Agenda and minutes

The Panel is requested to elect a Chairman for the hearing in line with rules agreed by the Licensing and Safety Committee. 

The Panel agreed to appoint Councillor Mrs Diane Chambers as Chairman.

To agree that the Chairman, after consultation with the other Members of the Panel, sign the record of this meeting outside the meeting. 

The Panel agreed that the Chairman, after consultation with other Members of the Panel, sign the record of this meeting outside the meeting.

 There were none.

The Chairman will announce any late items which do not appear on the main agenda but which he/she has agreed should be considered by reason of special circumstances to be specified in the report. 

 There were none.

A Member need only disclose at any meeting the existence of a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) in a matter to be considered at that meeting if that DPI has not been entered on the disclosable pecuniary interests register maintained by the Monitoring Officer.

A Member disclosing a DPI at a meeting must thereafter notify the Monitoring Officer in writing of that interest within 28 days from the date of disclosure at the meeting.

A Member may not participate in a discussion of or vote on any matter in which he or she has a DPI (both those already registered and those disclosed at the meeting) and must withdraw from the room during such discussion/vote.

Members may choose to voluntarily disclose a DPI at a meeting even if it is registered on the Council’s register of disclosable pecuniary interests but there is no legal requirement to do so.

Members should also ensure they disclose any other interests which may give rise to a conflict under the Council’s Code of Conduct.

In line with the training provided to Members by the Monitoring Officer Members will also need to consider bias and pre-determination in certain circumstances and whether they have a conflict of interest or should otherwise leave the room for Code reasons. 

Disclosable pecuniary interests

There were none.

Other interests

There were none.

The Panel is asked to consider and determine an application for a premises licence is respect of the above premises. 

Discussion:

The Panel was advised that this application for a premises licence in respect of Lonsdale Drive Newsagents, 288 Lonsdale Drive, Rainham, Kent ME8 9JU.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 the Licensing and Local Land Charges Manager advised the application was for the following:

Hours for the supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises:

The hours the premises are open to the public: 

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 the Council had received a new application for a premises licence in respect of Lonsdale Drive Newsagents, 288 Lonsdale Drive, Rainham, Kent ME8 9JU

This application had been correctly advertised in the local press and notices displayed at the premises for the required timescale.

As stated at 1.2 on page 5 the application seeks to be licensed for the supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises.

The Licensing and Local Land Charges Manager advised the Panel that she had received written notification from the below list of objectors that Councillor O’Brien would be attending and speaking on their behalf in respect of their representations.

Mr and Mrs L McVeigh
Mrs F Delahay
Mr and Mrs S Cokayne
Mr and Mrs P Rutson

The following documents were included for consideration:

• Appendix A - pages 11 to 23 and site plan on page 24 - a copy of the original application submitted.
• Appendix B – pages 25 and 26 - amendments made to the application
• Appendix C – pages 27 to 42 - supporting documentation
• Appendix D – page 43 - location plan showing the approximate location of the application
• Appendix E – pages 45 to 82 - copies of representation received from members of the public

In accordance with section 9.14 of the Amended Guidance to the Licensing Act, Licensing Officers had been in discussion with Planning and confirmed the current planning position was that the premises did not have any planning control in place in relation to use or restriction on hours of opening.

This application was submitted for consideration because of the relevant representations received.

The Applicant’s representative informed the Panel that the application was for the supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises together with a corresponding extension in opening hours. The Applicant’s representative advised the Panel of the Applicant’s previous experience of owning and managing a large convenience store that had been open from 06:00 to 23:00 hours with, no reported problems, in Strood, Kent. The Applicant and her husband had sold the business in December 2013 and had purchased the Lonsdale Drive Newsagents with a view to completely refurbishing the property and converting it to a convenience store. It would continue to sell newspapers. The Applicant understood that the newsagent was a valuable asset to the local community. However, the business was struggling to make a profit and it had been decided to diversify in an effort to make the business viable. The request for opening at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 831.

It is recommended that the Panel exclude the press and public from the meeting during the decision-making process for the reasons set out in the report. 

 Decision:

The Panel agreed to exclude the press and public during the decision-making elements of the hearing because consideration of this matter in public would disclose information within paragraph 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as specified in agenda item 8 (Exclusion of the Press and Public) and in all the circumstances of the case, the Panel considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.