Agenda and draft minutes

The Panel is requested to elect a Chairman for the hearing in line with rules agreed by the Licensing and Safety Committee. 

Councillor Matt Fearn was elected Chairman for this meeting.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Browne and Kemp. Councillor Prenter, as the replacement fourth member, substituted for Councillor Browne.

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. 

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 (OSIs)

There were none.

Other interests

There were none.

The applicant has applied for a new Premises Licence in respect of 148 High Street Rochester Kent ME1 1ER.

All responsible authorities have been consulted in line with the Licensing Act.

Representations have been received from Planning, Police, Public Health, Private Hospital, a Councillor, a Member of Parliament and members of the public.

Discussion:

The Chairman explained the process that the hearing would follow as outlined on page 4 of the agenda, the “Guidelines for Licensing Hearing Panels”.

The Licensing Officer stated that, in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the Council had received an application from owner of Chicken Hut and Peri Peri for a new Premises Licence in respect of 148 High Street, Rochester, Kent ME1 1ER.

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 timescales. She added that all responsible authorities had been consulted in line with the Licensing Act.

The application had been referred to the Licensing Hearing Panel for determination because the Council had received relevant representations relating to the licensing objectives from Planning, the Police, Public Health, a Private Hospital, a Councillor, a Member of Parliament and members of the public.

Members noted the operating hours under the current licence and the application requirements, as amended, were as follows:

The Licensing Officer advised that a representation had been received from Sarah Tranter but had been excluded from the agenda due to an administrative error.

In response to the Chairman’s invitation, Leonard Appleby, the Applicant’s agent explained that the application was made out of economic reason. In order for the business to continue viably, the application for extended trading hours especially during weekends would enable the business to meet the rising costs of fuel, rent and raw materials. Mr Appleby said that the Applicant, being aware of the nuisance, security and littering issues in weekends and late hours, was prepared to enhance the security in the immediate surrounding of the premises and to do regular patrol and a clear up before the closing hours.

The Chairman invited the objectors to question the applicant and his representative.

Security: Questions were raised by PC Hill about the details of enhancing security inside and outside the premises and how the additional costs so incurred would help the business to stay economically viable. Mr Appleby explained that given the objections received, the matter had not been given a full review to cover the security of the High Street. So far, the Applicant’s primary concern was the security of the door entrance to the premises which would disallow street access by staff surveillance from 12 midnight onward.  This was related to the security inside the premises preventing nuisance people coming into the shop in late hours. As this security measure would be stepped up only on late nights and Saturdays, the additional cost was expected to be limited. 

Risk Assessment: Barbara Murray from Public Health expressed concern about the absence of risk assessment in the application as it was an important  ...  view the full minutes text for item 424.

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. 

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.