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 Fearn was elected Chairman for this meeting.

No apologies for absence.

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 variation of the Premises Licence in respect of Arena Food Centre 13 Ordnance Terrace, Chatham, Kent. ME4 6PS.

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

Representations have been received from the Police, Public Health and a Ward Councillor. No agreements have been reached.

Discussion:

The Chairman explained the process that the hearing would follow as outlined on page 4 of the agenda.

The Licensing Officer stated that, in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the Council had received an application from Arena Food Centre fora variation of a Premises Licence in respect ofArena Food Centre, 13 Ordnance Terrace, Chatham, Kent ME4 6PS.

The Licensing Officer referred to Appendix C of the agenda report, which showed that on 4 August 2022, the Applicant’s Agent amended the operating schedule to supply alcohol (off the premises) to Sunday to Thursday 08:00 to 23:59, Friday to Saturday 08:00 to 01:00 as opposed to Monday to Sunday 00:00 – 23:59 which was the original application requirements.

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.

The application had been referred to the Licensing Hearing Panel for determination because the Council had received relevant representations relating to all four of the licensing objectives from the Police, Public Health and a Ward Councillor and no agreement had been reached.

The Chairman invited the Applicant’s Agent, Mr Nigel Carter to present the application.  He apologised for the absence of the applicant, Mr Capar, and informed the Panel Mr Caliskan was acting as the Applicant’s Representative. 

Mr Carter outlined the application for a variation of the Premises Licence and confirmed an email was sent to the Licensing Team on 4 August 2022 which amended the operating hours and included proposed additional conditions.  Mr Carter confirmed the premises sat within the Cumulative Impact Policy (CIP) area.

Mr Carter confirmed that the applicant adhered to the existing conditions of the existing licence:  condition 4 - CCTV being provided, condition 5 - regular staff training for those that sold alcohol, condition 8 – no beers, larger or cider would be sold above 5.5% ABV and condition 10 – staff would pick up litter after the close of business.  Some of these conditions were demonstrated in photographs shown in the Supplementary Agenda no 1 along with pictures of the Challenge 25 signs.  Mr Carter confirmed that a direct number for the manager of the premises would always be publicly available for residents to use to discuss any issues or concerns.

Mr Carter confirmed that although there was a considerable amount of general litter and empty cans and bottles in the area there had been no evidence that the litter came from Arena Food Centre.  In the photographs shown, the super or high strength cans and bottles that were over 5.5% ABV were not sold at Arena Food Centre.  Mr Carter explained when he visited the area there had been no evidence of urination or defecation.

Although the premises was surrounded by densely packed, terraced housing no residents had objected to this variation even when the 24-hr licence was initially being applied for.

Mr Carter expressed his confidence that if the variation was granted the premises would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 210.

The applicant has applied for a variation of the Premises Licence in respect of Quality Kebab & Chicken, 148 High Street Gillingham Kent.

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

Representations have been received from the Police, Public Health and a member of the public.

Decision:

This application had been withdrawn by the Applicant prior to the Licensing Hearing Panel.

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.