Agenda and minutes

The Chair will draw attention to the emergency evacuation procedure as set out under Note 5 on the previous page.

The Democratic Services Officer read out the procedure.

RESOLVED that a Vice-Chair was not required on this occasion.

Apologies were received from Councillor Douglas Nicol, for whom Councillor Dine Romero substituted.

To receive any declarations from Members/Officers of personal/prejudicial interests in respect of matters for consideration at this meeting, together with their statements on the nature of any such interests declared.

Councillor Curran and Councillor Lees declared that they had been Members of the Development Control Committee which had considered a planning application from Chandag Service Station, though this did not constitute a prejudicial or personal interest.

There was none.

The Chair will, if required, explain the licensing procedure.

The Chair drew attention to the licensing procedure, copies of which had been made available to those attending the meeting.

Applicant:: Roc UK Ltd, represented by Leo Charalambides (Barrister), Brian Kent (Locket and Co. Licensing Consultant), Robert Dampier (Territory Manager, Roc UK Ltd), Robert Mortimer (Site Manager & proposed Designated Premises Supervisor)

Interested Parties; Lionel Cartledge (representing Tina Cartledge), Patrick Harris, Councillor Bryan Organ

The parties confirmed that they had received and understood the licensing procedure.

The Licensing Officer summarised the application. This was an application for a new premises licence authorising the sale of alcohol for 24 hours a day and the provision of late night refreshment between 23.00 and 05.00 every day. Representations had been received from 21 Interested Parties residing within the vicinity of the premises alleging that the application, if granted, would have a detrimental effect on the licensing objectives.

Mr Charalambides stated the case for the applicant. He began by stating that having considered the representations made by the Interested Parties, the applicant wished to amend the application by reducing the hours sought for the sale of alcohol from 24 hours a day to between 06.00 and 00.00 (midnight) daily. He said that late night refreshment would include only hot drinks and food that could be heated in a microwave and that there was no intention that the premises should operate as a takeaway.

He stated that, whilst some of the representations related to planning matters, these concerned amenity, which was different from the licensing objectives as contained in the Licensing Act 2003.

Noting that some of the representations had questioned the need for the premises to sell alcohol or provide late night refreshment, he pointed out that “need” was not relevant to a licensing application and referred to paragraph 13.23 of the Secretary of State’s Guidance, which states that, amongst other things, “Need is a matter for planning committees and for the market.”

He submitted that the Sub-Committee should consider whether there had been any problems specifically linked to the premises in the past and the manner in which the premises were currently operated.  He stated that the premises had recently introduced a “Challenge 25” policy to replace the “Challenge 21” that had previously been followed for the sale of age-restricted products. He confirmed that all staff were given a two-day intensive training course on the sale of age-restricted products as part of their induction. Managers then monitored new staff until they were satisfied that they were implementing the policy correctly. All staff were given quarterly refresher courses. If the application were granted, all eight staff would be given a training course relating to the sale of alcohol. All staff already had experience of serving in convenience stores where alcohol was sold. An external agency would be engaged to conduct test purchases every quarter, and there would be a disciplinary process for staff who failed a test, followed by retraining. The tills issued prompts for staff when age-restricted products were registered and a refusals register was maintained. Management received regular reports on refusals and staff training needs. Litter was cleared from around  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Chair will, if required, explain the procedure.

The Chair drew attention to the review procedure, copies of which had been made available to those attending the meeting.

Applicant for review: Peter Greenlees

Licence Holder: Admiral Taverns, represented by Mark Brown (Head of Licensing), Mike Jones (outgoing Area Manager), Fred Lloyd (incoming Area Manager)

The parties confirmed that they had received and understood the review procedure.

The Licensing Officer distributed copies of the petition in support of the premises referred to in paragraph 4.13 of the report, colour versions of the photographs contained in the agenda and a press notice issued by Admiral Taverns on 21 July 2011 announcing the appointment of new tenants at the premises.

The Licensing Officer summarised the application. She said that it related to the licensing objectives of the prevention of crime and disorder and the prevention of public nuisance. Fourteen representations had been received from local residents in relation to these licensing objectives.

Mr Greenlees stated his case. He said that he had lived in Timsbury for eleven years, during which time there had always been problems associated with the premises, which was essentially a working man’s pub. These had had intensified since the Licensing Act 2003 had come into force. There had been anti-social behaviour and damage to property caused by customers of the premises. He said that he knew of no one in Timsbury who wanted the premises to close, but there needed to be a compromise that took into account the interests of residents. Problems were particularly severe on Fridays and Saturdays in the summer. There had been instances of people coming from the premises, getting into their cars and crashing into parked vehicles. There had also been fights and occasional under-age drinking. He had witnessed customers smoking drugs at the door of the premises. The situation had been made worse because there had been a succession of temporary landlords who had not been involved in village life. He requested that the opening hours of the premises should be reduced. He thought that the terminal hour for the sale of alcohol should be 23.00 on Sundays to Thursdays and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays with closing half an hour later. The current late closing on Fridays and Saturdays made the premises a magnet for the wrong kind of people. He also believed that a condition should be imposed prohibiting late new entry to the premises.

In response to a question from a Member, the Licensing Officer reported that the terminal hour for the sale of alcohol of the nearby Seven Stars public house was 00.00 on Mondays to Thursday, 02.00 Saturdays and 23.30 on Sundays, with closing half an hour later in each case.

In reply to questions from Members, Mr Greenlees stated:

• customers came to the premises from all directions late at night

• from his home he could just about hear the noise of customers outside the premises smoking; other residents said that they could smell smoke and hear the extractor fan

Mark Brown, Head of Licensing, stated the case for the applicant. He introduced his colleagues Mr Jones, the outgoing area manager and Mr Lloyd, the new  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.