Agenda and minutes

Please note this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method.  Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on.  By entering the ‘meeting room’, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

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 variation of an existing premises licence.

Presentation by the Licensing Officer

The Licensing Officer informed the Sub-Committee that:

·           This was an application to vary the existing premises licence to allow for late night refreshment Sunday to Thursday 23:00 to 23:30 and Friday to Saturday 23:00 to 00:00 (and until 01:00 on New Year's Eve).

·           The sale of alcohol would be Sunday to Thursday 11:00 to 23:30 and on 11:00 to 00:000 on Friday and Saturday.

·           The hours open to the public would be Sunday to Wednesday 06:00 to 23:30, Thursday 06:00 to 00:00 and Friday to Saturday 08:00 to 00:00.

·           There were also changes being made to the layout, in particular, the bar area near to the lounge.

·           The application had also requested for the condition listed on 1.3 of the report stating that all outside areas must be closed and cleared of customers by 21:00 and be replaced with a condition stating that “all outside areas must be closed and cleared of customers by 23:30 hours. Adequate notices shall be displayed to inform patrons of this requirement. The premises licence holder shall take appropriate measures to ensure that patrons using any outside areas do so in a quiet and orderly fashion”.

·           Representations had been received residents and responsible authorities.

·           The application had a list of other businesses which the applicant had stated was in support of the application. 

·           A previous application for the premises had been considered by the Sub-Committee on 27 July 2021.

In response to questions, the Licensing Officer informed the Sub-Committee that:

·           Page 3, section 2.3 of the officer’s report on the additional agenda papers was an error.

·           The outside areas and the external areas were considered by Licensing to be the same thing. The shisha area needed to be an open (not an enclosed area) by at least 50%.

·           Licensing did try to intervene at times whenever there was a non-compliance of conditions. If non-compliance continued, then the matter would be escalated.

Presentation by the applicant

Mr Duncan Craig, representing the applicant and Mr Garip Toprak, applicant, informed the Sub-Committee that:

·           The application did not touch upon regulated entertainment and was not proposing to operate as a nightclub. This was obvious from the hours applied for.

·           Supporting documents also demonstrated that the premises would operate as a food-led business. 

·           The premises would offer a full table service and employee around 53 members of staff. The premises was not a vertical drinking establishment and was a restaurant. The Sub-Committee should treat it accordingly.

·           The most recent licence was granted in 2021 and the applicant accepted that there had been occasions where it had been difficult to comply with conditions relating to the rear area of the premises as the terminal hour of 21:00 for the use of the area was seen as too restrictive.

·            Officers had advised that a variation application could be made.

·           The guidance was clear that conditions of a licence must be appropriate and be capable of being met and that unwarranted or disproportionate conditions should not be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

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

Three were no items.