Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director of Environment and Enterprise.

The Committee received a report of the Corporate Director of Environment and Enterprise which set out the reasons for the proposed introduction of an Early Morning Restriction Order (EMRO) in the vicinity of Stanmore Broadway.

An officer advised that the main reasons for seeking to implement an EMRO in the area were as follows:

·                    following changes in licensing legislation in 2012, the maximum number and duration of Temporary Event Notices (TENs) had been increased;

·                    many of the licensed premises in the proposed EMRO zone in Stanmore had applied for TENs during the Christmas/New Year period in 2012, which had extended opening hours of between 4.30-5.30 am;

·                    the police, officers in Licensing and the Out of Hours Noise teams and local Ward Councillors had received a large number of complaints during the holiday season in 2012 from residents in the vicinity of the proposed EMRO zone regarding largescale incidences of public nuisance.  The public nuisance issues had probably occurred as a result of numerous licensed premises closing around the same time;

·                    following receipt of the complaints, additional patrols had been deployed in the Stanmore Broadway area to monitor the situation, at an approximate cost of £11,500.  Other areas in Harrow did not have the same problems and had not generated the same level of complaints, and therefore the EMRO was only being proposed for the Stanmore Broadway area;

·                    it was a legal requirement to carry out a consultation lasting 42 days with all relevant stakeholders before an EMRO could be implemented.  The consultation would be followed by a hearing if objections were received.

Following questions and comments from Committee Members, an officer advised that:

·                    New Year’s Day was exempt from EMROs;

·                    there were no financial implications of the proposed EMRO, and all costs, including those associated with the consultation would be covered within the current Licensing budget;

·                    if agreed, this would be the first time an EMRO would be introduced in Harrow;

·                    if the consultation was agreed, then the Police, Licensing and Public Realm Enforcement teams would provide more detailed evidence of the public nuisance related complaints received in 2012 from residents in the vicinity of Stanmore Broadway;

·                    most of the premises in the proposed EMRO zone currently had licenses until 1.00 am, and these would not be curtailed, and it was proposed that they be permitted to open until 2.00 am at the latest.  This would ensure that most licensed premises in the area would be vacated by 2.30 am at the latest;

·                    the area of the proposed EMRO zone had been identified on the basis of evidence gathered during the additional patrols in 2012 and included all the premises in the area of Stanmore Broadway which were likely to have contributed to the public nuisance issues; 

·                    officers had invited all the licensees in the proposed EMRO zone to provide suggestions as to how to better manage the public nuisance issue in the future, however, to date, none of the licensees had contacted the council with any proposals;

·                    it was unlikely that the introduction of an EMRO in Stanmore would displace the public nuisance issues to neighbouring areas as premises in other parts of Harrow had requested fewer TENs for shorter durations compared to those requested by licensees in the Stanmore Broadway area; 

·                    any future requests for TENS would be closely monitored, and the Police and Environment Services would have an opportunity to object in cases where they had concerns;

·                    the following two premises named on the list of premises included in the proposed EMRO zone had been included in error:  the Social club, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and Stanmore Golf club.  The officer undertook to amend the list. 

A Member stated that Stanmore was a densely populated area with more people living there than in the vicinity of the Town Centre.  She added that she had received numerous complaints from residents regarding public nuisance issues in the area of Stanmore Broadway during the 2012 Christmas and New Year period.

The officer added that any issues arising from the consultation would be reported to the Committee and he would keep the Chairman and Vice-Chairman updated regarding the consultation.  An update report would be submitted to the Committee after completion of the consultation.

RESOLVED:  That officers of the Licensing Authority be authorised to take the prescribed steps to seek to introduce an EMRO in part of Stanmore as set out in the officer report.