Tom Day acts for international restaurant group in licensing application

Tom Day acts for international restaurant group in licensing application for a 138 seater restaurant, Delicious Pho, in Spitalfields, which will be the first overseas branch for the Canadian restaurant group. The decision of the Tower Hamlets licensing sub-committee came after representations were made by the licensing authority and the environmental health department against the application for a licence. The grant of the licence is noteworthy because the restaurant is sited in Steward Street which is within the Brick Lane Cumulative Impact Zone.

Cumulative impact zones are a regular feature of the licensing landscape and have been adopted by local authorities where, in its view, an area has reached saturation point in terms of the number of licensed premises. Cumulative impact zones and policies operate so that, once a representation is received against the granting of the licence, a presumption is created that the licence will not be granted unless the application can demonstrate exceptional circumstances in that the granting of the licence will not add to the negative cumulative impact of those licensed premises on the licensing objectives (e.g., public nuisance, crime and disorder, etc.)

In Tower Hamlets, similar to other local authorities, the licensing policy establishes a very high hurdle before a licence will be granted; “This Policy will be strictly applied and where relevant representations are received it is the view of the Council that the application will be refused.  Applicants will need to demonstrate that there are exceptional circumstances and that granting their application will not negatively add to the cumulative effect on the Licensing Objectives within the Brick Lane and Bethnal Green CIZ if they wish to rebut this presumption.”

Having heard Tom’s representations the licensing sub-committee was satisfied that exceptional circumstances existed, that the grant of the application would not add to the cumulative effect and the presumption had been rebutted.

Tom was instructed by Marina Vincent of Harold Benjamin Solicitors.