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 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 sign the record of this meeting outside of the meeting.  

An apology of absence was received from Councillor Etheridge. 

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)               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 none. 

Discussion:

The Panel heard an application for a new premises licence for the sale of alcohol in respect of One Stop Stores, 1 - 5 Watling Street, Chatham, Kent.

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            06:00 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 objector had telephoned the council earlier in the day to apologise for being unable to attend the meeting and had submitted a letter asking the panel to take a variety of points into account whilst considering the application.

The panel heard from the applicant that:

·        contact had been made with the objector but they had been unable to resolve any issues. Mr Lee had left his telephone number with the objector so she could contact him should there be any problem in the future

·        One Stop Stores had 515 community based outlets nationwide. These worked with the community for its needs, tried to employ staff from the local area and provide a full range of services for the residents

·        the applicant had worked with the police on this application to alleviate any concerns they should have

·        in response to the issues raised by the objector: previous anti-social behaviour is unknown by the applicant, so they could only explain what would be put in place to overcome any problems; One Stop Shops operated a “Think 25” policy and the cash tills were located by the window so that staff had a clear view outside the shop; there was also a “Staff Safe” system which was a wristband that could activate a recording system should staff feel threatened or have particular problems within the store

·        the traffic and parking objections were not part of the Licensing Objectives – but in response, the store would have three deliveries a week which lasted for approximately 20 minutes. Their policy was to look for local footfall and only advertise in the immediate area

·        there would be a wide range of customers with hours to match the trading hours, eg. night shift workers, people on the way to work looking for presents, etc. who would want to purchase alcohol at an early hour.

The panel asked on behalf of the objector whether the applicant was prepared to accept any alteration to the hours of operation. The applicant responded that the company continued to request the hours applied for and that, in their opinion, everything was in place to eliminate any problems that may occur between the hours of 06:00 to 23:00.

The letter circulated on behalf of the objector stated:

·        that there was a history of anti-social behaviour and underage drinking when the premises last traded as an off-licence. Teenagers had caused noise and damage to the property, with gangs of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 610.