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 Adrian Gulvin 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. 

To agree that the Chairman, after consultation with the 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 applicant has applied for a new premises licence to request the supply of alcohol on the premises at Morrisons M Local (formerly Medway Queen), Churchill Avenue, Chatham, Kent ME5 0DE.  A representation has been received from Ward Councillors on behalf of their constituents.

Discussion:

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the Hearing and asked those present to introduce themselves. He then drew attention to the “Guidelines for Licensing Hearing Panels”.

The Senior Licensing and Enforcement Officer advised that, in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the Council had received an application for a new premises licence in respect of Morrisons M Local, Churchill Avenue, Chatham, Kent ME5 0DE

The application sought:

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

This application had been put to the Panel for consideration because of a representation received from the Ward Councillors, Councillor Craven, Christine Godwin and Osborne, which related two of the licensing objectives as follows:

·        the prevention of public nuisance

·        protection of children from harm

The following documents were included in the report:

• Appendix A: pages 9 – 23: a copy of the application submitted.
• Appendix B: page 25: floor and site plans of the premises.
• Appendix C: page 27: plan showing location of the premises.

·        Appendix D: pages 29-30: copy of the representation.

The Applicant advised the Panel that Morrisons Supermarkets PLC operated in excess of 600 stores throughout the United Kingdom. This application was for a Morrisons M Local which would be a convenience store. The application had sought the 06:00 to 00:00 hrs as these were the standard opening hours and standard ‘supply of alcohol – off the premises’ hours applied by Morrisons to the M Local stores. However following discussions with Kent Police, these hours had been reduced to 06:00hrs to 23:00hrs. Morrisons operated a great number of premises licences across the UK and many of those were operated within densely populated or challenging areas. Some premises were in close proximity to residences and included being sited directly underneath residences. Morrisons as a company had huge expertise and experience in managing licensed premises. The Applicant had worked for Morrisons for five years and during that time the company had not received any reviews or prosecutions under the Licensing Act 2003 and this was evidence of their expertise. Every member of staff undertook induction training and refresher training. Refresher training was also in place during peak times such as school holidays or public events. The company also operated the Challenge 25 initiative and, in addition, employed another company to ‘mystery shop’ to ensure that the initiative was being used by staff. If a member of staff was found not to be applying the initiative then additional training had to be undertaken. A CCTV system would also be installed at the premises in line with the requirements set out by Kent Police. Morrisons had originally submitted an application for the Medway Queen site in July 2013. At the same time an application to Medway Council for the premises to become a Designated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 364.

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 under paragraph 5 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 for the decision-making element of all licence applications considered.