Agenda and minutes

Councillor Mrs Diane Chambers was elected Chairman for this meeting.

There were none. 

To agree that the Chairman, after consultation with the other members of the Panel, sign the record of this meeting outside the meeting. 

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.

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.

The Chairman of the Licensing and Safety Committee had agreed that agenda item 6, The Cricketers, 88 High Street, Rainham, be considered by the Panel as an urgent item following a request for an urgent review to be undertaken from Kent Police on 24 July 2018. The reason of special circumstances was that, in the opinion of Kent Police, the premises were associated with serious crime, serious disorder, or both and they had requested that interim steps to immediately address this matter were investigated. As a result it was necessary for the Licensing Hearing Panel to consider the item as a matter of urgency.

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.

Consideration of interim steps following an application by Kent Police for an expedited review of the premises licence.

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 said that, in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the Council had received an application for an Expedited Review from Kent Police, in relation to the premises licence at The Cricketers, 88 High Street, Rainham, as the premises had been associated with serious crime and disorder. She advised that the Act required expedited premises licence review applications to be considered within 48 hours, pending a full hearing of the issues within 28 days of the date that the application was served.

The Principal Licensing and Enforcement Officer stated that the purpose of the hearing was for the Panel to determine what interim steps to take, pending the full review hearing, and advised that the options were:

(a)       the modification of the conditions of the premises licence;

(b)       the exclusion of the sale of alcohol by retail from the scope of the licence;

(c)        the removal of the Designated Premises Supervisor from the licence;

(d)       the suspension of the licence.

PC Hill presented the application for an expedited review on behalf of Kent Police and said that The Cricketers was a busy public house which held a disco on Friday and Saturday evenings. On Saturday, 21 July 2018 at approximately 00:32 hours, a violent incident had occurred at the rear of the premises where the disco was being held and it had continued outside of the premises. PC Hill detailed the sequence of events that had occurred during the disturbance which included a glass bottle being thrown and hitting a female customer on the head. 

PC Hill highlighted a previous violent disturbance at the premises in February 2018; this had led to discussions between Kent Police and representatives of the premises which had resulted in a variation to the premises licence to restrict the use of glass and increase the minimum number of door staff.

PC Hill stated that Kent Police were not requesting the suspension of the licence as an interim step, but were seeking a modification of the licence conditions as follows:

1.            A reduction in the operating hours of the premises from 01:00 hours to 23:00 hours on Fridays and Saturdays.

2.            The removal of all glass, including wine and champagne bottles, after 20:00 hours on Fridays and Saturdays.

3.            An increase in the minimum number of Security Industry Authority (SIA) registered door staff employed on Fridays and Saturday evenings, from three to four.

4.            The removal of the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS).

Ms Jung, Counsel for the Licensee, questioned PC Hill regarding Kent Police’s request that the DPS be removed by the Panel as an interim step . In response PC Hill stated that Kent Police would be satisfied by an assurance from Greene King that they would replace the DPS at The Cricketers.  In response to Ms Jung’s question regarding a possible reduction in operating hours  ...  view the full minutes text for item 205.

It is recommended that the Panel exclude the press and public from parts of the meeting 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, 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.