the decision for another decision which could have been made by the Sub Committee; or

3.         Remit the case to the Sub Committee to dispose of it in accordance with the direction of the Court; and

4.         Make an order for costs as it sees fit.