Time

6pm

Notice

The Roof Gardens next monthly Kensington Square residents’ meeting will take place on Thursday 23rd January 2025 at 6pm at The Roof Gardens, 99 Kensington High Street, W8 5SA. If you are able to join us, please RSVP to our team through RoofGardensKS@theroofgardens.com by Monday 20th January 2025.

This meeting can also be attended remotely via the Microsoft Teams link included on the calendar invite.

Recording of Meetings / Minutes 

Overview of complaints received/ Formal Complaints Log 

• RS: Mariela has asked that complaints are dealt with via email and the Formal Complaint Log Document. I will go back in more detail on that document. I’m glad that complaints are being addressed more openly. However, I’ve noticed that on a few occasions, it feels like everything is being blamed on TRG, such as issues with the loading bay or noise in the Square. It’s important to clarify that not all issues are our fault. We will ensure that when it is our responsibility, we handle it.  

• AS: I can’t say that everything is your fault, but I think that 1) the GQ event was disruptive, and 2) there seem to be quite a few complaints coming from people near the building, as well as those exiting the club at the end of shifts and causing noise late at night. 3) regular noise could be from people in the club standing on the corner and chatting.  

• RS: Parking is another issue being raised by KSRA, along with exiting. Exiting staff don’t use the loading bay (Mariela had noted in a complaint that it should be used on exit), and the new gates are locked. So, team members now take a longer pathway to get out of the building. However, not all of them are compliant (quiet), and this needs improvement. We will extend the evening SIA rota so that team members can stay until everyone left and everything is closed. The gate across the yard is an additional concern, and I understand that we could manage this better. I have told staff to be quiet myself and I’m happy to work with management to reinforce the importance of their behaviour. 

• RS: re chatting – club members leaving generally don’t make too much noise, but people walking to the square who aren’t members can be noisy. Just as one example of recent complaints, on the 17th of November 20 people were in the Square garden, they let themselves through the gates and made noise. I’m happy to provide more information and will aim to help clarify whether it’s KRG complaints or not. 

• AS: I can’t comment on that. There have been one or two instances with people standing on the corner of the square, but whether or not they are your guests, I can’t say. 

• RS: The security are doing their job in the main, because the members are getting annoyed by this, and there is proof of it. 

GQ 19^th November – Derry Street Closure 

• AS: During the GQ event, Derry Street turned into a parking lot at some point in the evening. I went down there because of the noise, with paparazzi present and people screaming and shouting. There were 22 Land Rovers parked there, and limos were waiting for people, with drivers chatting. I know this doesn’t happen every week, but is it really necessary to have all these cars and paparazzi there? 

• RS: The street was closed, and the traffic was different from usual. From my point of view, the street was quieter. I told a couple of drivers to speak quietly. Genuinely, they were either parking or dropping people off; there were no random cars moving. If we control it like that and shut the street, agree the drivers have to be quiet. The honking was happening earlier in the evening. 

• AS: It depends on what you consider to be early, as everything was going on until 12 AM.  

• RS: The main noise had calmed down by 10 o’clock, as the primary crowd and photographer noise came from the drop-off. We can’t stop paparazzi from arriving, and it’s difficult to control that. Considering the scale of the event, the main concern was traffic control, and we took onboard everything that you said. Overall, it was well run for such a large event.  

[AS leaves the online meeting and joins at 6:23pm in person] 

[Leo arrives at 6:22pm] 

• SW: Mariella wants the complaints written via email. 

• RS: People parked their cars in the square for GQ, but we asked them to move them. They were also not allowed to enter the club afterward until they move the car. 

• AS: Are limo drivers important on Derry Street? 

• RS: They (GQ) shut the street for the limos and could do whatever they wanted to some extent. It’s just very busy generally, and we don’t take responsibility for everything coming into Derry St. 

• LMP: The security that operates further back by [location/premises not quite heard] is responsible for protecting everything that happens in the square. I noticed that the security was working dark clothing, so at night, and I’m not sure they can check everything (as drivers may not see them). 

• RS: We could try putting SIA in reflective jackets to make more noticeable & help stop others from parking there 

• RS: As a side note we held a large event then day after the GQ event and no complaints received at all – so we are not always tripping up. 

Parking App – Live Demonstration 

• EA: The app is going live tomorrow for the Roof Gardens security. It will include an optical card reader that can read number plates from different countries. The system will sync with the members’ database and ensure GDPR compliance. The default reader on the device will be used by security personnel, who will scan the vehicle’s number plate. The system will then capture the number sequence, pull up the member’s ID against Salesforce, and check if the member has parked and entered the club. This will allow us to track when the vehicle arrived and when the person checked in, in case someone claims they didn’t go into the club. 

• RS: Members sometimes try their luck and say they went to the gym or Whole Foods 

• EA: If someone parks inappropriately, security will be notified of member name on app (if member is in the database). If not in database SIA can enter name or find the members guest on the app. Geolocation data will provide additional evidence of where the vehicles were parked. We have an admin dashboard. The app that correlates the cars, will be cleared every day on front end. Security will collect the information and work with reception team as they have all the details. Security will also know if the same individuals have done it before by colour code on the app.  

• SW: It’s very easy to gather all the information and challenge the member, which could eventually lead to their release from membership. 

• EA: The Marketing Cloud geolocates vehicles within 3 meters of the square and sends a push notification to the members iPhone/Android if they have the TRG members app, alerting that it is a residential area and parking is not allowed. It’s not live yet, but we can activate it, and we are currently tracking this. (this is separate to the Parking App).  

• AS: What is the protocol for security to collect this information? How many security personnel are involved? Is it just two security guards walking around the square, or are there more? Are they systematically checking for anyone who parks and taking a photo, or is it only when someone parks? 

• RS: They do not take just single pictures; they should be taking as many as possible. 

• AS: They take the photo, and if the photo does match, they may have a word with the member. If they don’t, will it happen immediately or a few days later? 

• RS: They (member) will receive a warning email after a few days; it is not instant, but the parking information is updated daily. If they do not have the number plate, we can add it, and it will be recorded. It’s a capture and add (data) process. Not all members have a car, and some simply use the public transport. 

• SW: Some travel by tube and do not have a car, as they do not need one in London. 

• SW: It is part of the application to request that information, and it has been for the past 3-4 months. It happens automatically, like a gym membership. For those who do not provide their number plate, we will still capture it eventually if they park via the App.  

• AS: What is the process for collecting the number plate? What if the vehicle belongs to someone who is not a member? 

• RS: The number plate is still logged and will be checked. Guests can be added against members profile as well and warning issued.  

• AS: If it’s dark and rainy would not it be difficult to take a photo of the vehicle? The database may not track that person into the club. 

• RS: We are doing that now as much as possible (on Security App). SIA approach the car and take a snapshot, and if the person looks like they are going to the club, they will act on it. 

• Leo: What about bigger events? 

• RS: With VIPs, we always get their number plates, but they do not park in Square. Going forward, we will aim to inform event guests that they won’t be allowed into the club unless they move their vehicle. 

• SW: Reception team is not challenging the members. The idea is to gather concrete data so that it can be followed up. The membership team will then challenge the members. 

• AS: You are relying on too many points of failure: security, following them into the club, and checking this with the Reception team 

• SW: We have already addressed it, and there have been warnings for members who have parked on the square. Thanks to recent AS complaint and follow-up, the member has been warned about his parking and the way he spoke to the team members. I believe this will help us moving forward. 

• AS: I think it’s a step forward, but not the perfect solution. The fundamental weakness you have right now is that you do not have member number plates. You need to figure out a mechanism for this. 

• SW: We have the plates and are doing both, but you will have to bear with us on this. It’s a step forward, and we will continue to push this approach, communicating with the membership team, retroactively collecting number plates. For those unwilling to provide them, we will use the app system to retrieve the data. 

• AS: Can I have the number of members? 

• SW: We are not going to share that with you 

• AS: If the number of members grows, it will be important to collect all the information. It has been slower to collect this data, and it’s crucial that you are very systematic about doing this now. 

• SW: With more members registering and a lot of plates being registered, let’s give it a chance, and we will see improvement. We already have data without the app technology, and it will be even better with it. As more members join, they will have to provide their plates, but not all members have a car. We are working on it and taking it seriously. We are very happy to walk around the square, share data with you, and see the improvements. It’s not helpful to say we didn’t track from the beginning; I’d rather move forward than dwell on the past. The only thing we can do is fix it, not focus on what happened before. Let’s work together— we are doing everything we can. You are not doing the job for us, and I hope you can see that we are taking it seriously. 

• LMP: Push notifications on the app will be a game changer to gather these data. 

• SW: The push notifications as people drive into the square’s private parking area, and as a member, you can’t park there.  

• EA: Manually update the app, which syncs to our system. If SIA can’t identify who the person is, will go in and manually enter and save the information. When the person checks in by tapping at the reception, we will know who they are synced on the app. 

• AS: The ladies at the front desk are more focused on engaging with the members and are very welcoming. 

• SW: They are logging everything, including check-ins and check-outs, what time members arrive, and they have all the data. 

• LMP : can you pull a live database?  

• EA: We have to be mindful of GDPR, especially when pulling data that doesn’t belong to members. 

• SW: We cannot justify holding data. 

SIA Square / Patrol Route  

-RS: There are four people patrolling most of the time. I changed the Patrol Map to reflect that they are on the square and not on Derry Street. They monitor two corners, and when a car comes in, they radio the car has entered, take a snapshot/approach if parked, and input it into the database. Not much is changing from before. 

-AS: One will be in the square and one on Derry Street, and this rotation will be helpful. However, it’s still not clear what the two security personnel are doing, as they stand there looking at their phones. What are they doing during the first part of the evening? 

-RS: Two in Square, we moved from Derry St. The Gap role changes as evening goes on. The first part will involve relaying information, keeping an eye on numbers going into Square, and ensuring the staff are making less noise and maintaining quiet. 

RS – I will recirculate the updated SIA routes and plan for KSRA comments. 

-LMP: Are security on cold nights wrapped up and warm? 

-RS: It’s not the easiest job, especially during winter. We are looking to hire TRG security direct instead of relying so much on agency. We need to find people who are motivated. They are provided with uniforms but currently mainly supply their own coats. 

-RS: Members (have complained) do not like being asked what they are doing, and House 35 has commented they do not like having security outside their house, as it makes it look like a crime area and feels antagonising. 

‘Nightclub’  

• SW: We do not engage with the press, as we are a discreet members’ club. Any stories that come out are simply people creating narratives. Some of the press are frustrated with us because they don’t get the stories they want, and only obtain information that is in the public domain. The average spend in our club is far higher than that of a typical nightclub. The 7th floor will be a Japanese restaurant. 

• AS: It will be unfortunate if this happens, if you are going to open a nightclub or a dancefloor, just let me know. 

• SW: We are not opening a nightclub. For the 7th floor, we are paying for and interior designer and have already trademarked the restaurant name. Early next year, we will have a Japanese pop-up. If you look at my background, you’ll see I have never operated a nightclub. A nightclub is just drinks and dancing, as it used to be here. I will bring the plans and other details to show you what we are doing (Sue presented the deck to Alex one to one at the end of the meeting) We have a license for live music, dinner, and dancing. That is not changing.  

• RS: We are very aware of the license we have, and if we start applying for things that we can’t do, it would be problematic. 

Membership Warnings/Terminations 

• RS: 83 members have been warned, 5 are on their last warning, and 1 terminated to date. 

2025 Resident Meeting Schedule  

-RS: I suggest penciling in 23^rd January as first meeting date and keeping monthly for the first six months of 2025.  

SW: How often do you want to do the meeting?   

AS: Keep monthly for now 

Any other business 

-AS: Any mega events planned for next year? 

-LMP: are you taking part to London Fashion week next February? 

-SW: We won’t, as we are not a London Fashion Week partner. 

-AS: Halloween music levels to be discussed 

-RS: It was too loud around the same time as your email (10pm), and I corrected this as soon as soon as I heard myself around the same time. It was fixed swiftly on that occasion.  

-AS: For next time, make sure there is no outdoor amplified music 

-SW: We have already turned down bookings where people wanted live music, as we are not a private event venue, and it is not our priority. 

-SW: RE KM last meeting: Thank you for all the guidance along the way and your kind words. I am grateful for your presence and support. Who will be taking over from you going forward? 

-KM: I’m finishing at the end of January, and we haven’t worked out what will happen yet. I will keep you informed. I will be there for one more meeting to do a comparison. 

Actions: 

• High Viz Jackets to be purchased for SIA in Square x 4  

• Put Push Notifications live on the ‘entry app’ for drivers coming into the Square  

• TRG to send a member comms that will ask them for number plate and re-remind them of non-parking in Square as part of T&C;s  

• Patrol Route Map to be recirculated by Rob to KSRA for review and agreement (has to go to RBKC and Police also once agreed)  

• Live demo of App on Square next week with Rob and Manni. Alex suggested Tuesday or Wednesday. Rob to organise suitable day.  

• Alex had a good idea regarding a DVLA database / data / app if TRG can purchase. Not to use it to scan, but to match names and address of existing member and build the database that way from bottom up. TRG to follow up.  

• Next meeting date Thursday 23^rd January 2025 @ 6pm TBC. TRG to send out 2025 suggested calendar dates/invites.  

Time

6pm

Notice

The Roof Gardens next monthly Kensington Square residents’ meeting will take place on Thursday 5th December at 6pm at The Roof Gardens, 99 Kensington High Street, W8 5SA. If you are able to join us, please RSVP to our team through RoofGardensKS@theroofgardens.com by Monday 2nd December 2024.

This meeting can also be attended remotely via the Microsoft Teams link included on the calendar invite.

Kensington Roof Gardens
99 Kensington High Street
Operational Management and Dispersal Plan
June 2024

1 Overview and general principles ______________________________________ 3
2 Management roles and stakeholder engagement _____________________ 6
3 Membership__________________________________________________________9
4 Staff practices and training __________________________________________ 11
5 Use of the outdoor spaces in the Premises_____________________________ 13
6 Arrival and Dispersal Policy (including SIA provision)____________________ 16
7 Deliveries, Collections and Waste_____________________________________ 24

1 Overview and general principles
Introduction
1.1 The relaunch of the Kensington Roof Gardens at 99 Kensington High Street (the
“Premises”) is rooted in a desire to restore the building and the gardens, and fill
them with a diverse community of members, who can use the Premises as a
stunning backdrop for work, collaboration, exchanging ideas, socialising and
relaxing.
1.2 This Plan sets out the operational procedures and controls for the Premises to
be run in a manner that does not cause public nuisance to local residents, and
follows extensive negation during the premises licence process and further
consultation.
Location
1.3 The Premises is set across the 6th and 7th floors of a large commercial building
on Kensington High Street, in close proximity to High Street Kensington
Underground Station.
1.4 High Street Kensington is a busy thoroughfare, connecting Knightsbridge to the
east with Hammersmith to the west. The immediate vicinity consists mainly of
retail stores at ground level with offices above, as well as other licensed
premises.
1.5 A number of these businesses occupy the same building as the Premises, with
the same estate management team – including, currently, Marks & Spencer,
H&M and Japan House at ground level on Kensington High Street, as well as
Equinox and DMG Media (Daily Mail).

1.6 The pedestrian entrance/exit to the Premises is to the east on Derry Street, as
shown by the blue star above (the “Entrance”), and the image below, which
also shows the entrance ‘on the left’ (right as it is looked at). This Entrance is the
sole point of entry and exit for customers, except in the case of emergency and
after 10pm only the entrance to the right (as one looks at the photograph) is
used for customer egress, save in an emergency.

1.7 The nearest residential properties are to the south-east on Kensington Square,
as shown on the map above.

Importance of the local community
1.8 This Plan recognises the proximity of residents – and that the previous
incarnation of the Premises, under the previous premises licence, with a
different operator, which was associated with issues of anti-social behaviour,
public nuisance, crime and disorder, all of which had a negative impact on
residents’ lives.
1.9 The core objective of this Plan is for that never to be repeated. This is consistent
with the fundamental business aim of providing a high-quality experience for
our members, and the intention for the club to establish itself as a positive pillar
in the local community. This will be underpinned by the club’s ethos to:

• build a community of likeminded individuals with shared values of kindness,
  making a positive impact and innovation;
• vet and pre-select all new members, with a minimum 7 day selection period;
• put in place and clearly communicate club rules and private booking rules
  which reinforce the terms of the Premises Licence;
• monitor member usage of the club and ensure adherence with our Premises
  Licence obligations (this will be included in the operating teams’ job
  descriptions);
• include our Premise Licence obligations in all operating team inductions,
  training, and in the performance of their duties;
• curate member programming which includes thought leadership and
  opportunities for members to engage positively with the club and local
  community; and
• work with local charities and agencies to support local employment and
  training opportunities.

Equality and diversity
1.10 This Plan is at all times subject to the club’s obligations under the Equality Act
2010.
1.11 The club is fully committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion at the
club, among our staff, members and guests.

2 Management roles and stakeholder engagement
Management and staff reporting
2.1 At all times during opening hours, an Operations Manager on Duty (the “MOD”)
will be present on the Premises. One of the MOD’s core roles is to oversee that
the procedures in this Plan are adhered to. Outside opening hours, whenever
cleaning staff are present on the premises, there will be an appointed cleaning
supervisor responsible for the behaviour of cleaning staff.
2.2 Staff should monitor any actual or potential issues arising in connection with this
Plan, and report to the MOD accordingly. Staff will focus on prevention rather
just detection or reaction to incidents, and are expected to monitor customer
behaviour accordingly.
2.3 Overall responsibility for the operation of the Premises lies with the Licence
Holder’s Chief Executive Officer (the “CEO”). The CEO must appraise
adherence to this Plan on an ongoing basis.

Complaints and incident procedure
2.4 In line with condition 31 in the Premises licence, a dedicated phone number
and email address for the Designated Premises Supervisor or MOD shall be
displayed outside the Premises so that they are visible from the highway and
maintained for use by any person who may wish to make a complaint during
the operation of the licence, and which shall be provided to the Licensing
Authority and local residents’ associations.
2.5 The phone number is 07399 192 274 and the email address is
duty.manager@theroofgardens.com.

2.6 This phone number and email address will also be displayed on the Club’s
website. Over and above the requirement in the licence, the phone number
will include answering machine provision out of hours, with alerts to venue
management when voicemails are left. The email address will be able to
receive emails at any time, and moreover the Landlord is understood to have
a 24/7 presence in the building. Any change to the number or email address
shall be notified to the Licensing Authority and to local residents’ associations –
this notification is required within 7 days of the change by the condition on the
licence, but in practice management will notify the Licensing Authority and the
local residents’ associations immediately of any such change.
2.7 A log shall be kept of all complaints which shall be available for inspection by
Council Officers at all times during opening hours. For the avoidance of doubt,
Kensington Roof Gardens this log will include complaints from residents about any matter regarding the operation of the Premises, including those made in relation to:
i. the behaviour of staff or external contractors present on the Premises
outside of opening hours, including relating to the use of staff radios or
telephones; and
ii. waste disposal and bottle collections. 2.8 Separate to this general complaint log, a separate log will be maintained
recording instances where patrons’ cars are found to be parked on Kensington
Square, in contravention of the rules referred to at paragraphs 3.7(ii) and 6.19(ii)
below, and condition 13 in the premises licence.
2.9 The MOD will investigate complaints to determine whether the Plan has been
implemented correctly and take appropriate action to address any
shortcomings.
2.10 The MOD will communicate with the complainant as soon as reasonably
practicable (with a call, where a number is provided) to let them know what
has been done to address their complaint, with confirmation to be provided in
writing by email (again, where provided), with the Kensington Square Residents’
Association (KSRA) in copy.
2.11 In line with condition 28 of the Premises Licence, an incident log will also be
maintained, which records:

• all crimes reported to the venue
• all ejections of patrons
• any complaints received
• any incidents of disorder
• all seizures of drugs or offensive weapons
• any faults in the CCTV system
• any refusal of the sale of alcohol
• any visit by a relevant authority or emergency service
• SIA staff identity numbers

Resident engagement
2.12 The complaints procedure above is supplemental to the Licence Holder’s
ongoing engagement with local residents regarding the operation of the
Premises.
2.13 The Premises will host an in-person meeting with the KSRA at the Premises every
month (unless previously agreed in writing with the KSRA that a meeting is not
necessary), in line with condition 48 in the Premises Licence. These meetings will
Kensington Roof Gardens be to discuss the operation of the Premises, including external management
and litter.
2.14 The details of the first meeting shall be notified by way of a letter drop to all
properties in Kensington Square as well as a notice being displayed on a
window or door visible to people outside the Premises. Notice of subsequent
meetings shall be clearly displayed on a window or door visible to people
outside the Premises and KSRA shall be directly notified of the meeting date at
least two weeks before the meeting.
2.15 Going beyond the requirements in the licence condition, KSRA will also be
notified of each meeting by email, along with any residents of Kensington
Square who have requested to be contacted by email, and have provided
their email in relation to the same. Notification for each meeting will also be
added to the Club’s online resident’s portal (the “Portal”). The Club will use the
Portal to provide updates to the residents of Kensington Square. 2.16 Minutes of the meeting will be circulated to all attendees and the Licensing
Authority, and added to the Portal, and shall be available at the Premises upon
request.

3 Membership
3.1 On first opening, the Premises will have a group of ‘Founding Members’
admitted as members of the club, who will have been selected and vetted by
the CEO and the management team.
3.2 Going forward, all new membership applications will be carefully vetted by a
Membership Committee, comprising existing members and management, with
ultimate oversight by the CEO. This vetting process will take at least a week, as,
in line with condition 10 in the Premises Licence, no member may be admitted
to the membership without an interval of at least 7 days between nomination
or application and admission.
3.3 Admittance as a member will be subject to conditions of membership, and a
minimum age of 21. Members and their guests will be monitored on an ongoing
basis in relation to their adherence to the membership conditions, and the
club’s values.
3.4 Members will be charged an annual membership fee, subject to exception in
certain cases, such as for those serving on one of the club’s committees
(including the Membership Committee).
3.5 The behaviour of a member’s guests during their visit to the Premises will be
treated for the purposes of the membership conditions as the behaviour of the
relevant member themselves – and in that sense, members will be responsible
for the behaviour of their guests throughout their visit. This includes their
behaviour during arrival to and dispersal from the Premises, the policy on which
is set out in Section 5 below.
3.6 Failure to adhere to our club rules (and in particular those set out to respect our
neighbours) by members or their guests will result in appropriate action, up to
and including cessation of membership, in which case such members and their
guests would then no longer be able to return to the club as a member or a
guest. 3.7 As described in Section 6 below, it will be a rule of membership that patrons:
i. are required to show respect for the club’s neighbours at all times,
particularly in regard to noise as they arrive at and leave the club, and
must fully cooperate with any requests made by the club’s staff in this
regard;
ii. are not permitted to park in Kensington Square when attending the
Premises (in line with condition 13 in the Premises Licence);
Kensington Roof Gardens
iii. are encouraged not to drive to the Premises by private car, and are
required to register the details of any private cars they intend to use to
attend the Premises;
iv. do not book taxis or private hire vehicles for collection on Kensington
Square;
v. after 10.30pm, book any taxi or private hire vehicle for collection on High
Street Kensington (or beyond), and not Derry Street; and
vi. disperse to the north towards Kensington High Street, unless they live (or
are staying) to the south-east of the Premises themselves.
3.8 Any relevant breaches of the Club Rules will be reported to the membership
director. 3.9 For the avoidance of doubt, the rule in paragraph 3.7(ii) will not be applied so
as to prohibit those who live in Kensington Square from leaving their car where
it was in any event parked in Kensington Square when attending the premises
(i.e. residents will not be required to move their car out of Kensington Square
in order to attend the Premises).

Private functions
3.10 Any bookings for a private function at the Premises which permit entry to
customers other than members and their guests will be vetted by
management for adherence to the Club’s ethos. Entry will be by invitation
only, and all such private bookings will be subject to the same rules of
membership set out at paragraph 3.7 above, which will apply to all attendees
at the event, whether they are members or not.
3.11 There will be no publicly promoted events at the Premises under any
circumstances.
3.12 The same rules as set out in paragraph 3.7 shall apply to any private bookings,
and shall be included as part of the contractual terms of any such booking.
3.13 In line with condition 61 in the Premises Licence, where the Premises, or part of
the Premises, are let to individuals or groups for a private function in this way:
i. a named member of staff shall be responsible for ensuring that the
conditions of the Premises Licence are adhered to; and
ii. this person shall obtain the details of the lead individual and all guests of
the private function in writing in advance of the private event and such
details shall be retained for a period of at least 31 days after the date of
the private event.

4 Staff practices and training
4.1 In line with the conditions in the Premises Licence:

“All staff responsible for selling alcohol shall receive regular training in the Licensing
Act 2003 in terms of the licensing objectives, substance abuse awareness, offences
committed under the Act and conditions of the Premises Licence.”

“Written records of staff training in the Licensing Act 2003 shall be retained and
made available to the Police and authorised officers of the Licensing Authority on
request.”

“Staff shall receive refresher training in the Licensing Act 2003 at intervals of no more
than 12 months.”

“Signed and dated records shall be kept of all staff training and such records kept
available for inspection at the Premises for a period of at least one calendar year
from the last date of entry.”

“A member of staff who has been nominated in writing and who is conversant with
the operation of the CCTV system shall be on the Premises at all times when the
Premises are open to the public.”

“If the Premises are not open, and subject to the tests set out by virtue of the Data
Protection Act, within 24 hours of a request for access to the CCTV system from
either the Police or Licensing Authority, this member of staff must be able to show a
Police, HMRC or authorised council officer recent data or footage with the absolute
minimum of delay.”

“All relevant staff shall be trained in how to manage a crime scene, evidence and
crime scene preservation. This training shall be repeated at least bi-annually and
written records of the training kept for at least 12 months and made available to
Police and authorised officers of the Licensing Authority on request.”

“There shall be a personal licence holder on duty on the Premises at all times when
the Premises are authorised to sell alcohol.”

“All customer facing staff, including those involved in the sale or supply of alcohol
shall undertake Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) Awareness E-learning on an annual
basis and written records of the training kept for at least 12 months.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/act-awarenesselearning.”

“All customer facing staff, including SIA registered door supervisors (if employed) and
those involved in the sale or supply of alcohol will be provided with Welfare and
Vulnerability Engagement (WAVE) training on an annual basis to provide those
working in the licensed industry with an awareness of vulnerability and their
responsibilities towards people visiting the Premises. Written records of the training
shall be kept for at least 12 months.”

“At all times the Premises are open to the public there shall be at least one member
of staff who is trained in first-aid present on the Premises.”

4.2 In addition, all staff will be versed in the terms of this Plan, the ethos of the
Club and the importance of protecting residential amenity for residents on
Kensington Square.

Use of the outdoor spaces in the Premises

5.1 The Premises has a flow of different spaces, each with different authorisations
for different activity at different times – and they will all be managed and
monitored by staff accordingly, with the objective of avoiding disturbance to
residents by noise from the Premises or its customers, or any other anti-social or
unsafe behaviour.
5.2 There will be adequate staff provision across all areas, whenever the Premises
are open. This will be risk assessed according to demand and the use of each
area on a particular day or evening, and be dynamic and reactive during
opening hours, with oversight from the MOD.
5.3 Customers will not be permitted to take alcoholic drinks outside of the boundary
of the licensed area and notices will be in place at each exit to this effect, in
line with condition 40 in the Premises Licence.

Sound monitoring
5.4 Noise monitoring devices will be installed at the southern perimeter of the
premises on the 6th floor. The system will be calibrated so as to alert staff when
noise levels exceed a certain threshold. The threshold at different times of day
and night shall be set in consultation with an independent acoustician to
adhere to the ‘Design Targets’ set out in Section 6 of the attached acoustic
report.
5.5 In line with condition 56 in the Premises Licence, all recorded music generated
on the Premises shall be relayed through a sound limiting device linked to a
graphic equaliser and set at a level which will not give rise to nuisance to
neighbouring residents. The limiter unit shall not be overridden or interfered with
at any time. Only the Premises Licence Holder and the Designated Premises
Supervisor shall have access to the sound limiting device. The sound limiting
device shall be set at a level by a suitably qualified person.

Area Key

6 Arrival and Dispersal Policy (including SIA provision)
Introduction
6.1 The objective of this policy is a quiet, controlled and swift arrival and dispersal
of the Premises’ customers, in a manner that does not impact residents in
Kensington Square.
6.2 This policy will be followed whenever the Premises are open, but particular
attention will be paid to customers arriving and leaving at night.
Entrance/exit
6.3 As described above, the Entrance on Derry Street is the sole point of entry and
exit for customers, except in the case of emergency. After 10pm, exit is via the
‘left’ door, except in the case of emergency. Arrival
6.4 Whenever the Premises are open, staff will be present at the ground floor
reception inside the Entrance to greet customers. Customers granted entry will
be directed to the 6th floor via the internal lifts.
6.5 There are two lifts serving the Entrance. One of the lifts is for the exclusive use of
the Premises. The second lift may be used by other tenants in the building during
the day – but at night the expectation is that it will only be used by those
attending the Premises.
6.6 There will be a further reception area on the 6th floor to assist arrivals.
6.7 Customers will always have to register both themselves and any guests on
arrival.
6.8 In addition, in line with condition 51 in the Premises Licence, after 10pm on
Monday to Saturday, details of all customers must be passed through the
Premises’ computer-based ID system before entry is permitted. The details
recorded by the system must be kept for a minimum of 31 days and are to be
made available to the Metropolitan Police Service and Licensing Authority
officers upon request for the purposes of preventing and detecting crime.
Notices will be displayed informing customers of this as a condition of entry.
6.9 In line with condition 65 in the Premises Licence, no customers shall be admitted
to the Premises later than one hour before the terminal hour for the sale of
alcohol on any given day – i.e. no later than 1am Monday to Wednesday, 2am
Thursday to Saturday and 10.30pm Sunday (or 11pm on a bank holiday).

Dispersal
6.10 The principles guiding the policy on dispersal are to:
i. take steps to institute a staggered dispersal; and
ii. direct customers to disperse to the north, onto Kensington High Street, and
not to the south, via Kensington Square.

Staggered dispersal (Monday to Saturday)
6.11 Service to customers on the 7th floor and in Esme’s will stop at 1am at the latest,
and staff will take steps to encourage customers either to migrate to the 6th
floor, or to leave the Premises entirely.
6.12 The 7th floor and Esme’s must be clear of customers by 1.30am at the latest. No
customers will be permitted on the 7th floor or in Esme’s after this time, reducing
the capacity of the Premises to 450 persons (excluding staff).
6.13 Except in the case of emergency, customer egress will only be via the lifts
serving the Entrance.
6.14 In the run up to close of the 6th floor, staff will begin a dispersal procedure. This
will involve alerting remaining customers of closing time and enticing a gradual
dispersal, variously by:
6.14.1 stopping the sale of alcohol and food service;
6.14.2 informing customers that they have a limited time to consume any
remaining drinks;
6.14.3 reducing the volume of any music, before stopping it entirely;
6.14.4 raising lights gradually; and
6.14.5 asking customers if they require a taxi, and suggesting they wait inside
until their driver is nearby. 6.15 At busier times, these steps may involve requiring certain tables or groups to
finish and leave on a staggered basis in the run up to close.
6.16 Having to exit via the lifts will limit the number of people leaving at the same
time. Staff will supervise the operation of the lifts and – where appropriate –
stagger the timing of the lifts so as to allow people on the ground floor to
disperse before further people are brought to the ground floor. This will involve
close co-ordination between 6th floor and ground floor staff.
6.17 Notices will be displayed asking customers to respect the needs of local
residents by leaving the Premises and the Premises and the area quietly, in line
with condition 47 of the Premises Licence. Staff will also be trained to request
that guests leave quietly. Staggered dispersal (Sunday)
6.18 On Sundays, the 6th floor, 7th floor and Esme’s will close at the same time. As
such, the gradual dispersal procedures described at 6.13 to 6.16 above will be
applied across both floors in tandem. Dispersal to the north
6.19 It will be a rule of membership that patrons:
i. are required to show respect for the club’s neighbours at all times,
particularly in regard to noise as they arrive at and leave the club, and
must fully cooperate with any requests made by the club’s staff in this
regard;
ii. are not permitted to park in Kensington Square (in line with condition 13 in
the Premises Licence) when attending the Premises;
iii. are encouraged not to drive to the Premises by private car, and are
required to register the details of any private cars they intend to use to
attend the Premises;
iv. do not book taxis or private hire vehicles for collection on Kensington
Square;
v. after 10.30pm, book any taxi or private hire vehicle for collection on High
Street Kensington (or beyond), and not Derry Street; and
vi. disperse to the north towards Kensington High Street, unless they live (or
are staying) to the south-east of the Premises themselves. 6.20 The same rules shall apply to any private bookings.
6.21 For the avoidance of doubt, the rule in paragraph 6.19(ii) will not be applied
so as to prohibit those who live in Kensington Square from leaving their car
where it was in any event parked in Kensington Square when attending the
Premises (i.e. residents will not be required to move their car out of Kensington
Square in order to attend the Premises).
6.22 This will be reinforced by staff inside the Premises and door supervisors at
ground level taking active steps to direct customers to disperse to the north.
There will also be a notice at the Entrance to the same effect.
6.23 After 10pm, customers will only be permitted to leave via the ‘left’ door, and
will be directed to towards Kensington High Street, in line with condition 32 in
the Premises Licence.
6.24 Where staff arrange a taxi or private hire vehicle on a customer’s behalf, they
will not book the pick-up on Kensington Square. After 10.30pm, they will book
pick-ups for collection on High Street Kensington (or beyond), and not on
Derry Street.

Geofence
6.25 To reinforce these procedures, management will seek to work with Uber, BOLT
and other leading private hire vehicle apps to impose a geofence on Derry
Street and Kensington Square, to prevent customers (or anyone else)
attending the Premises from booking pick-ups for collection on Derry Street or
Kensington Square.

SIA provision – licence conditions
6.26 In line with conditions in the Premises Licence:
“At least one SIA-registered door supervisor shall be stationed in the proximity
of the entrance to the Premises during the whole period that the Premises are
in use under this licence.”
“After 22:00 on Sundays to Wednesdays, a minimum of 1 SIA-registered door
supervisor(s) shall be on duty at the Premises until 30 minutes after closing.”
“After 22:00 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, a minimum of 3 SIA-registered
door supervisors shall be on duty at the premises (with a minimum of 2 SIAregistered door supervisors being on the door) until 30 minutes after closing.”
“From 22:00 hours each night until 30 minutes after closing, all staff engaged
outside the entrance to the premises or supervising or controlling queues shall
wear high visibility jackets or vests.”
“An additional 3 SIA registered door supervisors shall patrol Derry Street and
Kensington Square at regular intervals on every night from 18:00 until 30 minutes
after closing. The patrol route shall be one agreed with the Kensington Square
Residents’ Association. Details of that patrol route shall be lodged with the
Licensing Authority and the Metropolitan Police. Those patrolling will do so
wearing high visibility jackets and shall be equipped with body cameras. In the
event of an incident, as soon as practicable, body cameras shall be switched
on and record continuously (images and audio) any incidents which occur
outside the premises involving customers. Recording will continue until all
customers involved in the incident have dispersed. All recordings shall be stored
for a minimum period of 31 days with date and time stamping. Recordings shall
be made available within reasonable notice within reasonable notice upon the request of Police or an authorised officer throughout the preceding 31-day
period.”
“The door supervisors shall maintain orderly queuing in the direction of
Kensington High Street when outside of the premises and shall ensure that there
is no obstruction of the highway and any such queue shall be managed so as
to run along the pavement to the north of the entrance on Derry Street and
not to the south.”
“The door supervisors shall properly control customers outside of the premises
so that they leave quickly and quietly”.
“Where SIA-registered door supervisors are used at the Premises, a record shall
be kept of their SIA registration number and the dates and times when they are
on duty.”
“The requirement for additional SIA-registered door supervisors at the Premises
shall be subject to a full written risk assessment conducted, signed and dated
by the Premises licence holder upon the booking of each private event held
at the Premises. The written risk assessment shall be available for inspection at
the Premises by the Police or an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority at
all times whilst the Premises are open.”
6.27 These are the minimum requirements.

SIA provision – operational plan
6.28 In practice:
i. 4 SIA-registered door supervisors will be on duty for the patrol of Derry
Street and Kensington Square after 6pm until 30 minutes after closing. This
will allow 2 SIA to be stationed at the entrance to Kensington Square, while
the other 2 SIA conduct a mobile patrol.
ii. These SIA will be aware of the need to avoid noise nuisance to noise
sensitive premises arising when carrying out their patrol and duties
(including any conversations or interactions with patrons) – including in
particular the noise sensitive premises at number 35 Kensington Square.
iii. The route for the 2 SIA conducting a mobile patrol will be as per the
attached patrol route document agreed with KSRA (the “SIA Map”).
6.29 To provide further detail on the SIA Map and strategy (using the SIA
numbering in the SIA Map):
i. SIA 3 will primarily be focused on monitoring the traffic that enters Derry
Street, with a view to minimising congestion, and disturbance from idling
cars and associated noise. This will be reinforced by the Club rules
providing that from 10.30pm customers are not permitted to book taxis or
PHVs for collection on Derry Street (per 6.19.v above); ii. SIA 1 and 2 stationed by the entrance to Kensington Square will between
them focus primarily on two tasks, with the weighting between the two
assessed dynamically according to the time of day and use of the
Premises on the particular evening:
(1) monitoring inwards towards Kensington Square, to monitor
whether customers are seeking to park in Kensington Square
when attending the Premises (particularly along the north and
west sides of Kensington Square); and
(2) monitoring outwards towards Derry Street, in order to try to
prevent those dispersing from the Premises from entering
Kensington Square (unless they live or are staying to the southeast themselves), and instead direct them towards
Kensington High Street. In doing so, the SIA will be aware of
the member rules and private booking rules regarding
dispersal (set out at 6.19 above), and will be able to remind
patrons of the same;
iii. SIA 4 will back-up SIAs 1 and 2 by conducting a mobile patrol around
Kensington Square, and monitoring parking and pick-ups in Kensington
Square; and
iv. the SIA stationed at the entrance to the Premises (not shown on the SIA
Map) will direct customers leaving the Premises to the north.

6.30 All door supervisors will adhere to this Plan, and shall work in tandem with the
Premises’ front of house staff and the MOD towards the objectives in this Plan.
They will know and understand the rules of membership and booking
described above, and will direct customers accordingly.
6.31 The conditions regarding the management of external queues are
maintained from the previous licence, and must always be adhered to.
However, the new operation is not expected to give rise to external queuing
as standard, and it should be avoided wherever possible. Where it does arise,
any queue shall be managed to run along the pavement north of the
entrance towards Kensington High Street, and not south, towards Kensington
Square.

Monitoring parking of private cars
6.32 Customer adherence to the prohibition on parking on Kensington Square
when attending the Premises will be monitored by the SIA security on duty
patrolling Derry Street and Kensington Square and those stationed on the
door through a combination of:
i. proactive visual identification of customers parking before making their
way to the Premises; and
ii. the use of app-based number plate recognition technology, to compare
parked cars against a database of customer vehicle registrations, subject
to data protection and technical feasibility.
6.33 Management will maintain a database of customer vehicle registrations for
this purpose (including guests), and will include terms in the Club rules and the
terms for any private booking requiring the provision of such information.
6.34 Number plate and vehicle details for cars not on the customer database will
not be logged or retained by the Club, except to the extent provided with the
consent of the resident themselves (including via KSRA).

Other transport
6.35 Customers are expected to arrive and depart by various modes of transport,
including by foot, public transport and taxi.
6.36 All staff and members are to be familiar with the transport links, together with
the rules and principles regarding both: (i) staggered dispersal; and (ii) dispersal
to the north set out in paragraphs 6.10 to 6.24 above. Staff are expected to be
able to advise customers accordingly.

Tube
6.37 High Street Kensington Station is immediately next door, a short walk from the
Entrance, served by both the District and Circle lines.
6.38 Gloucester Road Station is a 20 minute walk away, served by the District, Circle
and Piccadilly Lines. The Piccadilly Line runs a 24-hour night tube service on
Friday and Saturday.
6.39 Holland Park Station is a 21 minute walk away, served by the Central Line, which
also runs a 24-hour night tube service on Friday and Saturday.
Bus
6.40 The Premises are well serviced by TfL buses.
6.41 Bus routes include: 9, 27, 28, 49, 328, N9, N27, N28, N31
6.42 These routes are all along High Street Kensington, away from Kensington
Square. Taxis
6.43 A TfL licensed Taxi Rank is positioned immediately outside on Derry Street, with
a 2-cab capacity 24-hours a day Monday to Sunday.
6.44 Other app-based private-hire services are available throughout the day and
night.
6.45 To reiterate the measures described above: the Club rules for members will
provide that members and their guests must not book any taxi or private hire
vehicle for collection on Derry Street after 10.30pm, or on Kensington Square at
any time. Equally, members of staff must adhere to the same restrictions when
booking a taxi or private hire vehicle for members or their guests. The same rules
will also apply in relation to customers at private bookings.

7 Deliveries, Collections and Waste
7.1 As noted in Section 1, the Premises are set within a large, managed building,
with existing business tenants. The Premises will primarily be serviced via the
enclosed loading bar on Derry Street to the south of the Entrance (as shown in
the map and two images below).

7.2 Occassionally, servicing may be via the building’s service yard to the south, as
shown by the map and image above – but this must only be outside the time
windows set out below.
7.3 Late night and early morning delivery and collection times will be avoided
wherever possible- but, again, these must in any event only be outside the time
windows set out below.
7.4 In line with conditions 35, 36, 59 and 67 in the Premises Licence:
i. refuse (including bottles and cans) will not be deposited outside the
Premises by staff between 11pm and 7am;
ii. glass shall not be compacted between 11pm and 7am;
iii. deliveries shall not take place between 11pm and 7am; and
iv. refuse collections shall not take place between 10pm and 7am,
but it is noted that the loading bay and service yard service other tenants in the
building and have a general operating time starting of 6am Monday to Friday.
7.5 For the avoidance of doubt, delivery vans may not have any sirens, warning
mechanisms, walkie talkies or radios which make noise between 11pm and
7am.

7.6 All refuse collection will be via the enclosed loading bay shown above, with
no external bin collection on Derry Street.

Litter sweeps
7.7 In line with condition 41 in the Premises Licence, a litter sweep shall be carried
out within 20 metres of the entrance to the Premises on Derry Street when the
Premises closes to the public and the pavement shall be washed each
morning (no earlier than 7am) 20 metres either side of the entrance to the
Premises. The litter sweep and pavement washing shall also include any
customer-related litter and customer-related issues in Kensington Square
(including, in particular, the area bounding number 35 Kensington Square)
and on the opposite side of the Premises on Derry Street.

Time

6pm

Notice

The Roof Gardens next monthly Kensington Square residents’ meeting will take place on Thursday 7th November at 6pm at The Roof Gardens, 99 Kensington High Street, W8 5SA. If you are able to join us, please RSVP to our team through RoofGardensKS@theroofgardens.com by Monday 4th November 2024.

This meeting can also be attended remotely via the Microsoft Teams link included on the calendar invite.

Agenda

• Overview of complaints received
• British Fashion council (BFC) -16th September
• Residents’ items
  o Security and Parking in Kensington Square – effectiveness
  o Large Events
  o 7th Floor Plans
  o Rubbish collection/ Food Delivery:
  o Nighttime Lighting (5th Floor):
  o Planning:
• Membership Termination Residents items
• Update Parking Management Technology- ANPR, Uber, Sq. Entry
• Any other business
• Next meeting date (Thursday 7th November @ 6pm)

Overview of Complaints Received
RS

• I’ll come back to BFC on 16th separately. These are the other complaints that have
  come to KRG since September (meeting).
• Daily Mail did complain about the 16th September BFC as a side regarding what they
  said were taxis being stopped from picking up their staff.
• 1st October Alex you emailed regarding comments that security positions looked to have
  changed. We haven’t changed and can talk about that a bit more as its one of your
  points if it appears we have altered.
• 3rd October Leon emailed regarding high-speed cars around the Square. Apologies I
  didn’t actually reply directly back to hum (Leon), but we did do an internal look and not
  club related. Too quick to note the plates clearly. Not club related.
• 7th October – building management told us about bright lights on 5th floor which is
  another point we will discuss further with you.
• 10th October – today, Keith sent same email (regarding lights) and we will pick up and
  are working on that.
• That’s it in terms of what has come our way, so the main thing is the 16th.

BFC event 16th September

• RS-Alex would you like to add anything to that because (BFC) is your first point?
• AS – I think that’s it. There are people feeding stuff into either KSRA or to me in part
  because people don’t know which email to use.
• RS – so I can pick up on that as part of my breakdown of the evening because
  Mariela did call the Duty Manager line which I missed and didn’t quite get that and
  did call her back and spoke to her on the night of the 16th. She had also emailed Sue
  to say that and complain that she couldn’t get through on the Duty Manager email.
  She actually mistyped it and I have told her begore and I have let her know again
  that she has the wrong email address
• AS – what is the email address again?
• RS – duty.manager@theroofgardens.com
• AS – and that’s for all complaints?
• RS – all complaints or anything else you want to send.
• AS – I don’t want to have to deal with it so if people have got an issue they need to
  send to the post box.
• RS – We tend to use that for the wider group. I did say to her that I would reply back to
  your email as you also emailed on the same night. I let her know separately she has the
  wrong email address. That’s all good. So I spoke to her and she was talking about she
  had heard noise outside the club and she was talking about the parking. She also
  emailed about parking on the street and being busy, so we spoke to Keith the day after;
  we got caught out I won’t lie. The British Fashion Council (BFC) is the end of their week
  of things and in the past, there had been big parties here and we had a guest list.
  (Lee McP walked into the meeting) RS repeated talked about the BFC event on 16th.
• AS-Trying to catch your speeding car around the square, They don’t think it’s from the
  club. LM- I know. I spoke to someone downstairs RS- It definitely wasn’t from the club.
  AS-You haven’t got an AMPR system so how would you know? RS-Well they didn’t
  come into the club that night, I don’t think they got out of the car, they were whizzing
  around.
• RS – back to BFC in the past there has been big parties that they have done. And one thing I did say to Kieth talking afterwards, is that while we are trying to change the culture of who comes in in club and how they use the club, which we are, there is a legacy in the outside wider world does still have a little bit of a feel of party place here. So, we had a crowd outside, they weren’t on the guest list, they didn’t get in, caught usunawares a little bit and we managed it as well as we could. So, by 12.15am we managed to get that crowd out. We are way that it did cause more issues in the Square than we would have liked but there were more people there than we would ever have imagined coming, so it was extra than the guest list, The BFC didn’t have them on their guest list. We spoke to KM, he can’t comment (Keith was not on line via TEAMS at this point of the meeting) but I will say this for him and he will see the minutes, we spoke about it and in terms of where we have been since Stormzy and this one (event) on the whole I would like to agree that we have been doing ok but that one did catch us unawares.
• LM-Is that the event where Sadiq Khan was present, the Sadiq Khan event right?
• RS- No, it was BFC’s event.
• AS-No he was here
• RS Yes, he was here sorry.
• AS – He parked on the square with his entourage.
• RS- He did. We had the Prime Minister in the week before and he parked in
  the loading bay because that’s what they wanted it to do. Sadiq Khan’s security team
  comes beforehand like the PM’s team did. I know we had a bit of back and forth, but I
  can’t argue with them, they are the police firstly, it’s the mayor, they are also armed
  police. I am not going to stand there and say they can’t park there; I did explain our club
  rules about parking, but they said that’s what they are doing. I get it, but that’s out of our
  hands Alex.
• SW-Rob did challenge them on the night.
• AS-the club rules are, correct me if I’m wrong, ‘If you are a member, you’ve got guests,
  you’re responsible. If you’re organising an event, you are responsible’. So, the question is
  who invited him and how are they being held accountable for that?
• RS-I think it goes above that. I don’t even think we can argue that point.
• SW-It’s the Mayor of London, he was surrounded by police officers, the police officers
  turned around and said to us we park wherever we want. There is nothing we can do
  about that
• RS-I can’t tell a police officer where to park.
• SW- It’s not like the Mayor of London is in here every day. It’s a one off.
• AS-I guess if it’s a one off it’s a one off and it’s the Prime Minister than ok fine. What I
  would not want to happen is that this becomes a thin edge of the wedge, next week it’s
  going to be your owner who’s like he owns the club he can do whatever he wants or his
  best friend or whatever
• SW-I can honestly say that Stephen has never parked in the square. He doesn’t even
  bring his car.
• AS-Picking him as an example. I am just saying that if there are rules ok.
• SW-It’s only the thin edge if we allow it to be the thin wedge, The end of the day the Sadiq
  Khan the Prime Minister they are not in here every night. I fact both have only been in
  here only once. It’s not a regular occurrence, it’s a one off. There is always exceptions to
  every rule as you know, but from our perspective we still try continuing to enforce parking
  and manage traffic all of those things. The BFC the people who were standing outside
  were not members, not on the guest list we did not invite them. They came here because
  they were tailgating the BFC party. We tried to manage them as best as they can. As Rob
  said, we were caught unawares as they were not on the guest list they were not members.
  They literally just turned up and we kept trying to persuade them to leave for most of the
  evening.
  Keith joined the meeting via TEAMS.
• AS-Keith we were just talking about the BFC event .Out of interest how many people were
• there at this event and the Stormzy event. The reason why I ask is that if you have a
• members night people trickle in over a 3-hour period, if you have an event of how many
• people?
• RS- Stomzy from memory was 350 people in total BFC was 550 including members. It
  was a big night.
• AS- if you have a big night, a lot of people will arrive at the same time as they want to get
  their drinks early
• SW- Actually you’d be suspired. It can trickle, they don t always arrive at the same time
• AS- maybe, maybe not.
• RS – on that night they did.
• AS – On a big night like that my impression is that it’s causing a big bottle neck issues for
  you on Derry St where you have a lot of gridlock traffic, lot of hooting and revving of
  engines, people at the door some issues with people trying to gate crash people parking
  and dropping on the square which we have seen on these nights. I think above a certain
  limit you are having difficulties managing that. I think the question is, therefore, on the
  assumption that you are going to have more of these kinds of events which is I think one
  of the point is raised, can you put in place additional resource or different operating
  procedures to manage that. My sense, again I you guys are still learning how to do this as
  it’s still relatively new, but my view is that on event nights like that you are somewhat
  overwhelmed, and stuff is going wrong.
• RS- Not quite fair, as we have had other big nights where this hasn’t been an issue. So in
  terms of numbers, we have had other 550 nights.
• SW- I think to put it into context. We started trading on 4 July. We are now in October it’s
  really two events where there have been issues. The first was a test event and we are
  never going to do that kind of set up again, which was the Stormzy event. The second was
  BFC and people turning up that were not on the guest list, not our members. To Rob’s
  point in that period July to now we have done quite a few events one getting to
  600 and they didn’t result in any of those issues because we didn’t have issues of
  uninvited people turning up. We had a controlled guest list with no tailgaters
• AS-which week or month was that on?
• SW -We have had quite a few events
• AS -Were they in August when we weren’t here?
• SW- No September as well. We have had a few events. As I’ve said we’ve had two events
  where we had issues (test event Stormzy and BFC). The other events, the fact that you
  don’t even know they’ve taken place speaks for itself, but we have had other events
• AS- I travel a lot. Some weeks I am travelling 3 or 4 nights I’m not looking for it
• SW-It’s not all about you Alex, there are about 200 other people that live in the Square
  and other people could have complained.
• AS -No fine
• SW -We obviously report all the complaints back, we don’t hide anything
• RS – and again that night I think the Mayor parking on the square exacerbated
  everything we try not to do. Keith we were just discussing the Mayor parking on the
  square and we can’t do anything about that if he wishes to park on the square.
• KM- Can I just say, there is a lot of bedding in going on here with regards to the
  premises. What you have to be able to do is establish what are the constraints of the building and the events that take place. There will be problems, but the fact is when those problems keep recurring, that is when we are more interested in the situation. If the problems are addressed and the processes are adjusted for that, then clearly that i a benefit to everyone.
• AS – I don’t think we are disputing that at all. To your point, learning from the Stormzy
• event, you will never amplify music outdoors, good. We have the BFC event, you say
• you have a gatecrasher issue, and you will manage that better next time.
• RS- On that night considering the situation, think we managed the issues well on the
  night
• AS- I wasn’t there. The key point is on those big event nights, the other points that still
  need to be addressed are traffic on Derry St. You either have to shut the traffic off, or
  you’re going to have to have some other system.
• RS- We can’t have another system. We’ve had this discussion before. Unless we agree
  with the Council to block the street off, that’s the only way we can control Derry Street
• AS -you did that once.
• RS- No, we did, but not via the council and got told off for it and major complaints. We are
  not doing that now. We do speak to cars coming in at the end, especially when it starts
  getting busy as it’s a health and safety or traffic issue, because it’s actually easier for
  people to get out at the top rather than come down but some people still choose to. We
  can’t physically stop traffic unless we apply to the council and block it off. Talking to the
  fellow tenants in the areas it is not desirable for us to do that. Again, point taken we can
  weigh up whether an event is going to be that big, we didn’t think that event was going to
  be that big. M&S decided to do two articulated truck deliveries and 7pm on the same night
  which doesn’t normally happen, which is out of our control plus there are building works
  on the office block down the end of the service road, which means the trucks couldn’t turn
  around so one had to stay on the street. That didn’t help the situation. We had a few things
  that was a bit of a perfect storm going on. We have had bigger nights, and we haven’t had
  the same issues. We got caught out and there were other things going against us
• AS – AlI I would say is that for the big events you should consider having more traffic
  stewards, or traffic stewards at the entrance and also maybe coordinating with M&S to
  see if there will be deliveries
• RS- Understand completely, but we have the Daily Mail breathing down our necks every
  time we even try to stop anyone coming down the road, so we are trying to balance a few
  things. On the 16th we did get caught out quite badly.
• LM- What is your biggest talk away from what you have learnt from the big events?
• RS- We weren’t expecting outside guest management, we hadn’t really done that yet
  because we haven’t had to. If we are doing that, we will make sure we get them in
  (alongside) the building get a queue, so we don’t have a big crowd outside. It’s a busy
  road, we are well aware to your point that if we stop the road, we will have more complaints
  than just residents, so we are trying to manage that as much as possible, lining people up
  the street. The crowd outside was not what we expected or what we wanted. It just isn’t
  nice. For a couple of hours, it was just too much to handle.
• LM-Have you got any other big nights coming up?
• RS -Halloween, a member’s night and not everyone coming at the same time
• SW- New Years Eve but again that’s members night.
• LM- How do you deal with tailgaters?
• SW- Obviously we don’t let them in.
• LM – How do you disperse them?
• SW – You have to disperse them as gently as possible. The last thing you want is people
  shouting, arguing or screaming, so you have to try and keep the temperature low. The
  BFC people did not want to leave, and we had to keep asking them.
• RS- If there was a line up the street, we would cherry pick the VIPs from the line we want
  to let in. With the crowd it was quite hard to identify people everyone was trying to get in
  and it was harder to get them (VIPSs) out
• SW- It has never happened before, the BFC event is the only time it’s happened.
• RS- If we thought it was going to come, we would almost (people) block the road and force
  people with barriers
• AS- On a normally night you might pull the SIAs back from the square after 10pm or
  whatever it is…
• SW- No, we would never pull a resource off the square, It’s part of our license.
• AS- I think they move slightly into Derry Street or certainly how they seem to be
• RS- Two on the gap….we have one roving, so I’m going to pick up that point you made.
  So, we are now a bit more static in the square…
• AS- Let’s come back to that. On these event nights, those two events in particular there
  were people urinating, smoking drugs, there was anti-social behaviour happening.
• RS- Again, you can’t say they were all from the Club
• AS- OK I thought they looked like had been to the club
• RS- Trying to get in to the club potentially
• AS – I’m saying you got to have people there, they don’t know that the club rules are or
  have out of date views as to what the purpose of the club is, and what type of
  environment it is, going back to your key point.
• RS- which a big deterrent would be not getting in, so they won’t try again.
• AS – I just think if you have a big club night coming up, one of these nights, a corporate
  night or whatever. Very simple, get for that night, the people to pay more those who are
  renting out the club and put one extra person who is looking for after antisocial
  behaviour the square and a person on Derry St.to manage traffic.
• SW – Going back to Lee’s point about learnings, bolstering on the square is one of the
  things we could do. The only think i will say about anti-social behaviour this is the first
  time this we opened in July that we’ve had urinating or vomiting in the square. The only
  thing I would say is they were not our members or guests. If people are standing outside
  the building for 4 hours the chances, are they will want to urinate and go looking for
  somewhere to do so. Our members have access to toilets in the club. Again, I would just
  make the point they were not our people.
• AS -They could have been in the club for 4 hours drinking and spilled out
• SW- It hasn’t happened since July; these are our guests. There has never been an issue
  with people urinating in the square since we opened in July. It was that one night, which
  to me suggests quite strongly that these were not our people. It was people outside who
  did not have access to toilets and sadly ended up down in the square.
• AS- Maybe. Again, I am not trying to attribute blame or anything, so we don’t have to get
  defensive about it. If it’s a big event, there is a higher-than-average potential that this could
  happen again.
• SW- The point I would like to make is that we have done a lot of events, most of which
  have gone completely under the radar, and we’ve managed them ourselves. What I try
  and encourage all of us to do is look at everything in the round rather than in isolation. In
  the round, this first time you’ve had this kind of behaviour, which suggest to me, it’s not
  our members or guests. There was a rogue element that night which was not our members
  or guests, and it hasn’t happened since or before.
• KM- From my experience working in Kensington for 36 years some of our very best
  managed premises get it wrong once in a while. The whole thing is to make sure it
  doesn’t recur and that processes are updated. I think the proof in the pudding Alex is
  basically to ensure we monitor it and see what happens. I think there is dedication, a
  commitment on the part of The Roof Gardens, for this not to happen again, and
  hopefully that will be the case.
• AS- I think that would be helpful, I am just giving feedback here. If your position is its never
  happened, you’ve got no proof, we’re doing a great job… you know if you want us to
  provide you with more complaints, more photographic evidence, all of that stuff we can go
  down that route. I am not saying we have to; I’ve got better things to do with my life. I’m
  just giving you a couple of thoughts here.
• RS- The flip side of that is, I would almost prefer a bit more. Because we are not
  responsible for every single person in the area, the square, Like the car going around, we
  appreciate you report it, but that wasn’t a club related issue. There are other things going
  on in the area, not everything comes from the club. On this particular night, I take on board
  what you are saying as that is slightly more likely that some of the things that happened
  that night including parking would have come from the crowd outside.
• LM- Have you started to see that you profile of your member is different. I don’t know if
  you hire the club out, is that what you do? To the BFC, or is that a collaboration?
• RS- Some spaces. You can hold events here. That was a collaboration.
• LM- Was that crowd different to your average crowd?
• RS- The crowd that tried to get in 100% yes. They are not people we would normally invite,
  and we did not invite them.
• SW- some were ok about not being allowed in and some were not and we had to try and
• manage them.
• AS- You have these two big member events coming, someone mentioned you are turning
  the 7th floor into an events space.
• SW- It’s still licensed as a restaurant space, and we have just hired Roman & Williams in
  New York to design it as a restaurant and it’s going to open next year at the moment it’s an empty space. What we are doing is moving our larger bookings between now and Christmas because we are getting a lot of requests for large sit down meals via our members. So, we are moving these bookings up to the 7th floor because it’s empty and it’s licensed to be used as a restaurant, which is exactly what we are doing with it. So, for example on New Years Eve you can book 7th floor for your 5-course special meal, that type of stuff. So instead of displacing members with large table bookings we are moving them upstairs. Some of them may be canapes and drinks instead of dinners but it’s just moving them up to the 7th to free space for members.
• AS- so it’s a temporarily being used as an events space
• SW- I wouldn’t say it’s an event space. We are mostly using it for large sit-down dinner
  bookings and maybe the odd drinks reception.
• AS- So again the restaurant will be reopening from when.
• SW- it’s about 12 months away
• AS- Is this a change of use under the license?
• SW – No. It’s still within our license.
• KM Can I ask who Honey Dijon is? I’ve been set a flier with regards to ‘sinner in the sky’
  on the 31st of October?
• SW- that’s the Halloween member’s event
• KM-Is that a promoter?
• SW- No she’s a performer.
• RS- She’s the DJ for the night.
• KM – Sorry I’m a bit old.
• SW- She the music for the night. She’s the DJ – inside not outside.
• KM- Is that taking place on the 7th floor?
• SW- No the 6th floor.
• KM- Any event that takes place on the 7th floor will be Restaurant conditions and things
  like that
• SW- Yes. Nothing that’s outside of the license WE are just moving some activity upstairs
  and spreading it out between the floors
• KM- Perfect
• AS -No DJ up there. Or dance floor?
• SW- There isn’t a dance floor, but we can have music up there under our license
• KM- Have you any intention of serving us with any temporary notices that we need to know
  about ?
• RS- No, no plans. The next extended night will be NYE and that is automatic, if we do.
• SW- As you know Keith, the last TEN you gave us we didn’t end up using it in the end.
• KM – Yes. I was basically for the last hour everything else was conditioned up until the
  timing of the TEN, so that was exactly the way we wanted it, which was good.
• RS- Which was the BFC night we have been talking about. We didn’t need it, and it
  wouldn’t have been a night to use it.
• KM- That’s fine. If you were going to go for a TEN, we would probably be looking to add
  some conditions on, that’s something which we would negotiate with you.
• RS- No plans for extension.
• SW- NYE already is extended hours under the current license so we wouldn’t be looking
  to change.
• KM – Yes it‘s a standard condition. It can run from NYE until the end of business New
  Years Day.
• AS- If you have nothing else Keith, maybe we move to parking. Again, since September,
  there has been a noticeable change in the level of traffic in the square at night so it’s pretty
  full 24 hours a day
• RS- Natural increase?
• AS-Yes , but usually historically forever at 9/10pm it stops. Now it’s full like all the time
  until late.
• RS- historically forever?
• AS- Well for the last 5 years.
• RS – So since the Club has been shut
• AS- I guess so. If I Iook at the way the SIA are operating, and again I don’t spend my life
• observing them, my impression is that and I think we discussed in May, June, July the
• idea that the early part of the evening they will be more in the square. I know they were
• some debate how far in, as some residents didn’t want them outside their home with one
• person roaming. The latter part of the night they will be more focused on the exit from the
• club. My impression is that since September the two guys are hanging out the early part
• of the evening near Derry St not in the square anymore. The person supposed to be
• roaming is doing it a lot less and multiple people have told me that no one is approaching
• any cars. I think again my impression is that human nature, you get comfortable, it’s cold,
• they would rather be in a light than dark area. There needs to be a refresh.
• RS- Sure, going back to he agreed plan OMDP it was 2 people in Derry St which we
  moved closer into Derry St, rather than standing outside .
• AS – No we said if they were in Derry St, they are not doing anything.
• RS- They are in the Derry St side of the gap
• AS- We discussed this back in July after Mariella said she doesn’t want someone outside
  her house we discussed they need to be in the square or they can’t see anything.
• RS- Bear with me. There are 4 people in total. 2 stand on the gap, the Derry St side of the
  gap, one looking into the square, one looking up Derry Street; they are permanent. Then
  there is one in the square in the NW corner so they can see everyone coming into the
  square, and then we had a roaming person that could go from Derry St into the square.
  What we have done and to your point that it has changed, we are two permanent in the
  square, one on the NW seeing people coming in and one on southern side.
• AS-Can I propose an action out of this meeting that for tomorrow or this week, that we out
  it on a piece of paper.
• RS- It is on a piece of paper. The 3 positions the Derry St moving one, we still need to
  have someone who is moving, but they are moving on the Square still.
• AS- I don’t think we are seeing that person I would say it’s ad hoc. Again, can we
  recirculate the positions , and maybe some retraining of the guys and girl. They are good people but one or two of them are more recent in the last two months they are not focusing
• on this
• SW-That’s fine Alex. We can recirculate the plan as there was one circulated.
• RS- I am not going to change it, but I will recirculate it. The floating one is still floating but
  they are on the other side.
• SW- We will debrief the SIA team.
• AS- Rebrief and they also need to be stopping people flagrantly parking in the square.
• RS- I disagree that’s happening all of the time, but let’s improve it. I know it’s not as I see
  the footage
• PO-Is it generally the same people working in the square?
• RS – In the square yes btu they none of them work 7 days a week so there are going to
  be changed as there is a team of about 16/17 guards over a week.
• SW – But it’s the same pool so you will start to see familiar faces.
• RS- Anthony and Vanessa are they definitely the two main ones.
• AS- Vanessa is good, she’s quite on it. She just needs to come out of shell more and
  speak to people and tell them they can’t park on the square.
• RS- If they are going into the club. We are asking if they are going into the club first can’t
  stop everyone parking on the square
• AS-The other two guys stated bluntly sitting on Derry St, nowhere near the square on their
  phone’s half the time. The young guy with the curly hair and the other guy so they are not
  doing their jobs
• RS-The phone is the app, so they record things on it.
• AS- Spending a lot of time looking at that and not into the square
• RS- We’ll pick it up.
• PO- So where are with the (parking) app?
• RS- Still being developed. To you point Alex in your email the implementation of the ‘ANPR
• parking Management system was a precondition to the license’ the caveat on that is if the
• technology allowed. So, we did go for off the shelf technology, but it was not gone to work
• as was too big. So, we are developing it. On the screen are screen shots (see Appendix
• A.) of the app we are developing. The image on the left is a holding page.
• The middle image , they can take picture of a number plate and if it’s in the database it will
  populate with members details and the location so we can prove if they were in the square,
  and if there are no details , they can add it and make notes. The image on right, it will hold
  it so if they know straight away, they can talk to reception and add it straight away. Which
  is what we are doing almost now, a daisy chaining getting a radio signal back if its member
  or member’s guest. Not shown on here yet but there will be a ‘toggle’ ,and if t’s a guest of
  member it will flag and be associated with the member, that a guest has broken the rules.
• PO- Are the guests of the members required to provide you with their registration?
• RS- No, but they are not allowed to park as part of the membership rules, and members
  know that. So, if you invite your guests to the club and they park in the square it’s the
  same deal.
• SW- It’s basically logged against the members as default on their membership as the
  member are responsible for their guest.
• PO- So if they take a picture of a registration and it’s not in the database,
• RS- Of which there will be a lot
• PO -Yes, I would assume so, mine’s not in there. The only way they can determine
  whether that person is a guest or member is by speaking to them.
• RS- A bit of both
• SW- They can observe them walking into the club and they can radio across and say that
  person that came into the club, are they a member/guest and they can make a note.
• AS- When it flags that this guy is a member, then who is having that conversation to say
  you cannot park, is it the SIA or is it someone up the club?
• RS- Sorry, to you point about approaching cars, listen we will improve that if it has dropped
  off. We cannot stop people physically parking. We have to try and ascertain if they are
  going into the club. That person might say no I’m not. They might be members or guests,
  or they a may say f*** off, which they do a lot. There is quite a lot of abuse. If we think they
  are going, once they are approached, they see them go out of the car and head to Derry
  St, they watch if they go into the club, they radio the front desk on the ground floor. It’s the
  security guards running the daisy chain, it’s a process where they think they may be going
  to the club, they may be going to Dishoom, may disappear elsewhere. But if we think they
  are parking and think going to the club, approached or not we try to get information if we
  don’t have it already.
• AS- That’s if you don’t have the number. Personally, speaking I don’t think having met the
• delightful young lady downstairs I, see 0% probability of having a difficult conversation
• with someone.
• SW- She is not part of our security team; she is a host. We have a team of security that
  you would have seen on the ground floor, that’s’ the end of the daisy chain you are
  referring to. I see you come out of your car, I ask you if you are going to the club, you say
  no I’m not. I then observe you going into the club I radio ahead and say the guy in the
  navy-blue jacket where is he going. They then radio and say he’s gone to Equinox; we
  then know he’s not ours. Or they say he’s a member’s guest, so we then capture the
  information, who’s guest is he and then a conversation is had with the member and that
  goes against the member’s profile.
• AS- How many of these conversations have you had in September as I think that’s a very
  laborious extended process?
• RS- Well it is laborious.
• AS- The point of failure there, is that you are relying on the guy in the square to have seen
  it. If he’s not in the square he won’t have seen anything. Then you are relying on him to
  actually call through and then you’re relying on someone in the square ‘ok I’ve got 3 people
  walking in in blue jackets, am I going to have corner all three or manage something else?
  There are too many points of failure
• RS- But that is what happens.
• AS- How many people have you stopped?
• RS- I don’t have that to hand. A lot. You’re saying we’re not I’m saying we are.
• AS – If the ANPR gets caught in the square who is having that conversation, the SIA ?
• SW- If they get caught in the square that conversation is happening in the square.
• AS- The person with the ANPR?
• SW- Yes
• RS – They are saying that. But they are not taking away membership.
• AS- I love the photos by the way, but has it been built?
• SW- It’s being built.
• RS- That’s the first stage of testing.
• AS- That’s a great visual. My 12-year-old could create a visual like that.
• RS- That’s a bit harsh
• AS- We have been talking about this since July right. In fact, we were talking about this
  when we went through the licensing. This is going sideways. Every month it’s like we’re
  building. Last meeting we discussed there would be a demo, that’s not a demo, it’s a
  visual
• SW -We were hoping to have demo for you by this meeting
• AS- So with the upmost respect you are either taking this seriously or your just not?
• RS- Alex we are taking this seriously
• SW- I would hope that by know you do accept that we take what we do very seriously, and
  we fully intended to have a demo ready.
• AS- But not in this area
• SW -We are Alex, I know it doesn’t seem that way. We fully intended to have a demo with
  you by today. Unfortunately, our Digital manager who has been building it has had a lot of
  sickness over the last month which has slowed us down. It’s not where we want to be.
• AS- we haven’t been talking about his for a month, we’ve been talking about this since
  April
• SW- I know, but we first started to get something off the shelf which is the ideal solution
  for us. Rob has looked at lots of different off-the-shelf solutions none are right. Too big,
  not agile enough for what we want. We are willing to invest in building it ourselves to
  ensure it’s right and we have a Digital Manager who has been building it. He’s had a lot of
  sickness in the last month which has slowed us down. It’s not though want of trying. We’ve
  always said if you guys can find a solution which is better than what we are proposing then
  bring it to us. AS we are trying to work with you as team on this
• RS- There is legal bits to go through. We on developing things that are taking people’s
  personal data.
• AS- It’s not for us to go out …it shouldn’t be down to us.
• SW- I’m not asking you to Alex. I’m just saying, if you guys have something better than
  what we are trying to do by all means give it us, but in the meantime, we will carry on
  developing what we are developing. It’s in our interest to develop it, because as you say
  the current process is cumbersome and it’s not ideal. I wasn’t presenting it to you as a
  perfect solution, it’s the way it works right now. It’s in our interest to make it work
• AS- Look we should move on, but I don’t see the commitment or the urgency on your side
• to fix this
• RS- I don’t think that’s quite fair.
• AS- OK but I don’t see the results yet. Tell me when we are going to see it
• RS- I’m not going to give you a date but as soon as we possibly can and it’s getting nearer.
• LM- Is anyone on the front desk capturing registrations, believe you guys mentioned that?
• RS – Only in the process we just mentioned where the security team capture it, front desk
  than supplies the members name if we don’t have it already
• LM- No one asked me if I parked anywhere.
• RS- No. We are not asking everyone who comes to the club. That would make the guest
  entry too staggered. I prefer that we are doing it in the background and monitoring it.
  To your point about taking it seriously, we have terminated the first member for repeated
  parking in the square. Applying the rules, giving people fair warning we’ve now taken away
  someone’s membership. I think we are taking it seriously. I have Mariella on film saying
  it’s a difficult process, I think you’re going to fail. It is difficult. You’ve just explained the
  situation is quite difficult to capture every single person coming onto the square, who may
  not even be associated with the club.
• AS- You’ve got 3 SIAs who are supposed to be doing this and you’ve got major resources
• RS- They are doing it Alex. We are building a database, we are stopping people, we are
  doing it. I appreciate it we need to refresh it and make it better.
• AS- We just need to bring it to a conclusion
• RS- Which bit?
• AS/SW- All of it
• AS- Sue you sat in the licensing and said we will do the right thing by you. This was a
  major issue.
• SW- I stand by that Alex. I am investing time, resources
• AS- you’ve got to bring this home now
• SW- With all due respect I will bring this home and you’ve got to allow us the time to do it
• well and do it properly. Even when we deliver this app, I promise you something will slip
• through the net as it’s almost an impossible job. We are throwing everything we can at it.
• I cannot legislate for the fact that the person building it has had a lot of ill health in the last
• month and it’s not his fault. We will get there. You’re a business person Alex, you
• understand these things. But I won’t accept you saying that neither I nor my team are
• taking this seriously. We are taking it extremely seriously and we will bring it home. You
• just need to bear with us. Everything we’re talking about will come to pass. I believe we
• have put far more effort into meeting the needs of the residents than anyone before us
• with The Roof Gardens. I feel we have demonstrated that sufficiently.
• AS- OK I just think again, putting myself in your position, this is really hot topic yeah and
  what would give me comfort is if you said. This is what we are going to deliver, by when,
  here’s the timeline and you deliver on that timeline. What is less satisfying is you smiling
  every month and saying, ‘we’re getting on to it’, we’re taking it seriously, ‘I’m not telling
  you how many people we have on the ANPR database’, ‘I’m not going to tell you when
  we’re going to deliver this, the person is off sick, but we will deliver at some point’. That’s
  not… just give us a timeline and say we’ll deliver by that and that’s fine. That would provide
  me with some comfort. All we see in the interim is the traffic going up, It’s basic stakeholder
  management right.
• RS- I’m not smiling Alex
• SW- I do get your frustrations I really do, and we will come back to you on all of those
• things
• AS- Not to say you’re not trying let’s just be specific. Otherwise, we misinterpret it that you
  are not taking it seriously
• SW – Got it understood.
• RS- We are taking it seriously

Member terminated

• RS-We have taken away a membership for repeated parking on the square. Underlying
  how seriously we are taking it. We don’t want to be turning members away, but we have
  done.
• LM- How was that received?
• RS- Terrible. Crying.
• SW- No one wants their membership taking away but the reality is we were willing to do
  it.
• RS- Not just repeated parking but rude to our team.
• LM- How do you do it?
• SW- Our Membership Director does it in person

Rubbish and food deliveries

• AS- On the glass I think we have got to the right place but what they’ve done is switched
  over. The glass collection is after. 7am but I think they have brought forward other rubbish
  collection beforehand.
• RS- Again, I’ve had the conversations, but they are not our staff it’s not our area. The
  glass is ours that we put down there. I suggest you speak with Avison Young directly.
  Their loading bay and operation opens at 6am our license is from 7am and we’ve tried to
  move everything to 7am. I’ve had that conversation with them, but I think you need to
  speak to them.
• AS – It’s your rubbish going down there that is being picked up?
• RS-It’s the buildings rubbish.
• AS- Who is managing it?
• RS- Avison young-building managers
• AS – we usually deal with the freeholders
• RS – They are the freeholder’s agents when the blinds came up that came up from the
  residents direct to Avison Young so someone must have their contact details.
• AS- just on the food service trucks, not sure you go the picture.
• RS- I got that, yes Woods would have been a delivery to us. It didn’t come from the square
  we believe the driver parked there after making a delivery to us via the loading bay. Our
  Goods Receivers have seen other vans Amethus for example parked in square that isn’t
  us. No everything that comes into the building is us, but I will speak to them. This is a
  moot point as it’s not in the licence about delivery trucks, but I will talk to Woods.
• AS – I know it’s just a basic…
• RS- I get it and will talk to them
• SW- Equinox also do food and beverage we are not the only ones
• RS Japan House as well. Deliveries from the square for sure, I think if some ones has
  delivered and decides to park in the square in the day that’s a harder one
• AS – If you can just remind your suppliers that will help.
• RS – Majority come through the loading bay we will talk to them anyway as appreciate
  shouldn’t be doing it.

Planning

• AS – Again most of us don’t spend our lives monitoring the planning. Two applications that
  went in on the 6 and 13th September, I think you withdrew them relating to the awning.
  Again, one complaint I think came in from KRSA, I think there are 2 worries 1) post the
  Stormzy event, is outdoor noise entertainment and two this could be a segway to a
  permanent thing
• SW – Intensification? We are not allowed to have a permanent awning
• AS- It looks like you have withdrawn your application
• SW- No let me explain how the planning process works. You submit drawings of what you
  intend to do, but what you can’t do, is if the drawings change swap out drawings and keep
  the same application, you have to withdraw the application, update the drawing and apply
  again. That is why it looks like two cancelled applications. The first drawing, the awning
  was too close to the trees, asked to reduce width so we withdrew, redo the drawing and
  put it back in which we did. Then they asked us to do another tweak, so we had to withdraw
  it again tweak the drawing and resubmit. Which is why it looks like there are two withdrawn
  applications. It’s just updating the drawings. We are not allowed to have any kind of
  permanent structure there, it’s a restaurant not a night club . There is not going to be any
  music there. It’s already a restaurant and we are operating it under parasols, there is no
  intensification of use.
• AS- Under the assumption that these two applications or for the other applications you
  may put in, I don’t know what the right thing is, but you may want to send around an email
  to people that can be forwarded to people in the area to say to explain this to allay their
  fears.
• SW- I am really happy, whatever you suggest Alex, if you think it would be helpful, I am
  happy to do that. If it wasn’t dark I would show you, but what we have is restaurant with
  banquettes, seating tables, parasols that do not provide sufficient rain cover, so what we
  are trying to do is put a temporary winter awning that will come down in the spring when it
  goes back to parasols. It’s just to provide rain cover for people dining. In the daytime any
  of you are welcome to come and have a look. It is just a restaurant not a nightclub, just to
  prolong dining.
• AS- My personal view is that it may be helpful to explain it to people to allay fears but let
  me speak with KSRA.
• PO- It may be a good way to manage it, otherwise people find it and their like ‘oh my god
  what is this’
• AS- Yes for the other 3 applications that have gone in, people haven’t heard anything
  about it and they react.
• SW- If you remember at the last residents meeting, we did talk and i drew out the awnings
  for you on a piece of paper
• PO-Yes, we did talk about the awnings last month.
• SW- You’re right communications can always be better on these things. I think it’s a really
  good idea and I am happy to send an email to the residents’ association.
• AS – Just and email saying you’re going to be putting forward an application, this is what
  it’s for if you. Otherwise, people are not giving a heads up, they see it and they react.
  Objection, which is not helpful to you.
• SW- I understand
• RS- The other application I think was explained to us today is that we put the planning in
  for everything, it’s a council process that conditions get discharged as the process goes
  on. So, it looks like we are putting in new ones but we’re not.
• SW – Happy to put in another separate meeting
• No AOB
• Meeting ends 5.55pm

Next Meeting November 7th 2024 @ 6pm

The Roof Gardens, 99 Kensington High Street, W8 5SA.

Time

6pm

Notice

The Roof Gardens next monthly Kensington Square residents’ meeting will take place on Thursday 10th October at 6pm at The Roof Gardens, 99 Kensington High Street, W8 5SA. If you are able to join us, please RSVP to our team through RoofGardensKS@theroofgardens.com by Monday 7th October 2024.

This meeting can also be attended remotely via the Microsoft Teams link included on the calendar invite.

The Roof Gardens (TRG) – Sue Walter (SW), Robert Seals (RS), Eilish Quinn (EQ)

Apologies: Keith Mehaffy (KM)

Agenda

• Overview of complaints received
• Update Parking Management Technology
• Premises License Inspection
• Any other business
• Next meeting date (Thursday 3rd October @ 6pm)

Overview of Complaints received

• RS-no complaints received. However, on 21st August TRG did have a power outage on 7th floor that kicked out our noise limiter and security made us aware that on that evening they did hear
  occasional audible music from the street. We have now reset the limiter so that’s now fixed as soon as we were made aware and reset that so it’s back to where it should have been. That’s the only
  noise issue we are aware of which was an internal issue. Keith Mehaffy, (who emailed his apologies in advance to Rob Seals for not being able to attend the meeting) also advised that the council had
  not received any complaints.
• AS –I am not aware of any complaint from my standpoint or KSRA, but I do think a lot of people
  have been away
• PO- No I am not aware of any complaints
• AS –Some of the residents are now back as of last week and I received a text last night from
  someone saying they hear people talking at 11pm on the street corner and security didn’t move
  them on
• RS-again, please tell us when these things happen. The team down there are very much aware of everything and the steps they need to take on the Square, and we are trying to back them up in
  our actions, so their work is not for nothing. For example, we contact all members who have parked in the square. Two repeat offenders are on a final warning. The street guards also need to know we are taking it seriously.
   

Security 

• AS –on the security side the guys, my impression is that they seem to have settled into some sort of formation in terms of where they are standing and how they are walking the square. For now, it looks like it’s working but August probably isn’t representative yet, so we probably need to see how it goes in September.

Update Parking Management Technology

• RS –We spoke before about the numberplate automatic reader. The companywe have spoken to do static ones which aren’t really an option, and we have been trying to get a handheld version.
  The battery and handheld set are just too big, so we are not proceeding with that option. Mani (Emmanuel Anyiri) our Head of Digital is working develop to develop a web app so we can do
  everything on on iPhones. Security guards have been already using mobile phones for the security app. Apologies for sounding like a broken record (on getting this tech in use), but it will take 3 –4
  weeks to develop the app to enable us to scan, recognise and register numberplates.
• PO-so when that tech comes in what will happen when security scan a numberplate, will it tell them right away if it’s a member’s car?
• RS- yes, our database will match that up straight away to our members. Also, the current method of our security guards seeing someone park and radioing our reception to ask if that person is a
  member and has gone into the club or Equinox will continue, so will continue to add to the database (if not already in database and identified as a member).
• SW -the nice thing about it being web based is that AI kicks in and AI will automatically start picking up patterns, and so it becomes more and more sophisticated the more you use it
• PO-so what are you doing about collecting members numberplates?
• SW-That’s part of the onboarding now, it’s in place.
• RS-I don’t think Peder you were here at the last meeting, but we went back and forth a bit about how many registrations we had. It’s growing and on our application form, so if you apply to be a member, you must include your registration. Hands up we didn’t do that right at the start in retrospective maybe we should have.
• AS-how many members do you have now approximately?
• RS-1700
• AS-your full capacity you’re aiming for 3400, is that right?
• SW-it’s not that easy Alex, it doesn’t work that way. You can only really do that if you are running a
  restaurant/hotel. When you’re running a member’s club it’s a bit like running a gym, some people will take out membership and come once a year, some will every day, week so it’s really done on
  occupancy. So, what you do is take an intake, wait to see how it goes, so capacity really depends on how members use the space.
• RS-with the season changing now, today being is a good example with the weather changing like now and how the spaces finds its feet
• PO-did you see a decline in attendance when the weather changes?
• SW-People come but they will sit inside rather than outside. During summer we saw a decline in
  attendance, but that is normal in members’ clubs as members are away. So, we saw attendance
  drop by about 50%, especially in August. Now it’s September people are starting to come back
• AS -going back to the parking technology, so you think 3-4 weeks to have the app and then you will be trialing it. We’ll get an update at the next meeting. Can we get a preview at that meeting as to what it does?
• SW-if it’s ready and working we should get Mani to come and do a little demo.
• AS-just to explain what the functionality is. In terms of the numberplates, I will ask, how many number plates do you have now?
• RS-quite a lot.
• AS-you can’t avoid the question every time.
• RS-It’s growing. It’s probably not where you want it to be, but it’s not as far off as you think.
• AS-are we below 25% of the 1700 or 25-50%?
• RS-I would say more to the 50%
• AS-That’s better than I expected. I think what you’re going to see is the Club getting busy in the next couple of weeks and you’re going to see more pressure on Derry Street and remember when you were doing the trials, it was so I suspect you are going to see that again and testing the parking situation.
• SW-bear in mind we will cancel memberships if people continue to park where they shouldn’t. You only need to do that a few times (people losing membership) and the message gets around that
  memberships get cancelled. We’re also assuming that of 1700 members there are 1700 cars, a lot of our members don’t have cars or drive, and I am one of those. So, we shouldn’t assume that every single person has a car.
• RS- The hardest part for us is guests of members parking in the square, as we must track that back to the member. A member will say my guest parked not me, so it’s potentially a harder message
  to get through but we will continue the process whether a member guest or event guest. It’s ongoing and we are going in the right direction

RS went on to advise of two other bits of technology TRG were trialing:

• We can’t do the geofence with Uber as it will block the whole building off. What we can do is geofence the phone of any member with our members app and the Uber app so that it will move their pick-up to the high street. Trialing this in practice currently.
• Speed of entry into the area so if they have the members app, we should be able to see if they are arriving by car/taxi. We are testing it but at some point, we will be able to push out a notification to say they can’t park in the area but for now we are just monitoring.

Premises Licence Inspection

• RS- we had a Premises Licence inspection on 23 August from the Council. I am pleased to say it went well and we passed the inspection with no issues.
• AS- I wanted to talk about rubbish collection?
• RS- I spoke with Gemma (from AY) this morning; she said nothing before 6am (should be coming
  in). I said residents have complained she said she would do her best. I don’t have any control over
  this as we do not directly manage those staff.
• AS -The glass collection is after 7am now which is good, but who do we speak to about the
  collections between 6-7am?
  RS had to leave to meet with PM’s protection detail so RS and AS agreed to discuss rubbish collection issues separately (call booked for 10th September)
• SW-The Licence inspection that Rob mentioned was really gratifying as it was a surprise inspection.
  They just turned up during normal operating hours to make sure we were complying with all the licence requirements; they toured the front/back of house and we were very pleased that they were
  happy and there were no actions for us.
  

AOB

• AS –yes can you tell us a bit about the planning application that went in for the gardens upstairs
  for putting in a marquee.
• SW -yes, basically we would look to put a temporary structure over the Walled Gardens during winter months so people can still dine outside. It will be taken down after winter.
• AS-was it just for dining, as I saw a notice in mid-August which seemed to suggest it was in both gardens application that suggested it was in the back gardens
• SW-we are putting winter cover into the Walled Gardens and the Spanish Gardens, and we already have parasols in all of these areas. All we are doing is taking the parasols away and putting in something with more structure to cope with the wind and keep people dry.
• AS-is it covering the whole of the gardens?
• SW drew a diagram to explain how the temporary structures would work and that they would not cover the whole gardens. She also added that they have put in planning for temporary structures
  on the Sun Pavilion terrace (11pm closure) put temporary structures. These would not be fully enclosed. Licensing in terms of opening/closing remains the same
• AS – I got queries from KSRA about it this morning wondering what it’s all about
• SW-have any of you been to Chiltern Firehouse. It’s similar to what they have, but ours would be temporary as we are listed building so only up over winter months and we don’t want them up over
  summer months.
• AS-what months would they be up?
• SW-it’s very weather dependent. I would like to not put them up for a long as we can. If assume they go up September/October and come down early Spring by 1 May
• PO-out of curiosity, are they something you can put up/ take down?
• SW-it’s not something we can do by ourselves. The people that install them would also take them down as it’s technical installation.

• Next meeting is to be held on 3rd October @ 6pm.

The Roof Gardens, 99 Kensington High Street, W8 5SA.

Time

6pm

Notice

The Roof Gardens next monthly Kensington Square residents’ meeting will take place on Thursday 5th September at 6pm at The Roof Gardens, 99 Kensington High Street, W8 5SA. If you are able to join us, please RSVP to our team through RoofGardensKS@theroofgardens.com by Monday 2nd September 2024.

This meeting can also be attended remotely via the Google Meet link included on the calendar invite.

Attendees – Alex Stirling (AS) (via Google Meet) , Keith Mehaffy (KM), Lee McPherson (LM)

The Roof Gardens (TRG) – Sue Walter (SW), Robert Seals (RS), Eilish Quinn (EQ)

Apologies : Peder Oien

Agenda

• Overview of complaints received

• Update Parking Management Technology

• Update on SIA in Kensington Square & Parking

• Any other business

• Next meeting date (Thursday 5th September @ 6pm)

Overview of Complaints received 

• AS -advised that there were no complaints from KSRA but added that many residents were on holiday over July/ August. He expects complaints will increase come September. 

Update Parking Management Technology and SIA in Kensington Square & Parking

• RS -we are in the process of sourcing an appropriate battery for the equipment that the SIAs need to use. By next month we will have more clarity on the parking management technology.

• AS- how do you intend to use the technology, will SIA’s go around and scan registrations? RS – confirmed it was exactly that. SIA’s will scan number plates and it will compare against the database TRG holds. This process will be better than the current one as it will allow SIAs to check if a member or not.  AS – asked will SIA’s be asked to enter a number plate or compare it to a database and RS explained that TRG didn’t have the technology yet to trial but anticipated it being a scan from what he had been advised. AS- agreed that if we can come up with a process where SIAs walk the square,  scan the number plates and can check, that it has to be a lot more efficient for TRG, and inline what was originally agreed.

• AS asked if the technology would be trialled in early September, RS -confirmed that all being well, yes TRG could be in a position to trial then.

RS went on to advise of two other bits of technology TRG were looking to trial:

1. TRG has a members app which our members download onto their phone.  We also have another piece of tech that if they have the app on their phone, and when they enter the area it measures speed and can pretty much identify if they are arriving by car. This will give TRG the opportunity to send them a push notification  that they can’t park in the square. Wording to be agreed as we will not know if in their personal car or taxi. We need to test and trial it first but it could be another helpful thing to have.

2. The second piece of tech is with Uber. TRG can implement a geofence around the Club with Uber (block off pick-ups on Derry St), but this  would impact Equinox gym and The Daily Mail and they are not willing to do it.  For those members that have our members app on their phone and also the Uber app on their phone,as long as they have the same contact details for both apps (email address and mobile number) it will allow a geofence on that phone. So anyone trying to book an Uber on that phone will be moved up (pick up pin) to Kensington High Street up near The Ivy for pick up.  It is a nice piece of tech which we need to get working and trial. We need to get the API signed off with Uber. TRG can’t geofence the  whole building, but we can at least try and help control where members can pick up their Uber.

• AS -was there any progress in the collection of number plates from members? Last time we discussed you not being able to collect number plates from a meaningful proportion of the members and it hadn’t been set up with the application form. RS – confirmed that he didn’t say we didn’t have a decent proportion, he had not said an actual figure.  He confirmed that it is now on the application form, and TRG is collecting data on new joiners. 

• AS -without wanting to push too hard on this point you already have 1200 members in situ who may/may not have given you details, what’s the plan trying to retroactively get theirs? I know you didn’t have bank account details for all these people so I guess it would be a good time to go back and get the number plates at the same time you get bank accounts. RS – we would have bank account details for members. SW clarified that Alex is referring to a small group of members TRG had to ask again for their bank details. It wasn’t all members, just a small proportion of them.  

• AS -is there an opportunity to go back and get some of the missing data. SW – TRG will be capturing number plates as they arrive, so capturing in real time and then we will give some thought as to whether we need to back depending on how big of an issue it is, but at the moment the SIAs are every day getting better and better at what they do. So it might just be that live collection of data for now,  particularly until we get the new technology trialled and live. RS -agreed that once the technology comes in let’s relook at it and see how big our database is compared to how that’s working practice, feel that’s a more fair enough balance. 

• AS -the key challenge here is that we discussed last time. It’s great having handheld devices to scan number plates but if the database only has 5 number plates it’s a slightly pointless exercise. SW -it’s not pointless if that’s the only thing we are doing, but don’t forget we have active SIA’s on the ground, we have people in reception, we have Rob managing with Head Doorman and Head of Security so it’s belt and braces approach  Alex. AS -agrees it’s layer upon layer and there is no silver bullet here. The SIAs are seemingly doing a good job and getting to grips with it , but remember we always discussed having technology to help here. The point I was trying to make is that if you don’t have a database then the technology is not that useful as it’s not comparable against anything. That’s the key point here. SW -agreed and added that it would be correct if there was no data in the database, but TRG are collating number plates through different means, and to RS  point let’s revisit it once we have the technology and we better understand how it works. SW added that we are meeting again on 5 September so hopefully by then we will have technology by then and be able to test and play around with it . 

• RS added that he understands the concern but believes that the percentage of members coming to the club by car is very small in the grand scheme of things. Having any sized database might not even be more useful than what we have now. I take your point but let’s get the technology in. We have had an increase in members and they are all on the new application from where they complete number pate data.

• AS this is a really important point and we have discussed it a lot. I don’t think you will necessarily see many people driving by car as it’s July /August, it’s a quiet period and sunny outside. When it’s back to school  September/ October and  it’s dark and wet I think you will probably see a big increase in cars, so I just want to make sure we don’t forget about this. I would encourage you at some point to say we have technology in place of 50, 75 or 100 % hit rate on the number plates and the system both tech and human SIAs are managing this in an efficient and diplomatic way with your members . SW- agreed that this is definitely what TRG is working towards and  assured Alex that no one around this table is going to forget about it. It is being minuted and will be on every agenda.  It will take both an analogue and technology approach to stay on top of it. RS- added that overall what we are trying to achieve is a better square for the residents/ protect the square. 

• No Security update but SW/RS confirmed that SIA’s are more confident. SW advised that a guest of a resident square was questioned by one of our SIAs when parking. The resident was very unhappy their guest was questioned, but at least it shows that the SIA’s are doing their job. RS -added that SIA’s used body cams where needed and record incidents in an app.

AOB

Noise

• SW- confirmed that we have not had any noise complaints. Not because we haven’t had any music events in the space, but we have been much more rigorous in how we manage them and the learnings that we have applied from the opening week when we were testing different types of events.

• AS -added that on the positive side there hasn’t been a repeat of the Stormzy event which is a relief. Conscious that the sound monitoring devices are in place in the front and back gardens. RS -confirmed there were four devices on the roof , handhelds used on the roof and street and that limiters have been set on inside /outside sound systems for any recorded music. We have not had any complaints and we will obviously continue to monitor. 

• KM – I am very much guided by yourselves if everything is working. You can set sound limiters and agree a managing process in place, but the only way we know if it’s working is by getting feedback from residents As far as the levels set for the sound limiting device the fact that no one has complained is a good indication and we can hold on to that as an issue for further meetings.  My issues are to do with an external management to ensure we have a good process and liaison working with everybody . RS- agreed and added that everyone is very clear on the kit TRG has and what is allowed into the building. AS -said a lot of residents away so naturally there would be less complaints so let’s revisit in September and see if there is any noise there.  He added that he has only visited the club once and his experience is that people on the terrace were asked to move indoors at curfew and the doors were shut to minimise sound and keep noise inside. SW- i’m glad you were able to see it in action and operationally that is what happens every night. Members are also getting used to the fact they need to come inside at 11pm. 

Rubbish 

• AS -the pre 7am glass smashing rituals seemed to have stopped , but just wondering what you may have done to intervene? RS -I spoke to the building team after that 6.30am incident as it was their team that did that, they are aware and  apologised. Spoke with the building Facilities Manager, (Gemma)  again today from Avison Young. She is aware and has tried before to get refuse collectors not to come at 6am on the dot to come but I will say again that it is not for us to manage, we can only work with them and abide by our 7am restriction. We do our side and we have asked them to do theirs.  AS-if you can continue to remind them, that is super helpful. It is pretty piercing if you have 20 mins of broken glass being emptied at 6/6.30am. If it’s after 7am, people are normally up by then. SW-we will continue to have that conversation. At the last meeting  you mentioned the KSRA have regular meetings with Sophie of Wilson Green, so if we’re both giving them the same feedback that’s helpful. AS agreed. 

• Next meeting is to be held on 5th September @ 6pm.