Agenda and minutes

Licensing Hearing Panel - Tuesday, 14 February 2017 9.30am

Venue: Meeting Room 2 - Level 3, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent ME4 4TR. View directions

Contact: Stephen Platt, Democratic Services Officer

Items
No.	Item
734.	Election of the Chairman The Panel is requested to elect a Chairman for the hearing in line with rules agreed by the Licensing and Safety Committee. Minutes: Councillor Carr was elected as Chairman for this meeting.
735.	To receive apologies for absence Minutes: Councillor McDonald.
736.	Record of 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. Minutes: It was agreed that the Chairman sign the record of this meeting outside the meeting.
737.	Urgent matters by reason of special circumstances 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. Minutes: There were none.
738.	Declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests and other interests 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. Minutes: Disclosable pecuniary interests There were none. Other interests There were none.
739.	Application for a new premises licence, Gillingham Grill, Kebab Pizza and Fried Chicken Ltd, 3 Skinner Street, Gillingham, ME7 1HD PDF 9 MB In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the Council has received an application for a new Premises Licence in respect of Gillingham Grill, Kebab, Pizza and Fried Chicken Ltd, 3 Skinner Street, Gillingham. The matter has been referred to the Licensing Hearing Panel because representations have been received from members of the public and a business. Minutes: Discussion: The Chairman asked those present to introduce themselves and explained the process that the hearing would follow as outlined in the agenda. The Principal Licensing and Enforcement Officer stated that, in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the Council had received an application for a new premises licence for the provision of late night refreshment in respect of Gillingham Grill, Kebab, Pizza and Fried Chicken Ltd, 3 Skinner Street, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 1HD. The application had been correctly advertised in the local press and notices displayed at the premises for the required timescale. The following documents were attached to the agenda report for the Panel’s consideration: Appendix A - pages 9 to 29 - a copy of the original application submitted Appendix B – page 31– location plan showing the approximate location of the application. Appendix C – pages 33 to 48 - copies of representations received from a local business and members of the public. In accordance with section 9.14 of the Amended Guidance to the Licensing Act 2003, the Principal Licensing and Enforcement Officer confirmed that she had been in discussion with colleagues in Planning Services and there was a relevant planning consent in respect of this property in relation to restrictions on hours – MC11/1025 dated 25 May 2011. This consent permitted operation between the hours of 11:00 to 23:00 Sunday to Wednesday inclusive (including Bank Holidays) and 11:00 to 03:00 Thursday to Saturday inclusive, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The Chairman invited the applicant to present his application for a premises licence. He stated that the premises currently closed at 23:00 hours and he had submitted an application for a premises licence as he wished to extend the hours of operation. In response to questions by members of the Panel, the applicant said that he had been operating the premises for the past eight months and that he operated similar premises in Chatham the opening hours for which were 11:00 to 01:00 Sunday to Thursday and 11:00 to 02:00 Friday and Saturday. The applicant left the room during the Panel’s deliberations, returning to hear the Panel’s decision. Decision: The Panel, having considered the evidence presented by the applicant and those who had made representations against the application, granted a premises licence for Gillingham Grill, Kebab, Pizza and Fried Chicken Ltd, 3 Skinner Street, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 1HD, as applied for with the exception of the hours of operation on Friday and Saturday which would terminate at 02:00 the following day to address the concerns raised with regard to the potential for public nuisance. Therefore, the agreed hours for late night refreshment (both indoors and outdoors) are 23:00 to 02:00, Monday to Sunday.
740.	Application for a new premises licence, Avenue Tennis Ltd, Featherby Road, Gillingham, ME8 6AN PDF 10 MB In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the Council has received an application for a new Premises Licence in respect of Avenue Tennis Ltd, Featherby Road, Gillingham. The matter has been referred to the Licensing Hearing Panel because representations have been received from members of the public. Minutes: Discussion: The Chairman asked those present to introduce themselves and explained the process that the hearing would follow as outlined in the agenda. The Principal Licensing and Enforcement Officer stated that, in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the Council had received an application for a new premises licence for the provision of regulated entertainment; provision of late night refreshment and the supply of alcohol on and off the premises in respect of Avenue Tennis Ltd, Featherby Road, Gillingham, ME8 6AN. The application had been correctly advertised in the local press and notices displayed at the premises for the required timescale. The following documents were attached to the agenda report for the Panel’s consideration: Appendix A - pages 55 to 82 - a copy of the original application submitted. Appendix B – pages 83 and 84 – amendment to the applied for hours. Appendix C – page 85 - location plan showing the approximate location of the application. Appendix D – pages 87 to 110 - copies of representations received from members of the public. Further revisions to the application, circulated at the hearing, as follows: The sale of alcohol times to be - Monday to Thursday 11:00 to 23:00; Friday and Saturday 11:00 to 00:30 pm (normally 23:00 unless holding a special event on site); Sundays 11:00 to 22.30; Opening hours of the premises to be – Monday to Friday 6:00 to 23:30; Saturday 7:00 to 23.30; Sunday 8:00 to 23:30. Open to 00.30 only during specific events and only on Friday and Saturday nights. Sections A, B, E, F and G of the application to be amended to indoors only. In accordance with section 9.14 of the Amended Guidance to the Licensing Act 2003, the Principal Licensing and Enforcement Officer confirmed that she had been in discussion with colleagues in Planning Services and there was a relevant planning consent in respect of this property in relation to restrictions on hours – MC15/1751 dated 29 July 2015. Condition 6 – Operation between the hours of 07:00 to 23:00 Monday to Thursday; 07:00 to 00:30 Friday and Saturday; and 08:00 to 22:30 Sundays and Public Holidays. There was also an as yet undetermined application to vary the hours to allow opening at 06:00 Monday to Thursday and 07:00 Friday and Saturday. The Chairman invited the applicant to present his application for a premises licence. He explained that the venue was an ideal site for a tennis centre promoting sporting activity whilst providing other facilities for family use. He had made the application for a premises licence following advice received from Kent Police and residents were concerned that it would be used as a wide ranging entertainment centre with licensable activities such as live music regularly taking place outside. He assured the Panel and residents that this was not the case. He had met with residents on 4 February 2017 and had subsequently amended the application further to remove the request for regulated entertainment outdoors and to reduce the times for ... view the full minutes text for item 740.
741.	Exclusion of the press and public PDF 29 KB 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. Minutes: Decision: The press and public were excluded from the meeting for the decision making process during items 6 and 7 because consideration of these matters in public would disclose information falling within Paragraph 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 as specified in agenda item 8, and, in all the circumstances of the cases, the Panel considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.