Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Mrs Diane Chambers was elected Chairman for this meeting.

There were none.

It was agreed that the Chairman, after consultation with the other members of the Panel, would sign the record of this meeting outside the meeting. 

There were none. 

Members are invited to disclose any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Significant Interests in accordance with the Member Code of Conduct. Guidance on this is set out in agenda item 5.

Disclosable pecuniary interests

There were none.

Other significant interests (OSIs)

There were none.

Other interests

There were none.

In accordance with Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003, the Council has received an application from the Environmental Protection Team, as a responsible authority, for a review of the existing premises licence in respect of Jollof Lounge, 44 High Street, Chatham. Kent ME4 4DS.

All responsible authorities have been consulted in line with the Licensing Act 2003.

Representations regarding the review application have also been received from Medway Council Planning, Gravesham and Medway Shared Licensing Services and members of the public.

Discussion:

The Chairman explained the process that the hearing would follow as outlined on page 4 of the agenda and noted that the applicant had received a copy of the “Guidelines for Licensing Review Hearing Panels”.

The Senior Licensing Officer stated that, in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the Council had received an application from the Environmental Protection Team, as a responsible authority, for a review of an existing Premises Licence in respect of Jollof Lounge, 44 High Street, Chatham, Kent ME4 4DS relating to the licensing objective of prevention of public nuisance.

Representations regarding the review application had also been received from Medway Council Planning Department, Gravesham and Medway Shared Licensing Services and members of the public.

The Senior Licensing Officer explained to the Panel, the relevant representations as stated in the agenda from Medway Council Planning Department, Gravesham and Medway Shared Licensing Services and from the Environmental Protection Team.  Representations had also been received from members of the public both in support of the review and in support of the Jollof Lounge, as well as a submission from Mr Atuanya, the Licensee.

The Chairman invited the Applicant, Responsible Authority and other interested parties who asked for the review to speak in support of their application. 

Fiona Wilson, an Environmental Protection Technician at Medway Council, explained her role which included investigating complaints of noise under statutory nuisance legislation.

Statutory nuisance could be defined as “an unlawful interference with a person's use or enjoyment of land or of some right over, or in connection, with it."  The process of determining what level of noise constituted a nuisance was subjective and several factors must be considered such as the frequency, duration, and time of the noise.

Fiona Wilson had been investigating complaints of loud music with heavy bass from the Jollof Lounge (also known as Lounge 44 or The Lounge) since October 2021.  Lounge 44 was advertised as a Restaurant Bar and Grill serving authentic Nigerian food, with a beer and shisha garden with a DJ every Friday and Saturday night.  The establishment was situated mid-terrace within a row of designated and professional business uses, and there were residential flats located above the shops.

Evidence of a Statutory Nuisance had been gathered which led to a formal notice being served on Mr Kingsley Atuanya.  The notice had been breached three times. The Council continued to receive complaints regarding the level of music and bass emanating from these premises.

Fiona Wilson outlined the steps that the Environmental Protection Team undertook which were set out in appendix F of the agenda. 

The Environmental Protection Team had contacted the Gravesham and Medway Shared Licensing Services in December 2021 to advise them that a Section 80 Noise Abatement Notice had been served to the premises and asked whether any Temporary Event Notices (TEN’s) had been submitted. 

The Licensing Team spoke to Mr Atuanya on 16 December 2021 and advised that if he wished to have entertainment past his operating hours he would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 794.

It is recommended that the Panel exclude the press and public from the meeting during the decision-making process for the reasons set out in the report. 

Decision:

The press and public were excluded from the meeting during the Panel’s deliberations and decision making in respect of agenda item 6, because consideration of this matter in public would disclosure information falling within paragraph  5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as specified in agenda item 7 (Exclusion of the Press and Public) and, in all the circumstances of the case, the Panel considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.