Agenda and minutes

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

The Clerk read out the procedure.

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

There were none.

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.

There were none.

There was none.

These were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

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

The Chairman drew attention to the licensing procedure, copies of which had been made available to members of the public attending the meeting.

Applicant for Review: Trading Standards, represented by Robin Wood, Senior Trading Standards Officer

Responsible Authority: the Police, represented by Martin Purchase (Police Liquor Licensing Bureau) and Inspector Steven Mildren,

Witnesses for the Police: PC Andrew Grabowski, Mrs Catherine Wilson

Bright Stores, represented by Zaheer Hussain (Licence Holder and Designated Premises Supervisor), Aftab Hussain

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

The Environmental and Licensing Manager introduced the application. He explained that Bright Stores was currently authorised to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises between 10:00 and 23:00 every day. The review application had been brought by Trading Standards, who were seeking the revocation of the licence on the grounds that the licensing objectives of the protection of children from harm and the prevention of crime and disorder were being undermined by sales of alcohol to persons under the age of 18. The Police had made a representation to the application, and had also requested that the licence be revoked.

Robin Wood, Senior Trading Standards Officer, stated the case for the Applicant for Review. He said that the premises had failed test purchases on three occasions, once on 16 February 2010 and twice on 17 May 2010. He explained the procedure for test purchases. He stated that these were governed by strict Home Office guidelines and that only children who looked their age could be used to conduct them. Trading Standards worked closely with the Police in relation to test purchases. They were sometimes random, sometimes more targeted and related to intelligence received. He stated that this was only the second time that Trading Standards had initiated the review of a licence and the first time that they had sought the revocation of a licence. Trading Standards usually found that fixed penalties or prosecution were sufficient to bring about a change of behaviour. But in the case of Bright Stores further complaints had been received after a fixed penalty had been imposed following a failed test purchase in February 2010 and after the Designated Premises Supervisor had attended a meeting at Bath Police Station in March 2010, at which he had been given advice about requiring ID from those who appeared to be under age. A report had been received in April 2010 that alcohol was being sold to children, and further test purchases were made on 17 May 2010, which were both failed, resulting in the sale of a bottle of cider and a bottle of vodka to two 16-year old boys. Test purchases made at four other premises on the same day with the same boys had been refused. A further complaint about selling alcohol to children at the premises was received two weeks later. Mr Wood said that a picture had emerged of a premises that was regularly flouting the law. There was evidence that the premises had acquired a reputation among children as being a place where it was easy to buy alcohol. The application contained plentiful evidence of the serious  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Applicant: Mr Kambiz Shayegan Zadeh, represented by David Holley (Licensing Agent)

Interested Party: the Circus Residents Association, represented by Henry Brown

Witnesses for the Interested Party: Mrs Rothwell and Mr Plumstead

The Environmental and Licensing Manager introduced the application, which was for a new premises licence authorising the sale of alcohol, with food orders only, for consumption off the premises between the hours of 11.00 and 23.00 Monday to Sunday. Representations had been received from Interested Parties relating to the licensing objectives of the prevention of crime and disorder, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm.

Mr Holley stated the case for the applicant. He said that the applicant, who had owned and operated a takeaway in Julian Road for six months, wished to offer his customers the option of buying wine or beer to consume with the food they purchased from him. He did not wish the premises to become an off-licence. Food was served at the shop or could be ordered for delivery to customers’ homes. There were no other premises selling hot food in Julian Road, though there were other premises in the road selling alcohol up to 23.00. He said that the applicant had taken time to discuss the application with him before submitting it. As a result, he had decided not to store alcohol in the ground floor shop; customers would be able to consult a wine and beer list from which they could make their selection. He had also decided that it was best at present not to open beyond 23.00. Following an incident where a pile of rubbish left outside a shop in the road had been set on fire, the applicant had decided that no rubbish would be left outside the premises, but would be removed every day. Mr Holley noted that there had been no representations from residents living in Julian Road or neighbouring roads. He drew attention to the fact that the premises were on the very edge of the cumulative impact area, and referred to paragraph 16.11 of the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy, which states that applications will be decided in accordance with the individual circumstances of the case.

In response to questions from Members, Mr Holley and Mr Zadeh stated:

• there would be a minimum charge of £10 for food purchased at the premises

• the drinks sold would be wine and beer, but not cider or canned beer

• the strength of the beer sold would be 3.5-4%

• if people wanted cheap beer, they would be more likely to go to another outlet

In response to questions from Mr Brown, Mr Holley and Mr Zadeh stated:

• wine and beer would be sold in bottles

• it was expected that the sale of drink would account for 10% of the  turnover of the premises

• the applicant had not sought support from local residents for the application

Mr Brown stated the case for the Circus Residents’ Association. He introduced his witnesses, Sally Rothwell and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.