Agenda and minutes

 Councillor Carr was elected as Chairman for this meeting.

There were none.

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

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

There were none.

Other interests

There were none.

The applicant has applied to vary the premises licence for St Margaret’s Millennium Centre, Gatekeeper Chase, Rainham, Kent ME8 9BH. Representations have been received from a member of the public in relation to public nuisance and to date, no agreement has been reached. No further representations have been received from members of the public or responsible authorities.

Discussion:

The Chairman asked those present to introduce themselves and explained the process that the hearing would follow as outlined in the agenda.

The Licensing Officer stated that, in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the Council had received an application to vary the premises licence for St Margaret’s Millennium Centre, Gatekeeper Chase, Rainham, Kent, ME8 9BH. The application requested that the supply of alcohol be amended on the licence to read:-

The Licensing Officer confirmed that the application had been correctly advertised in the local press and notices had been displayed at the premises for the required timescale. The application had been referred to the Licensing Hearing Panel for determination as a relevant representation had been received.

The Chairman invited the applicants to present the application and Mr Noakes said that it had been submitted on the advice of the Licensing Authority to ensure that the premises licence covered the current activities at the centre. He explained that it was used for licensable activities in connection with church services such as funeral wakes and gatherings after baptisms.

During questioning, Mrs Walsh confirmed that, although there had been some complaints in the past regarding the use of the centre, none had been received in the last year since users had been required to provide a security deposit. The applicants clarified that the centre closed down during the Christmas and New Year period and confirmed that any reference to Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve in the application could be deleted.

Mr Noakes confirmed that the back entrance to the hall was used as it was close to the kitchen but strict rules had been put in place to control noise levels and no complaints had subsequently been received. 

The Chairman invited Mrs Trutwein to present her representations against the application and she expressed concern about noise and disturbance during big events such as weddings, particularly in the summer months. She confirmed that she had not had cause to complain in the past year but had previously complained about inconsiderate parking and rubbish. Mr Noakes explained how the centre had responded to complaints and said that he and Mrs Walsh would always assist with neighbours’ concerns where they could.

The Chairman invited both parties to sum up andMrs Walsh said that, since she had been manager of the centre, she had tried to build a good relationship with neighbours. She accepted that there were parking problems and had asked for increased parking enforcement. Mrs Trutwein added that there were issues with users of the centre leaving the venue at the end of an evening event and the applicants explained the measures in place, such as signage, to remind users to be considerate of neighbours. 

The Chairman asked all parties to leave the room whilst the Panel considered its decision.

Decision:

1.     In considering the application to vary the premises licence for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 894.

It is recommended that the panel exclude the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the exempt appendix and during the Panel’s deliberations and decision-making 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 (Application for a variation of the premises licence for St Margaret’s Millennium Centre) on the grounds that it was likely that, if members of the public and press were present, there would be disclosure of exempt information in accordance with paragraph 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as specified in agenda item 8 (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.

Decision:

The press and public were excluded from the meeting during consideration of agenda item 7 (Application for summary review of a premises licence for the Prince of Wales) and during the Panel’s deliberations and decision making on the grounds that it was likely that, if members of the public and press were present during consideration of these matters, there would be disclosure of exempt information in accordance with Paragraphs 1, (Information relating to any individual), 5 (Information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings) and 7 (Information relating to any action taken or to be taken in connection with the prevention, investigation or prosecution of crime), of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 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.

An application has been received from Superintendent Lukey, on behalf of the Chief Officer of Kent Police, for a Summary Review of the premises licence at Prince of Wales, 90 Cecil Road, Rochester, Kent  ME1 2HS, as the premises have been associated with serious crime and disorder.

The relevant provisions within the Licensing Act 2003 allow a quick process for attaching interim conditions to a licence and a fast track licence review when the police consider that the premises concerned is associated with serious crime or serious disorder, or both.

The Act requires expedited premises licence review applications to be considered within 48 hours to consider what interim steps should be taken, pending a full hearing of the issues within 28 days of the date that the application was served. In this case, the interim steps were agreed at a hearing held on 13 March 2018 where it was determined that the premises licence for the Prince of Wales be suspended, pending the full review hearing, which is the matter before the Panel.

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 an Expedited/Summary Review from Kent Police, in relation to the premises licence at Prince of Wales, 90 Cecil Road, Rochester, Kent, ME1 2HS, as the premises had been associated with serious crime and disorder. She explained that the Act required expedited premises licence review applications to be considered within 48 hours and a hearing was held on 13 March 2018 to consider what interim steps were required, pending a full review hearing within 28 days of the date that the application was served. In light of the evidence presented at the hearing on 13 March, the Panel had agreed to the immediate suspension of the licence pending this full review hearing.

The Principal Licensing and Enforcement Officer confirmed that the application had been correctly advertised on the Council’s website, in all Council contact points and by notices being displayed on the premises for the required period. She advised that the steps the Panel may consider taking were:

•    The modification of the conditions of the premises licence.

•    The exclusion of licensable activities from the scope of the licence.

•    The removal of the designated premises supervisor from the licence.

•    The suspension of the licence.

•    The revocation the licence.

The Chairman invited the representatives of Kent Police to present their application to review the premises licence. PC Hunt explained that there was an ongoing police investigation following a serious incident at the premises in the early hours of Saturday, 10 March 2018.  A 17 year old suspect had been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm, wounding with intent.The victim had suffered a deep cut to his face which had resulted in a significant loss of blood and had required 35 stitches.

PC Hunt advised that Officers attending the scene had established that the CCTV at the premises was not working as it had been switched off five days earlier, despite CCTV being a condition of the premises licence.  He stated that, had the CCTV been in operation, the full circumstances of the incident would have been established. In addition, the crime scene had been cleaned by staff at the premises and Officers in attendance had witnessed two customers with full pint glasses at 01.20 hours which was beyond the licensable hours. On Fridays and Saturdays the premises were licenced to sell alcohol until 00:00 hours and the closing time was 00:30 hours. 

PC Hunt explained that another breach of the premises licence conditions was the absence of an incident book for recording when people had been refused service. He also detailed the occasions in September 2017 when the police had taken drug swabs in the toilets of the premises which had showed very high readings.  A warning letter had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 897.