Agenda and 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 McDonald as Chairperson for this hearing in line with the rules agreed by the Licensing and Safety Committee.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Kemp. Councillor Sands, as the fourth Member, joined the Panel.

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 Tesco Express, 614 Lords Wood Lane, Chatham, Kent. ME5 8QX 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 Senior Licensing Officer informed the Panel that on 27 August 2025 the applicant had applied for a new Premise Licence for Tesco Express, 614 Lords Wood Lane, Chatham, Kent ME5 8QX.  All responsible authorities had been consulted in line with the Licensing Act 2003 and two representatives had been received from members of the public.

The application was for:

Sale by Retail of Alcohol, Off Sales - Monday to Sunday 06:00 to Midnight

Late Night Refreshment –

Monday to Sunday 23:00 to Midnight

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

The Head of Licensing for Tesco stated they were planning on opening the Tesco store in January 2026 and Ashrafur Rahman who was also in attendance, would be the Store Manager.  This would be a Tesco Express Store, one of the smaller Tesco Stores.  It would be used as a convenience store where you could go and top up your weekly shopping.  

The Head of Licensing for Tesco explained that they would employ 20 staff members, either full or part-time, and would advertise for local residents to apply first.  Recruitment would start about four weeks before the store opened.  Training on alcohol sales would be provided during the induction programme and refresher training provided twice a year. 

The Head of Licensing for Tesco confirmed that they had a “Good Neighbour” Policy and would want to understand any issues early on from local residents and would be happy to join any Local Residents Association or Group meetings or for local residents to meet with the Store Manager to discuss any concerns.

The Head of Licensing for Tesco confirmed that Tesco had policies and procedures in place regarding the sale of alcohol, which included an “Under 25” policy, where approved ID would be required and which was linked to a prompt on the till which checked the customer’s date of birth.  If it was observed that someone over 18 years of age was purchasing alcohol for someone under 18, alcohol would not be sold to them.

CCTV cameras were being monitored by operators and Tesco worked closely with the Police.   High costs items, such as alcohol, were tagged as they could be an easy product to steal.   Staff would wear body cameras and headsets and they were empowered to close a store if the need was required such as a football match with large footfall, the store could be closed on safety grounds.

The Head of Licensing for Tesco confirmed that the late-night refreshment was for a Costa Coffee machine located within the store.

The licensing hours requested were 06:00 to midnight, Monday to Sunday, Tesco would then review the footfall and if needed could reduce those licensing hours. 

The Head of Licensing for Tesco clarified that noise should not be an issue, as they were not expecting a large footfall late at night and if the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 395.

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 item 6, Licensing Act 2003 Application for a New Premises Licence at Tesco Express, 614 Lords Wood Lane, Chatham, Kent ME5 8QX 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.