Dear Members of the City of Edinburgh Licensing Board

The City Of Edinburgh Licensing Board, 13 April 2015

249 High Street,

Edinburgh,

EH1 1YJ

Dear Members of the City of Edinburgh Licensing Board

PROVISIONAL LICENCE APPLICATIONS BY THE EDINBURGH ACADEMICALS FOOTBALL CLUB

Objections and Representations to applications numbered: 288952, 288884, 288892, 288875, Raeburn Place, Edinburgh

I am writing on behalf of Save Stockbridge, the people who would have to live every day with the consequences if these licences are granted. You are our only hope for saving this residential area and traditional shopping street from a disastrous situation.

We have been let down by the Planning Department who refused to have a Transport Assessment or Environmental Impact Assessment of this project and hence the Planning Committee were not fully informed in granting planning permission. The Ombudsman has made the Head of Planning apologise for the lack of a transport assessment and a further investigation is underway. We are awaiting the decision of the Minister, Alex Neil, on whether he will use his powers to revoke the planning permission.

Please do not be misled by the fact that the Academicals have made the application. They have already agreed to lease the ground to a new charity which will set up a private company to build and run the whole thing, with the Accies having to rent facilities like anyone else,so we understand.

You have been asked to licence an indoor events and functions venue of a scale similar to the Assembly Rooms in George Street. This is not George Street, it is a suburban housing area. Such a large scale venue is not aimed at local people like other nearby licensed premises. The operators will have to use it intensively to make it pay, with hundreds of people flooding into our area regularly, people who will care less for the possible inconveniences because they won’t suffer them. On top of all that they want you to licence an outdoor venue for an additional 5000 people. How could this possibly be consistent with the licencing objectives? At its simplest, the premises are unsuitable due to their location in a residential area under Section 23 (5) (d) of the Act.

The applications for licensed restaurants for 360 people, with dining on the street, and a licensed supermarket with 480 sq feet of licenced shelving will only add to the difficulties. This area is already well provided with licensed premises (14 within 250 metres, adding on and off sales together)

As a group of people who live adjacent to the site or in the surrounding streets we face the prospect of our area being changed forever. Another prospective problem area.

Please see our detailed Objections and Representations below. Please help us.

Yours sincerely

The City Of Edinburgh Licensing Board, 13 April 2015

249 High Street,

Edinburgh, EH1 1YJ

Multi-function Facility and Stand - Licence Application Ref: 288952

The Board is requested to modify the operating plan and apply conditions because the application is contrary to the Board’s policy in the following ways:

The large size (6000) amounts to over provision in itself.
It will inevitably mean noise and disturbance in this residential area as people arrive and leave.
Fouling of doorways and private gardens because there are no public toilets nearby.

It does not comply with Licensing Objective 3 – Preventing Public Nuisance because:

The amenity of residentscannot be maintained or protected from patrons dispersing after events and functions.
Residents cannot be protected from the noise of external drinking and this should be modified out of the licence.
The early and late hours will lead to noise and disturbance in this residential area. It should be limited to midday – 11.00 p.m. with no extension for the festival and Christmas/new year because this is a residential area.
Residential amenity will be adversely by a licence which allows for 6000 people regularly. The stand and pitch should be subject to specific licencing for each event and limited to no more than 2 such events per year. (The historic very occasional large crowd has quite a different impact on amenity. Planning did not consider the number but said it was a matter for licensing.)
Evening bus services are limited to 2 and there is no night bus, on-street parking is usually at or near capacity and there is no on-site parking. Taxis and other vehicles picking up and dropping off clients will cause traffic congestion. TheBoard’s policy 8.2. says it will take these matters into account.
The licence should be conditioned to prevent live music (amplified or not) outside the building.
The off-sales element is not appropriate and is completely unnecessary in view of the 7 existing off-sales licences within 250 metres. Off-sales here are contrary to Licensing Board Policy 9.6.
It is inappropriate for the functions suites, bar, restaurant etc to be configured to allow a number of different functions to occur simultaneously.
The external drinking areas should be prevented by condition so that residential amenity is not adversely affected by unamplified music and noisy conversation (or worse).
Outdoor concerts must not be allowed (it is not clear whether the application includes them or not). It would be helpful if the applicant described specifically the types of events listed in the operating plan.

It does not comply with Licensing Objective 5 – Protecting Children from Harm because:

The simultaneous promotion of children’s rugby,which they plan to increase, and alcohol will establish a positive association in childrens’ minds.
Children will have access to all the areas where alcohol is being consumed and despite what they say, the management cannot guarantee that children will be kept away from the bar areas. The licence should be conditioned to keep children out of the clubhouse/bar at all times and elsewhere when alcohol is being served/sold unless it is accompanied by a substantial food offering.

It does not comply with Licensing Objective 4 - Protecting & Improving Public Health because:

This huge licenced premises will promote the drinking of alcohol and make it easier to drink to excess.
It will make a strong association in people’s minds between the healthy pursuit of sport and drinking alcohol.

Yours sincerely

(On behalf of Save Stockbridge)

Cc: Stockbridge and Inverleith Community Council

Sarah Boyack MSP

Marco Biagi MSP

Save Stockbridge campaigns to protect the residential amenity and traditional town centre environment of Stockbridge/Comely Bank against excessive and inappropriate activity on the Edinburgh Academicals Ground in Raeburn Place. See our website for more information –

The City Of Edinburgh Licensing Board, 13 April 2015

249 High Street,

Edinburgh,

EH1 1YJ

Restaurant (retail units 4-5) Licence Application Ref: 288884

It does not comply with licensing objective 3 – preventing public nuisance because:

It will not maintain and protect the amenity of residents because with 220 covers a lot of noise will be generated by departing patrons as they disperse. This is too large for local needs.
Residents on the other side of the street cannot be protected from the noise of external dining and drinking

The hours extend into the night in a residential area. It will inevitably mean noise and disturbance as they leave.
Fouling of doorways and private gardens because there are no public toilets nearby.

Yours sincerely

(On behalf of Save Stockbridge)

Cc: Stockbridge and Inverleith Community Council

Sarah Boyack MSP

Marco Biagi MSP

249 High Street,

Edinburgh,

EH1 1YJ

Objection toOff sales and Grocery (retail units 6, 7 and 8) 45 sq metres(480 sq feet) of shelving for alcohol. Licence Application Ref: 288892

Overprovision - There are already 7 off-sales licences with 250 metres and an additional one will amount to overprovision. (The Board have said they are concerned at the high number of off-sales premises (Policy Statement 9.6)).

Unknown end user - The potential nuisance arising from off-sales depends to a large extent on the quality of the management, especially when, as in this case, there is a large gathering space in front of the shop and along the road in both directions. It is inappropriate to grant any licence without knowing the end user.

Health – increasing access to off-sales will not have a positive effect on public health, especially if the end user is a cut price outlet.

Yours sincerely

(On behalf of Save Stockbridge)

Cc: Stockbridge and Inverleith Community Council

Sarah Boyack MSP

Marco Biagi MSP

The City Of Edinburgh Licensing Board, 13 April 2015

249 High Street,

Edinburgh,

EH1 1YJ

Objection toRestaurant/ice cream parlour (retail unit 9)Licence Application Ref: 288875

If this is an ice cream parlour without an end user why do the applicants assume a licence will be needed? Granting a licence will reduce the possibility of it attracting a non-licenced operator.

It does not comply with Licensing Objective 5 – Protecting Children from Harm because:

The ice cream sales will be attractive primarily at children, including those from the High School in the next street, and this brings into serious doubt the suitability of an alcohol licence.
The end user is not specified and that is crucial to keeping children safe from harm.

It does not comply with licensing objective 3 – preventing public nuisance because:

Noise from the large outside dining/drinking area will not maintain and protect the amenity of residents who will suffer the noise of external dining, drinking and events.

The hours extend into the night in a residential area. It will inevitably mean noise and disturbance on the streets as people leave.
Fouling of doorways and private gardens because there are no public toilets nearby.
It is questionable whether the areas for outside dining/drinking have planning permission.

Yours sincerely

(On behalf of Save Stockbridge)

Cc: Stockbridge and Inverleith Community Council

Sarah Boyack MSP

Marco Biagi MSP

Save Stockbridge campaigns to protect the residential amenity and traditional town centre environment of Stockbridge/Comely Bank against excessive and inappropriate activity on the Edinburgh Academicals Ground in Raeburn Place. See our website for more information –