Agenda and draft minutes

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

The Panel elected Councillor Browne as Chairperson for this hearing in line with the rules agreed by the Licensing and Safety Committee.

There were none.

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

It was agreed that the Chairperson, after consultation with the other members of the Panel, would sign the record of this meeting outside the meeting. 

The Chairperson 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. 

Members are invited to disclose any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Significant Interests in accordance with the Member Code of Conduct. Guidance on this is set out in agenda item 5.

Disclosable pecuniary interests

There were none.

Other significant interests (OSIs)

There were none.

Other interests

There were none.

To consider a new Premises Licence application for The Royal Supermarket, 56 Balmoral Road, Gillingham following the submission of representations, received during the consultation period.

Discussion:

The Chairperson explained the process that the hearing would follow as outlined on page 4 of the agenda.

The Licensing Officer informed the Panel that the applicant had applied for a new Premises Licence for The Royal Supermarket, 56 Balmoral Road, Gillingham, ME7 4PG.  The application had been received on 25 November 2024 and was for Sale by Retail of Alcohol, off sales from Monday to Sunday 09:00 to 23:00. 

All responsible authorities had been consulted in line with the Licensing Act 2003 and the application had been correctly advertised in the local press and notices displayed on the premises for the required period.

Representatives were received from Public Health, on 12 December 2024, in relation to two of the licensing objectives:  the prevention of crime and disorder and the prevention of public nuisance.  The report could be found in Appendix C of the report.   On 19 December 2024, representation was received from Kent Police in relation to three of the licensing objectives: the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety and the prevention of public nuisance.  The report could be found in Appendix D of the report.

The Chairperson invited the applicant and their representative to speak in support of their application. 

The applicant’s representative, Mr Daly, informed the Panel that the premises had been before a Licensing Hearing Panel back in December 2020.  The representative and the applicant, Mr Sebastian, had given more consideration to this application than the previous one.  The applicant had been managing the shop now for 4 years and had previously run a shop locally.

The applicant and his representative had researched the local area and reviewed the local policies.  The applicant had acknowledged that his premises were located within a Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIP) area and understood the 3 main conditions to reduce the impact on the area which were:   no alcohol being sold over 5.5% ABV, no multi-packs of alcohol being sold and less than 15% of the floor area to be dedicated to alcohol.  The applicant’s representative proposed amending the hours of off sales of alcohol, Monday to Sunday to 11:00 to 22:00.

The representative confirmed that enhanced training would be provided to the applicant and the other staff members on Challenge 25, making staff aware of underage sales and street drinkers.  

The representative confirmed that this was a small independent shop that wished to operate in Gillingham and would not undermine the four licensing objectives.  Alcohol sales would be an ancillary part of this business.

The objectors were then given the opportunity to express their concerns.

Claire Hurcum raised public health concerns regarding the high levels of street drinkers in the CIP.  She confirmed that the CIP had been reviewed and renewed in May 2024.  The CIP borders deprived areas of Gillingham and public health had concerns regarding the hidden harm of alcohol abuse like domestic abuse, assault, sexual offences, public nuisance and disturbances and alcohol related litter.  

PC Andre Smuts expressed concerns from Kent Police about the high  ...  view the full minutes text for item 607.

To consider a new Premises Licence application for Tesco Express, Unit 1 Pullman House, 90 Corporation Street, Rochester following the submission of representations, received during the consultation period.

Decision:

The Premises Licence application was withdrawn by the applicant prior to hearing.

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 press and public were excluded from the meeting during the Panel’s deliberations and decision making in respect of agenda items 6 and 7 because consideration of this matter in public would disclosure information falling within paragraph  5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as specified in agenda item 7 (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.