Licensing Sub Committee - Thursday 11 December 2025, 2:30pm - Tower Hamlets Council webcasts

Licensing Sub Committee
Thursday, 11th December 2025 at 2:30pm 

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Good afternoon and welcome to the licencing subcommittee.
My name is Councillor Sabine Acton and I will be chairing today's meeting.
This meeting is being held in person.
Committee members and key participants are present in the meeting room and there may be some participants joining online remotely.
This meeting will be filmed for the Council website for public viewing.
I will remind members that they may only speak through my direction and speak cleanly into the microphones to ensure that their contributions can be properly recorded.
Can members and officers please introduce yourself? We'll start from this side.
Corinne Holland, Licencing Officer.
Nicola Kedzer, Environmental Health Officer for Noise Team.
Councillor Sir Karmit.
Thank you, Councillor.
Baudrilli Chowdhury.
Thank you.
Jonathan Melnick, Legal Advisor to the Sub -Committee.
Sue Yasmin, Democratic Services.
Kathy Driver, Licencing Presenting today.
Thank you.
We have no apologies for absence.
Do any members have any particular declaration?
Disclose of particular interest?
I don't.
I don't.
Members, please note the rules for procedure on pages 9 to 18 on the agenda.
Okay.
For 3 .1, application for new premises licence for House of God's Hotel, Ground, 2nd, 3rd,
4th and 5th floors, 12 Bank Street, London, E14, 4 JB.
So I believe this item was resolved prior to the meeting, so we won't be hearing this
item today.
We have 3 .2, which is application for a new premises licence for Amazon Grace, Ground
and Mesilin floor 12 Bank Street London e14 for JB again the application is for
a new premises licence for Istanbul burger and kebab at reverse Road London
e32 NF and these can be found pages 143 and 194 picture
okay
For this application, the applicant isn't present.
As such, however, I can confirm that the relevant notification and agendas were sent in the
due timescales.
However, we have just checked the reception and they haven't reported in and I haven't
received any messages to that effect either.
As for the objectives, we have Corinne Holland from licencing, Nicola Cadso from environmental
health.
They have both joined present at the meeting.
We've got Geraldine O 'Grady from health and safety and Mr Rob Clifton, a local resident
who have joined us online today.
After the application has been presented, due to the absence of the applicant, we'll
ask the objectors to present their objections and they'll have five minutes each.
And I'll let each speaker know when they have one minute remaining.
Please note that the subcommittee have read the agenda pack in advance. Thank you chair
Just since the applicant isn't here
I was just going to advise you that you obviously perfectly free to proceed in their absence
You've heard that the notifications have gone out which is probably the case bearing one. We have three other people here
No doubt received those and there's obviously no contact from the applicant to say that there's a reason why he
can't attend or send someone along in his stead.
So it's ultimately a matter for you,
but if you wish to proceed in absence, you're perfectly free to do so.
Yes, so as chair I believe I can proceed today.
We've had tried to contact the applicant, no response,
so I'm happy to go ahead today with this item.
Can I please ask a cafe driver, the licencing officer,
to introduce this item please. Order report.
Thank you chair. The application is for Istanbul Burger and Kebab, situated on Remus Road, that's
E32NF. The applicant is Istanbul Burger and Kebab Limited. The applicant seeks a late
night refreshment only, from Monday to Sunday until 1 .30 in the morning. The applicant has
Members mentioned that they wished to operate later hours on New Year's Eve but members
should note that this was not detailed in any advert placed in terms of the application
and no hours are obviously specified on that application.
The application is detailed at page 147.
The site plan and maps are page 159 and 163 respectively.
The photos of the premises is at page 166. The photos may help members in terms of its
locality. Obviously it's situated within a car park area, not obviously an actual address
of a premises as a building and its trailer. There are no other venues in the proximity
to this application. The representations are made by the licencing authority, environmental
health, health and safety and three residents. The applicant has offered minimal conditions
in terms of the operating schedule. We've sort of tried to convert those and that's
at page 192 and also in that appendix, appendix 11, the police have agreed five conditions
with the applicant and those also detailed on page 192.
That really concludes my presentation, chair, unless you have anything further.
Thank you, Kathy.
Do any members have any questions for the licencing officer?
Councillor, both of you, shall we?
Thank you, Kathy, for the presentation.
Just to you said something about the police. Are they happy with this or what? What are their views on this?
No, no, I mean so it doesn't matter that they've agreed conditions absolutely that you need to know it doesn't really they're just not opposing
Any other members
Just quick
Has there been any objection or any complaint from residents since when?
How long is the cafe there for?
I mean, how old is it?
I think it's in the report.
It's probably going to be even one more for the objectors to address,
because within their representations, obviously the residents as well,
All the one residents, just excuse me who's here.
Perhaps you can ask that question to the objectors.
So since we don't have the applicant here today where they would have had the chance
to present, so since they're not here we'll ask the objectors to make their representation.
You have five minutes?
Five minutes each.
Five minutes each.
I will give you a reminder.
Thank you chair.
The licencing authority have objected to this application
on the licencing objective
of public nuisance. The application was less than
clear. It said it was applying for a fast food establishment
also said the premises operates as a take away and a dining
facility and customers enter directly into the main service and seating area
where orders are placed and collected. Obviously the original plan that was
submitted with the application is shown on page 172 within my representation
which actually does show an inside seating area. The picture that's also on
page 172 is of a trailer where you're served outside and there's a bit of
outdoor seating, so this didn't really seem very consistent.
I did speak to Mr. Hassan, the applicant,
and he said there was no seating inside the trailer
and only outdoor seating.
It just seemed very strange that he's written
in an application, submitted a plan
for something that didn't exist.
The police, when they went to visit,
told by a staff member that they were using a container that was next to, in the same
car park area, but not the food truck that you can see there. It was like a storage container
up on bricks. So that may be more consistent with the plan that was served at the time,
showing the inside seating area. He said that that wasn't the case on the
telephone and that wasn't going to be used. Obviously the application was very
unclear. We have also had two complaints from residents and these are shown on
page 175. One saying increased noise and disruption since the food truck had been
there, delivery drivers coming and going who leave the engines running, people congregate
at the premises, there's strong food odours and there's also reference to containers serving
food in the same car park, which obviously is inconsistent with this container shown
in the pictures. There was another complaint in August that said that there were other
related matters which I haven't put in here because it didn't relate to Istanbul.
That's why it probably looks like they haven't said very much but obviously the
complaints about Istanbul kebab van was neon lights which were causing
residents problems. At the time of these complaints a Google search showed that
the premises was open till 1 .30 on a Friday to Saturday and a warning letter
was sent to them and this is shown on page 176 to 178.
Due to the confusing application and the plans, the licencing authority cannot support this
application as it's not completely clear as to whether the trailer or a different container
is being licenced.
Local residents have also made representations, they've made comment on odour pollution, light pollution, noise disturbance and loitering of people causing a disturbance and likely antisocial behaviour.
It is felt that if the hours were extended to 1 .30, 7 days a week, this is likely to exacerbate these complaints and cause nuisance to local residents.
Although the application doesn't itself apply to sell alcohol, it's likely to attract people
that have been drinking in the Hanford and Stratford area as they make their way home
and it's acknowledged that people who have consumed alcohol are generally louder with
speaking, laughing and shouting and therefore this will add additional disturbance to local
residents as well.
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Following on from Corinne's, I'm from the noise team looking at the licence and objective
for the prevention of public nuisance.
I have concerns, as has already been mentioned, about the late hours applied for, I think
for Sunday, an extension of Council's framework hours of three hours, Monday to Thursday,
two hours and one and a half hours extension for Friday and Saturday. Also, when looking
at the application in the operating schedule for the prevention of public nuisance, the
applicant put in a condition noise will be managed to ensure that the late hours do not
to disturb nearby residents. This is quite general, doesn't show how they're going to
promote the licencing objective and the consideration has to be given that there be additional footfall,
especially people in high spirits and the premises is very close to residential properties.
So in my view, the public nuisance could be created from affecting residents, people in high spirits, and the hours of operation.
So environmental health does not support the application due to the likely noise disturbance at the late hours sought.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Do any members have any questions?
Geraldine online.
Sorry Gerald.
Hello.
Sorry Geraldine, we can't hear you.
Yeah, sorry, my mic is still on.
So Geraldine O 'Grady, I'm the Principal Environment Health Officer in the Health and Safety team.
I'm the Health and Safety Team, I'm the Health and Safety Team, I'm the Health and Safety
So I initially put in a representation against this application
due to the fact that the Porter Cabin looked unstable.
However, on visiting the premises, there was no access to the unit
and it did appear to be offices from just the outside, the way it was set up.
I did speak to a member of staff who was working at the mobile unit
and he said that they didn't have any intention to use that as part of the application for a licence.
One of our food safety officers had visited shortly before I had been to carry out a routine food hygiene inspection
and she found that it was only the mobile unit that was being used.
So therefore I'd actually like to withdraw the application, the notification.
Although we had it on sound information, Intel, that it was likely to be used, my investigations,
I couldn't establish that it was in use.
The unit does look very unstable and this has been reported through to our building
control.
So that's all I need to say.
Thank you very much, Katerina.
I will now ask Rob Clifton. You have five minutes.
I am going to suggest that Geraldine has withdrawn her representation.
She doesn't need to stay and you can release her if you wish.
Is she still online? Okay. Geraldine, since you have removed your representation,
you don't need to still remain in the meeting, but that's your wish.
Okay, okay, thank you.
If you do want to leave you can, but it's fine.
Can I now ask Rob Clifton to make your representation?
You have five minutes.
Thanks so much.
I will stress this is my first council meeting
that I've ever been to, so I apologise if I don't do things
in the correct order of how I should do this.
But fundamentally, I'm a resident of Curing House.
So the entrance of Curing House is on a,
well, it's part of the estate of Curing House.
on a walkway between the very end of Remus Road and I think it's Smead Road that runs up the other
side. It's not the most well -lit entrance there but it's very very close to where Istavljot
and Krabab has opened. Primary objections, one around its initial opening, the initial planning
that went into this because my understanding is that it should have gone through something with
residents that close to a takeaway in the first place and having read the pack now I see that
there was a suggestion of internal seating,
which has never been the case since the unit's been opened.
My primary rejection to the late night opening is one, uh, light,
and there is already light that reflects up very strongly.
It's not just neon lights. If you go to the site in the evening,
they have a light that reflects the banner straight up the building of curing
house. Um, on the North side is very,
very bright coming into residents windows. Um,
so that's the disturbance on that side. There's the, uh, smell.
if you come out of curing house particularly if the winds blow in one direction you will smell
the fryers and again that going late into the evening is not the nicest environment. It's not
the nicest environment full stop but it's not the nice environment certainly later on in the evening
as well and it in the summer when this opened it actually came into the flats and it's really not
a nice smell it started to cling onto soft furnishings and things like that. My primary
concern is around safety noise and waste for the for the late opening. So we've already seen an
increase in in waste as a result of the unit opening. So on that private walkway between the
end of Remus Road and Smead Road where the entrance to Curing House is, there is a concrete table
tennis table there and there is a bench there. And we have seen people who have been into the
takeaway then come out and sit and either dispose of the waste there or sit there which is right
opposite the door to curing house.
Um, and we are coming out in the morning and finding ways to dispose of that
bears the hallmarks of coming from Istanbul, Bergen -Kabab.
By that I mean, it is burger boxes and it is red and white wrapping that is
advertised on that imagery that you can see.
Um, the additional ones of that is that there is no other, um, to my knowledge,
there is no other, uh, uh, premises that are open late into the evening,
certainly beyond midnight, um, in fish Island area at all.
and so it's likely to attract people from further outside the area.
There seems no logic in my mind as to why it should be open beyond its current hours.
And in addition to that is because of the darkness of the walkway between the entrance to Curing House
and where the seating is there that people, if they leave the premises, might congregate around there.
My concern is late at night you have a safety issue of people coming and sitting right outside
the door to curing house and a poorly lit area and I think that makes it very uncomfortable
for residents having to live with that frankly.
So that is my primary concern is as I say it's the kind of the safety of something being
open late at night that's attracting people from not in the area because there is nothing
open in the area and therefore I strongly strongly object to this being
open well frankly at all but certainly late at night.
Thank you Rob, Cliff Tunde. Now is the opportunity for members to ask any
questions to the object at all.
Did you mention you visited the site?
Any one of you visited the site?
I haven't visited the site, Geraldine said she visited the site.
How many staff does he recruit to run the business?
Do you know?
No, I don't know.
At the time of my visit there was only one member of staff on site but that was about
four o 'clock in the afternoon.
So I would think late at night there would be more staff.
OK, did you have more questions now?
Did you have any questions?
Just quickly, I just want to know the container that is not
in probably it doesn't cover the application, the one that
separate from the thing.
Does it belong to the same person?
I don't know if Kathy would like to answer that.
We're not aware of whose ownership that is.
I just want to know the reason of being printed here on page 174,
if nothing relates to that particular business.
When the police originally visited the site, the member of staff working in the Berber
van said that it was the container that they were using as well.
So that information had come from a member of staff to the police and they reported that
to us.
That sort of then fitted with the plan that was initially served which showed indoor seating
and a complaint from a resident saying that there seemed to be a dark kitchen down there.
So obviously that's why maybe we sort of thought that that container was, the storage container
was being, going to be used by them if they got a licence.
So you said you visited the actual property, the place, did you witness it yourself?
No, I haven't visited it myself, no.
Okay, any more questions?
I've got some to either party.
The lighting has become a nuisance for the local residents,
in particular the neon lights and the signs.
how far are residents home from their actual...
Maybe the resident could answer that.
Yeah, so that walkway I would say is probably six metres at maximum from the north face of the building.
So there's two things there's a neon sign and there's a very bright light which shines onto the Istanbul
banner and it's the reflection of that that's causing most of the light nuisance and also the wiring to that is by
Extension socket which is exposed in that walkway and currently if you went to look at the site
You will see that I've sent that into planning
Planning enforcement around that as well, but that is the light
it's a very bright light that's reflecting onto the banner and then into the north face of the building.
Okay, are you aware of approximately?
It's about six metres, I would say. Six metres? Six metres, I would say. Okay.
It says about the in the report, it's mentioned about the nuisance from waste and a lot of rubbish
being left over. Is anyone aware of any, what is the waste management plan? Or have they
mentioned that in the application?
That will normally be dealt with by the Environmental Protection Act. No one here is going to necessarily
know what waste contract there is in place. I think the real issue is, as Mr Clifton says
in his representation, as do the others, is that the premises and the patron are generating
additional litter and waste that's really the issue that you have before you.
Yeah it's a shame because the applicant is here we could have asked if they had
a waste management in place. They should do and if they don't they're in the
reach of the Environmental Protection Act. You've got to bear in mind that the
waste issues are not necessarily going to be linked to the application and the
late -night refreshment because of course they can operate as a restaurant prior
to 2300 without any permissions, say, of C4INY.
And also, again, the applicant was here.
Kind of, I don't know if the residents will know,
a lot of the kind of noise nuisance, a lot of people
entering that particular time in and out together.
Obviously, because of the refreshment if it is deserved,
there will be more people obviously coming in and out, causing nuisance in the area.
In terms of ASB, I think I saw in the report that there were some residents that were concerned
about the ASB, are any of the residents aware of any kind of incidents that's taking place
or large groups covering outside?
Again, chair, it does say it's it's if you have a look at for example at page 185, Mr.
Clifton's representation does say that the noise from customers is audible inside the
flat so it is all there already.
Because all of the seating is outside there is no seating inside, any noise in air travels.
it's very close proximity to to the building it's it's not a
dining restaurant just to be absolutely clear this is
purely a takeaway with some outdoor seating
the only place to sit is outside and therefore noise
easily travels up into the building.
Katie are you aware of any kind of other kind of food places for any
Not that a licenced chair, obviously we do cheque in the vicinity and there isn't anything
in that vicinity otherwise it would have been provided within the report.
So all the kind of complaints about smell, it's only from this side?
It's likely obviously to be that when there's not anything else around but obviously anything
that operates up to eleven o 'clock wouldn't need a licence if there is other units there,
we are not aware of those.
Any other members?
Any other questions?
The council.
A small question.
You mentioned about the delivery drivers.
It is a small cafe,
whatever,
small country.
Do they have big lorries coming in
or vans?
In terms of noise,
it seems like a big lorries coming in
if it is being complained.
from the residents especially.
I mean we don't know how he gets his goods delivered.
I mean that would be a question for the applicant.
It is a sort of empty car park.
I believe it was used for something else.
It's an empty car park now
and he's now situated in that car park.
So it used to be a storage facility I do believe.
If I can just,
Yeah, so it used to be the thrifty car rental. It is now a storage facility. There's probably
25 shipping containers there which have regular movement of traffic. There's also another
food van in that plot which I've seen open and I believe that's a dark kitchen. And the
current Istanbul kebab is also on Deliveroo and Uber Eats and so we now have delivery
drivers coming in and out of there as well.
Yeah, since just my question is, since it's a car park, do you do they have normally cars,
I mean that's a question for the applicant, but do they have normally cars or vans or
lorries going in and out anyway?
Well it's not so much a car park that people park in, it obviously used to be a business
That was there that's now left. So it's an it's an open piece of land
It's not a public car park if that helps
Bearing in mind that it's not the car park itself is an owned or operated or whatever you call it
It's not owned or operated by the applicant. So
Because of the way that location is and being open space
Cars are coming in and out, or trucks are coming in and out.
It's not just because of the applicant.
Yeah.
Councillor Boddichary.
Thank you, Chair.
So can we find out who owns the car park?
Is there a chance?
It's not relevant though.
It's not relevant, obviously, but it would be nice to know.
Anyway, not to worry.
Okay.
Any other questions, members?
No.
Now moving on to concluding remarks.
Obviously we don't have the applicant here.
So to the objectives, any concluding remarks?
You will have one minute.
I don't think there's anything else to add, Chair.
Obviously we haven't heard from the applicant to sort of come back with anything that they've
said, so obviously my representation stands as it is.
Thank you.
Yeah, same thing.
My rep stands and I think if we're talking about deliveries, I think they'd have to have
condition on the licence to the deliveries only earlier in the day and not at the late
hours that they're operating to.
I just stressed the point about as I say noise and particularly the safety of residents coming
in and out of Curing House that this is likely to attract people late into the evening and that
is a big concern on the residents group. That's my final comment.
Thank you.
Jonathan, did you want to add anything?
No, I'm not sure.
No, thank you.
So now moving on, thank you all for your contributions today.
The subcommittee will deliberate in a private session after this meeting ends and the democratic
services will send out the decisions to all within five working days.
Is that okay?
Sure.
Okay.
Any extensions?
Thank you, Chair.
Can I please ask the Chair and members to please extend the following applications.
Brick Lane E1 Limited, 49 Brick Lane London E1, 6PU, Sillars Yard, 4 Ravenscroft Street,
London E2, 7QG, the Urban Chocolate Air 9, Devon Street, London E1, 5NB, Tobacco Dock,
50 Porters Walk, London E1W2SF, Co -op 18 Harbour Island, London E14 9GE and 5
Accies 42 Whitechapel Road, London E1 1JX if they can all please be extended to
March 2026.
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