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. 

Councillor Kenneth Bamber was elected Chairman for the meeting. 

There were no apologies for absence. 

(a)               Personal interests under the Medway Code of Conduct.

A Councillor who declares a personal interest in a matter, including the nature of the interest, may stay, speak, and vote on the matter.

(b)               Prejudicial interests under the Medway Code of Conduct.

A Councillor who declares a personal and prejudicial interest in a matter, including the nature of the interest, must withdraw from the room and take no part in the debate or vote on the matter.

Councillors who have declared a personal and prejudicial interest may make representations, answer questions and give evidence before leaving the room but only if members of the public are allowed to attend for the same purpose.

If an interest is not declared at the outset of the meeting, it should be disclosed as soon as the interest becomes apparent.

There were no declarations of interest. 

The panel heard an application for a new premises licence in respect of
Food and Wine, 183 High Street, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 1AQ.

The application was to enable:

Hours the premises are open to the public

Monday to Sunday                         06:00 to 23.00                                                             

Hours for the supply of alcohol

Monday to Sunday                         07:00 to 23.00                                                                         

              The Business Development and Licensing Manager advised that the application had been correctly advertised in the press and notices had been displayed on the premises.

              The Business Development and Licensing Manager also advised that the representations from Kent Police had been withdrawn following agreement by the applicant to the conditions as set out in the agenda.

The panel heard from the applicant that:

·        he had taken all necessary steps to ensure that all rules were complied with;

·        he had owned and operated similar businesses over a period of approximately 20 years and stated that he would ensure that all staff were adequately trained;

·        since the incident in 2007 there had been no further incidents and his staff were even more careful than before;

·        he wanted to work with the local community and had amended the hours that he sold alcohol from 6:00 to 7:00 after consultation with the police.

The panel heard from the objectors that:

·        Gillingham High Street is an alcohol-free zone and the police were having problems enforcing this and having more alcohol outlets in the area would increase alcohol related problems in the area;

·        the Council was trying to regenerate the area and there were problems with anti-social behaviour and under-age sales and alcohol related crime.

Decision:

Accordingly, the application was approved as follows:

Hours the premises are open to the public

Monday to Sunday                         06:00 to 23.00                                                                         

Hours for the supply of alcohol

Monday to Sunday                         07:00 to 23.00                                                       

With the following conditions:

1.                  All staff are to receive training in relation to the conditions applicable to this premises and training specific to their role as per the licensing legislation. Documented training records relating to every employee who is employed at the Licensed Premises (paid or unpaid) are to be kept on the premises. The records shall include but are not limited to the nature, content and frequency of any training. These records will be made available for inspection to any Police Officer, Police Licensing Officer and Officer of the Local Authority or Trading Standards when practicable. 
 

2.                  Where a person appears to be under the age of eighteen they will be required to provide a proof of age. The only acceptable proof of age will be:

·        Passport

·        Photo Driving License

·        Pass approved ID Cards.

3.                  The License Holder will keep a written refusal book. These records will be kept in a bound book and detail the following:

·        Day, date and time of Refusal

·        Nature of refusal and reason

·        Details of or description of the individual

·        Each entry is to be checked and signed by the D.P.S on the day of the event or as soon as practicable.

4.                  Incidents records are  ...  view the full minutes text for item 238.