License application for Unit A, Gaumont Tower

[tine]

I too have no sent my objections to Hackney Council. To me the license is wrong on so many levels: noise, litter, attracting the party crowd over here. And experience from the past few years has shown that while the majority of patrons are perfectly nice and normal, it only takes a few bad apples to ruin it for everyone. I really don't need any more singing, screaming and peeing in the Square than we already have to put up with.
Besides, if the council is really going to provide a play ground in the square, how does that work with an offlicense that has permission to open in the morning?
And as I said before, what annoys me the most is that the owners of the place have not bothered to interact with us in any way. Really, if you enter someone's living space with such disruption, you should do your utmost to get to know them. (Yes, I see the irony of a Dalston Square resident saying that when we were imposed on Rhodes Estate, but I apply the same rule to us. We must reach out just as much to our neighbours. And I also feel we have a responsibility not allow our development to turn into a further contributor to crime in the area.)
Anyway, I'm ranting. What I really meant to say it that I would love to have a little neighbourhood restaurant in the Square. But anything that attracts wannabe hipsters who care little if they are in Dalston or Peckham, I happily oppose even at risk of seeming like a nimby.

[bob]

What about the wannabe hipsters living in apartments in Dalston Square? Would they be allowed into a neighbourhood restaurant in the square, Or would they be banished to Dalston Superstore and Bardens Boudoir etc

[tine]

That depends on their propensity to pee on the lift...

And on second thought, doing other business on the roof terrace, throwing objects from balconies, playing football in their living rooms at 4am, leaving drugs in the hallways or throwing-up on their neighbours' terrace. All of these are things that our neighbours have been recorded doing, which explains my more than slight bias against partying in the Square.

[Matt]

Oct 28, 2012 10:43:08 GMT bob said:

Hi
Yes it is, they are dealing with the license just now.
Next door to that will be a premier inn.

Are we talking about the building that currently houses William Hill & backs onto to the Arcola Tent, or somewhere else?

[Mark]

Hi all. Just want to keep you all up to date with the latest developments regarding this issue as quite a lot has happened. Firstly, having apparently seen the notice that was posted to block noticeboards advising all residents of the issue and encouraging folk to respond, the owner of the new cafe (Cafe Route, not Cafe Square as previously advised) has responded with a notice of his own. For those that have not seen it, here it is (this is a direct copy, no changes made at all):

Dear Residents,
It has come to our attention that there are concerns as to the use of lJnit A,.
Gaumont Tower due to the notice of application for a premises licence. It is
extremely important to us that the residents are fully informed and supportive,
as we aim to become a part of the square and to serve the community
We are husband and wife team, who along with our best friend, wanted to open
a local Cafe/Deli/Bistro. My wife and I live in the block ourselves (Raddon
Tower) and have lived in Hackney all our lives. We are passionate about food
and wanted to open a small local space where we live and could work and so
were fully part of the community.
The cafe will be part bakery, part deli and also serve food throughout the day
and serve as a bistro at night. We aim to serve fresh food that is tasty, exciting
but infprmal, as well as great coffee! We will have a we,bsite opening soon which
we will inform everyone about; which will show in more detail what we aim to
do. Your feedback is extremely important and it will ultimately be a work in
progress depending on this feedback and your response once we have opened.
The premises license was applied for as we intend to serve mainly wines with
food in the evening, but also sell some as part of our deli. We applied for other
provisions only with the intention of taking precautions for activities in the
community that we might be involved in. We are in the heart of a dynamic,
culturally diverse and artistic community and wanted to be open minded about
what we might be involved in at times.
However, we feel that our application and the notice that we put up has been
misleading, and naturally got everyone concerned. We wanted to take the
opportunity to reassure everyone. We have however taken on board your
concerns and amended our application. - Please see the notice.
We would still however, welcome any further comments and feedback.
You can contact the council or indeed email my wife with any questions at
m,erda19@gmaiJ,com.
We were intending to inform all residents about the Cafe before opening, and
will stil.Jdo so very soon. We hope that this will quell some concerns and we
hope that you will be happy with what we will do with the space.
Murat and Melek

And here is a copy of the amended licence application:



Comparison of the 2 applications shows that the performance of plays, and facilities for dancing have been removed but otherwise, and in particular music and alcohol, there are no changes.

Further to this, Lydia, a very active and widely respected member of the Residents Association has been in touch with Murat and his wife to clarify exactly what their plans are for this unit.

In summary, what they want to have is a cafe/deli/bistro. During the day it would be a bakery/cafe/deli, becoming a bistro during the evening.

Personally, I agree with Lydia when she said, in a recent email (and I am paraphrasing here) "I welcome some ground floor activity in the evenings, but feel to grant til midnight 7 days is excessive......... The biggest thing to campaign for in my view is a sensible approach to this first license, which will set the tone for others that will come eventually........... I will still be stating my concerns to the council about this application, but mainly that it should be conditioned, and subject to review after a probationary period with the hours more restricted, especially Sunday to Thursday."

So there you have it. I hope this has been informative and helpful. Those of you who contacted the licencing board may wish to resubmit your opinions to this new application: The old application, and therefore your opinions, are now defunct. For me, anything after 11pm Sunday through Thursday is very questionable. I think we should be clear that alcohol is served with food only (no 'Bars' in the Square thank you), and I still have concerns about 'Off-licence' sales of alcohol. But that is just me.

[KA]

Thanks very much Mark. Completely agree with your comments particularly so Sunday to Thursday.

[Matt]

Thanks for the update. Pleased to read that the owners are keen to hear our thoughts, although concerned to see that the application hasn't drastically changed...

[ludgate2012]

Shocking to see how some people are reacting to this, the first of many such license applications I suspect.

You moved into a brand new, mixed used development in the heart of Dalston.

Please tell me you didn't expect peace and quiet.

[Mark]

I see nothing shocking here Ludgate: Like many I was told the commercial units around the Square would be retail in nature, with the emphasis pointing toward the 'high end'. I was also told the companies coming in would enhance the Square's attraction to working professionals and young families. What I find shocking is that many more aren't objecting. Mixed use does not, in my book, mean noisy and disruptive. Yes, I expect peace and quiet after a certain hour (23.00 during the week, midnight or so Friday and Saturday nights) and will fight tooth and nail for it, and I am not alone. Also, if anyone cares to a) read their lease, and b) speak to Hackney Council's noise pollution team (or visit their website), you will see I also have the law on my side.

Anyhow, moving on, I have some good news for those who have shown concern about this issue. The café's owners, Murat and Melek, attended the RA meeting earlier in the week to explain their business proposal and offer reassurance to those of us worried about their plan. I have to say, and this is just my personal opinion of course, I was impressed with this young couple's professionalism and willingness to listen to, and react to, our concerns. They came to the meeting pre-prepared with a printout of the latest adjustment to their licence application. Let me reproduce that for you here:

+Supply of Alcohol for consumption on the premises only:
Sunday to Wednesday 11.00 - 23.00
Thursday to Saturday 11.00 - 00.00
+Provision for live music 11.00 - 23.00
+Provision for recorded music 07.00 - 23.00
+Provision for films 07.00 - 23.00

I must also tell you that since the meeting I have again been contacted by Melek to say that, after hearing our concerns at the meeting, reading our concerns here on the forum (Melek is now a forum member), and discussions with their friend and business partner, there will be further amendments to the licence application. Once finalised she will get back to me with details and I will of course share them with you all.

[KA]

Well said Mark and many thanks for fighting the residents' cause

[Matt]

Thanks for the update Mark.

[tine]

I fully agree with those who feel that the fact that we live in Dalston should not mean that we don't want peace and quiet at night.
Luckily, having spoken to Melek and Murat at the RA meeting and hearing of their vision, I no longer have any doubt that they agree with us too. In fact, they did alleviate all of my concerns and have my full support for their venture. I really hope this is going to be the first example of how residents and business owners can work together to make the Square a great place for all of us.

[Mark]

And now the details of the latest amendment: The provision for live music has been removed from the application. Melek told me that this was added to the application to allow the cafe to participate is any local cultural events that may arise in the future. This 'blanket' provision has now been removed from the current application, and instead temporary licences will be applied for as and when such an event arises.

[ludgate2012]

Wow. Good luck to the next small business which tries to open on the Square...

[argayu]

Received this today... some amendments to the one Mark posted few days ago.

Cheers

Re: Unit A Gaumont Tower, Dalston Square, London E8 3BQ


Dear Resident,



We are writing to you as you expressed concern about the premises license application made for Unit A Gaumont Tower, and made representations to the council to that effect. We would therefore like to take the opportunity to clarify further what our plans are for the space in the hope that they will respond to concerns you might have. The support of the residents are so important to us, as our aim is to create a space for the community and as we are residents of the square ourselves.



We put up a notice in the foyer of every building in the square as well as attending the resident’s association meeting, which you might not have known about. We would therefore like to take this opportunity to give you a summary and update of what we expressed. We also would like to inform you of the final amendments we have made to our application in response to our general understanding of the concerns.



My husband and I, along with our best friend, are opening a Cafe/Deli/Bistro that will be food and coffee focused. The café will be part deli and part bakery, serving food throughout the day and as a bistro at night. We intend to serve fresh coffee and juices throughout the day, and additionally alcohol with meals in the evenings. We intend to be a family orientated establishment that is aimed to serve the residents in the area.



We feel that our application misrepresented our intentions. In hindsight we understand that we acted over-precautiously as well as somewhat naively when applying. We applied for quite a lot of the licensable activities with the intention that we would be 'cover all bases’ when being involved with community activities. We are aware that Dalston is a dynamic, culturally diverse and active community, and did not want to limit ourselves in the instances of community events. This is why our initial application almost ticked every box including plays, dancing and live music, etc.



We now realize however; through getting feedback from residents and the community, that this was a cause for concern as it mislead everyone about the potential use of the premises. We realise that despite the fact that we as an establishment will not be using these activities regularly, having the licensed authority to do so on the premises gives way for potential abuse of these activities in the premises in the future. We now know that should we need to, we could apply for certain dates in the year for one-off events.



In light of all this information and feedback from residents, we have already made a number of amendments to our application before we received any representations. I have outlined all of the amendments and the final state of the application below, and hope that is sufficient to respond to your concerns.




Amendments to the premises application for Unit A Gaumont Tower, E8 3BQ



• Supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises only:



Sunday to Wednesday 11.00 - 23.00



Thursday to Saturday 11.00 - 00:00



• Provision for Films 07.00 – 23.00;

• Provision for Recorded Music 07.00 – 23.00.



As you can see, we have removed provisions for live music, dancing, plays as well as removing the supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises. We have also changed the times that we will permit the sale of alcohol to start from 11 am, and differentiated the weekday and weekend closing times. We hope this is sufficient to respond to your concerns, and goes some distance in illustrating our intentions for the premises. That we do not aim to be an establishment that causes nuisance or disturbance in the square, but to the contrary adds to the square and serves the residents living there.



If you have any comments in light of our information, please do not hesitate to contact the council. The council will inform you of a date for the committee meeting and subsequent decision. You can also contact is if you would like any further information.



Kind regards,



Ms. Melek E. Kilic,

Mr Murat Kilic

Mr Mehmet Akis

CAFÉ ROUTE