Agenda and draft minutes

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The Chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual, or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair referred to the filming of meetings and this information was noted.  

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were none.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of Urgent Business. (Late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items will be dealt with under item 7 below).

There was no urgent business.  

There were no declarations of interest.  

The Sub-Committee will first hear from the Licensing Officer.  After that, the applicant will present their application and the Sub-Committee and objectors will have the opportunity to ask questions. Then, the objectors will present their case and the Sub-Committee and objectors will have the opportunity to ask questions. 

All parties will then have the opportunity to sum up, and then the meeting will conclude to allow the Sub-Committee to deliberate and reach a decision. This decision will then be provided in writing within five working days of this meeting.

The Chair provided a summary of the procedure for the meeting.  

To consider an application for a new premises licence.

Presentation by the Licensing Officer

Ms Daliah Barrett, Licensing Team Leader, informed the Sub-Committee that: 

·         The application could be found in appendix A of the report.

·         The application was for a new premises licence.

·         Representations had been received and revised operating hours had been agreed with the Police. The sale of alcohol would be for consumption on the premises would Sunday to Thursday 10:00 to 23:30 and 10:00 to 00:00 Friday to Saturday

·         Late night refreshment would be served 23:00 to 00:00 on Friday and Saturday.

·         The area would be closed to patrons from 22:00 hours.

·         Conditions had been agreed with the Noise team and the conditions could be found in appendix B of the agenda papers.

·         The premises had been previously licensed but this was dissolved.  The Police had carried out a raid on the 21 February 2025 for drug related issues, but the Police found the venue was taking part in casino style illegal gambling events. The premises then closed thereafter.

Presentation by the applicant

The representative for the applicant, Mr Noel Samaroo informed the Sub-Committee that: 

·         The applicant was actually a limited company.

·         Mr Toshi was the director of the company and was also the listed DPS on the application.

·         Additional papers had been submitted to the Sub-Committee to help and guide the Sub-Committee through any questions they may have. Documents included photographs and provided a structured end-to-end compliance narrative including an executive summary, a chronological case summary, formal rebuttals and a full governance suite. Policies such as the CCTV policy, the dispersal policy, staff training log, incident log operating controls and photographic evidence had been included.

·         The papers had been designed to give the Sub-Committee a clear auditable assurance-based framework, demonstrating how the applicant would promote the four licensing objectives.

·         Police, Licensing and Environmental Health had withdrawn their representations following agreements of reduced hours and additional conditions.

·         The applicant was aware the location was a difficult area and there had been some antisocial behaviour in the past.

·         It was very important to have engaged with the Police, the Environmental Health and Noise teams to draw up conditions with which they were satisfied.

·         The single remaining representation was from a local resident.  The issues raised had been addressed in the already submitted additional papers.

·         The concerns raised were generalised and speculative. However, the operation framework presented was supported by documented CCTV governance, dispersal controls, a dispersal policy, training compliance and occupational management. It provided tangible and enforceable mechanism aligned with the statutory guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act.

·         The premises was already operating responsibly as a cafe and pool venue.

·         There was no evidence of crime, disorder or nuisance arising from the current operation.

·         Granting a licence with conditions would enhance the regulatory oversight in the area by bringing alcohol service into a fully controlled, monitored and reviewable environment.

·         The material within the additional papers provided full assurance that the licence and objectives would be robustly and continuously promoted.

·         His organisation would provide the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To consider any items of urgent business as identified at item 3.

There were no new items of urgent business.