Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

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. It being a special meeting of the Committee, under Part Four, Section B, Paragraph 17 of the Council’s Constitution, no other business shall be considered at the meeting.

There were no items of urgent business.

A member with a personal interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered must disclose to that meeting the existence and nature of that interest at he commencement of that consideration, or when the interest becomes apparent.

A member with a personal interest in a matter also has a prejudicial interest in that matter if the interest is one which a member of the public with knowledge of the relevant facts would reasonably regard as so significant that it is likely to prejudice the member’s judgement of the public interest and if this interest affects their financial position or the financial position of a person or body as described in paragraph 8 of the Code of Conduct and/or if it relates to the determining of any approval, consent, licence, permission or registration in relation to them or any person or body described in paragraph 8 of the Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chair will explain the procedure that the Committee will follow for the hearing considered under the Licensing Act 2003 or Gambling Act 2005.  A copy of the procedure is attached.

The summary of procedure was noted.

To consider an application to allow the Supply of Alcohol at the above premises.

The Licensing Officer, Ms Dale Barrett, presented the report on the application for a Premises Licence at Bar Baran, 143-145 Philip Lane N15 4HQ to allow the supply of alcohol at the premises.

Ms Barrett reported that the applicant had agreed through his agent to all the conditions proposed by the Noise Enforcement team in their written representation, including alterations to the operating schedule and a revision of the proposed hours as follows:

Supply of alcohol :     Mon - Sun  1100 – 0130

Opening hours:          Mon - Sun  1100 – 0200

Ms Barrett confirmed that the information in the agenda pack regarding the lack of planning permission for the premises had been included for information only and should not be taken into consideration by the Committee when determining the licence application.

Geoffrey Parker and PC Young from the Metropolitan Police presented the Police representation to the licence application under the prevention of crime and disorder objective. The Committee were advised that PC Young and officers from the Enforcement Service had attended 143-145 Philip Lane on 16 September 2009 and found the premises open with a number of customers on site. A quantity of alcohol was found in the bar area and fridges including a several bottles of beer and a number of half open bottles of spirits, leading to concerns regarding the alleged unauthorised sale of alcohol. The applicant was not present at the premises at the time of the visit. It was confirmed that an investigation would be undertaken by the Enforcement Team to determine whether any legal action would be taken in addition to the confiscation of the alcohol.

In response to a query from the Committee, confirmation was provided that no receipts for the sale of the alcohol or drink prices had been displayed at the premises, although purchase receipts for the alcohol had been found. In addition, the customers in the premises at the time did not overtly appear to be consuming alcohol.

The Police requested that the licensing hearing be adjourned until such time as the investigation into the alcohol found on the premises be concluded and any subsequent legal action completed. The Committee sought legal advice on this request and were advised that the Committee were in a position to proceed with the hearing. Should any legal action be taken in regards to the suspected unauthorised selling of alcohol, alternative legal routes were available for action, including the potential for revoking the applicant’s personal licence and calling the premise licence into review should it be granted. The Committee were also advised that it would be difficult to impose a licence condition on a situation that might or might not occur in the future and additionally that the applicant could be prejudiced if the hearing was adjourned.

The Police also raised concerns regarding three male cousins of the applicant alleged to be involved with the sale of cannabis and other offences in the area and the potential for subsequent association with the premises in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.