Contains additional information from the applicant.

The Hearing Panel considered a report from the Directorof Planning, Building Control and Licensing concerning the above application. The written papers and oral representations of the parties who attended were also considered, as well as the relevant legislation.

An application had been received vary the current licence as follows: -

1.    Extend the terminal hour for the sale of alcohol, regulated entertainment and Late Night Refreshment (LNR) to 0500 hours (the following day) on a Friday and Saturday. (Current hours 0300)

2.    To extend the hours the premises is open to the public to 0530 hours (the following day) on a Friday and Saturday, (Current hours 0330).

The premises was formerly known as Tribeca and had been renamed ‘AREA’ following a takeover by RVLC Limited in August 2022. Several Temporary Event Notices had operuntil 0500 without incident or any issues arising, leading up to Christmas.

It was submitted that RVLC Limited (‘the company’) comprised of experienced operators originally based in London with a number of premises, including two on Canal Street (Mantos and Vanilla). This being the company’s third venue in Manchester would allow the pooling of resources of 8 qualified Premises Licence Holders across the group in the city. An outline of the proposed operators’ range of experience was provided. An intention to use the premises as a LGBTQ+ community asset was also asserted. A complete refurbishment of the venue had been undertaken, including the commencement of a complete overhaul of acoustic works in view of the previous history of noise emanation. A copy of the acoustic assessment report was submitted for information. The Applicant advised that the 05:00 terminal hour request was to provide parity with other venues and remove the notable disadvantage. The venue had addressed dispersal and the Management policy was included with the application documentation. There had been no police reports inside or outside the venue.

There had been 10 initial representations regarding the application, when the application was originally submitted in January 2023. Those representations had resulted in the operators engaging with local residents because of historical issues with the former premises, Tribeca. Those discussions had led to the overhaul of acoustic works.

A resident attended the meeting and accepted that the Applicant had spent a lot of money and energy in soundproofing the venue and working with local residents.. He confirmed that there did not appear to be any problems with the sound levels anymore,and instead were more focused on the dispersal and loitering in the vicinity after the premises had closed. He requested the venue put in place patrols around the perimeter of the building as part of the Licence conditions between midnight and closing time and highlighted that one of residents still had problems with noise outside and there were some problems with smoke rising from people smoking outside. He also stated there were issues with the fencing outside but accepted that the Applicant made efforts to try to stay within half the width of the pavement. He added that he felt that the Council needed to consider removal what was described as superfluous street furniture and undertake work with taxis which tended to routinely congregate and/or park on double-yellow line road markings at specific sites.

In reaching its decision the Committee also have considered the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy, the Licensing Act 2003, the Regulations made there under and the Guidance issued by the Secretary of State under Section 182 of that Act and the licensing objectives.

The Panel took into consideration that all of the local resident representations had been received prior to the completion of the soundproofing/acoustic works and that following those works, only one noise complaint had been been received in early March 2023. The Panel also took into consideration the local resident’s concession that the venue had worked very hard and engaged with residents.

The Panel did not attach any weight to the representations referencing the ‘likelihood of the sale of illegal substances increasing’ ‘Mass brawls’ and other behaviours as these were the subject of speculation and without supporting evidence generally and specifically as to whether these were attributable directly to the premises given the density of venues in the locality.

The Panel took into consideration noted that the new operators had been in the venue since PRIDE in August 2022 without incident and that no representations had been received from the Responsible Authorities.

The Panel took into consideration that the venue operated an informal 20-minute interval perimeter patrol but resolved that it was not appropriate to make this a condition as patrol staff did not have any powers of detention and should report any matters of concern to the police in any event as well as being mindful of their personal safety and employer’s insurance.

The Panel was mindful that the residents had been provided with the Duty Manager’s mobile telephone number and email address, and was satisfied with the content of the Entrance & Dispersal Management Policy that had been submitted, including the breadth and detail that the policy contained to address the concerns regarding the dispersal element of the representations.

The Panel considered the Applicant to be an experienced operator with a good track record and one who had engaged with the local residents and addressed the noise concerns as far as possible.

In view of the above, the Panel resolved that the application for an extension of the hours to 0500 would not undermine the promotion of any of the Licensing Objectives subject to the following additional conditions being added to the premises licence:

1. There shall be a documented dispersal policy, as agreed with the relevant responsible authorities, implemented at the premises and a copy lodged with the Council’s Licensing Unit.
2. There shall be no admittance or readmittance to the premises after 0400 hours on a Saturday and Sunday

Decisions

To grant the Application as applied for with the following additional conditions:

1.    There shall be a documented dispersal policy, as agreed with the relevant responsible authorities, implemented at the premises and a copy lodged with the Council’s Licensing Unit.

2.    There shall be no admittance or readmittance to the premises after 0400 hours on a Saturday and Sunday