Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Lister for whom Cllr Dodds was substituting.  Cllr Lister was unable to consider item 6 as it was located within his Ward.

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 at item 8 below).

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.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting of the Licensing Sub Committee B held on 6 January 2009.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the Licensing Sub Committee B meeting held on 6 January 2009 be approved.

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

Noted.

To consider an application to provide the supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises.

The Licensing Officer, Ms Barrett, presented the report on the application to provide the supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises.  Ms Barrett reported that representations had been made by Enforcement Response, Noise Team, with regard to the prevention of public nuisance.  Representations were received in respect of; deliveries and collections, plant and machinery, and prevention of nuisance from light.

Further representations had also been received from interested parties who raised major concerns in relation to a shop selling alcohol for 24 hours.  Representations included; fear of anti-social behaviour, drug dealing and public safety.

The applicant’s agent addressed the Committee and advised that this application was for a new premises licence to sell alcohol between the hours of 8:00am and 11:00pm in a local shop.  No representations had been received from the responsible authorities and all conditions had been implemented in the operating schedule.  The shop was managed by trained staff at all times.  The applicant would be happy to discuss further conditions that the Committee thought appropriate.

The Committee equired of the applicant whether they had received any formal complaints from neighbours or local residents and were in response advised they had not received any complaints.  The premises was a small lshop selling groceries, every effort would be made to ensure the are surrounding the shop would be cleared each day.   In response to a question from members in relation to the personal Licence holder the Committee were informed that the applicant was awaiting a criminal report from the poice.

The Committee further enquired of the applicant whether he had any previous  experience of selling alcohol and what assurance could be give that customers would not consume their purchases in the local vicinity.  The applicant’s agent responded that the applicant had three years experience selling alcohol although he could not control customers once they left the premises however, he did not allow drinking on the presmises.

RESOLVED

The Committee has decided to grant the application as asked, subject to the following conditions:

1. The Mandatory Statutory condition under Section 19 of the Act.
2. That the licence holder complies with the provisions of the operating schedule.
3. Deliveries and collections associated with the premises are to be arranged between the hours of 8:00am and 6:30pm Monday to Saturday, and no deliveries or collections are to take place on Sundays or bank holidays.
4. All plant and machinery is correctly maintained and regularly serviced to ensure that it is operating efficiently and with minimal disturbance to neighbours arising from noise.
5. There should be no use of external units/equipment at the premises such as air conditioning units, condensers, chillers, or similar noise generating equipment due to the close proximity of dwellings to these premises unless they are placed so as not to cause disturbance to residents.
6. If external units are to be used then there should be no increase in the  background noise of the area as measured in accordande with BS4142.  A report of the background noise survey as well as the manufacturer’s  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

To consider an application to provide the supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises.

The Licensing Officer, Ms Dale Barrett, presented the report and advised the Committee that the application was for a variation of an existing licence for the supply of alcohol Monday to Sunday , 24 hours.  The existing licence allowed for the supply of alcohol from 8:00am – 11:00pm.  The applicant had offered no further conditions however, reaffirmed he would comply with all the existing conditions on the licence.

The Committee was also informed that representations had been received from the police however, these were withdrawn as the applicant had complied with their recommendations.  Further representations had been submitted by several local residents in relation to anti-social behaviour,  public nuisance and major concerns relating to alcohol being sold for 24 hours.  The Committee was further informed by the Licensing Officer, that Rostrevor Avenue was part of a dispersal order area and included within a street drinking zone.

The Committee enquired of the role of the Designed Premises Supervisor (DPS) and in response the Licensing Officer, advised that a DPS was required to be assigned to a licence however, their presence wasn’t required at the premises all the time.  A DPS could authorise another person to supervise the premises in their absence and should leave written authorisation.  The licensing authority would encourage DPSs to leave a person to supervise who was a personal licence holder.

The Committee requested clarification on the alcohol dispersal order and were advised that the dispersal order was in effect due to problems with street drinkers who took over road corners.

The applicant’s representative addressed the Committee and advised that the premises licence was granted in 2008.  The applicant had proved he could run a successful licenced business without problems and no objections had been submitted from the responsible authorities.  The licensee confirmed that he would ensure that customers did not disturb the neighbours and that the front of the shop was an alcohol free zone.  All the conditions on the licence had been implemented and it was the intention to open for 24 hours as requested by their customers.  The applicant’s representative advised that the applicant would be acceptable to any conditions the Committee wished to impose if the licence were granted.

RESOLVED

The Committee considered the application by Mr T Soylemez, and decided to refuse the variation to the premises licence.  The Committee did not believe that granting the licence would uphold the objective of the prevention of public nuisance.  The Committee considered the written representations of the local residents and the oral evidence presented at the hearing.

The Committee considered that there are major concerns in relation to nuisance in the vicinity, in particular Rostrevor Avenue, caused by street drinkers including rubbish, noise and urinating in the street.  This was clearly evidenced by several written representations from local residents and confirmed by the fact that a dispersal order is in place that covered the High Road where the premises were located.  To grant the licence would undermine the initiative taken to alleviate the nuisance to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

To consider any new items admitted under item 2 above.

There were no new items of urgent business.

The meeting concluded at 9:45pm.