Agenda and minutes

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

Councillor Browne was elected Chairperson for this meeting.

There were none.

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

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

The Chairperson 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. 

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.

In accordance with Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003, the Council has received an application from Kent Police, as a responsible authority, for a review of the existing premises license in respect of The Ship Inn, Court Lodge Road, Gillingham, Medway, ME7 2QX.

All responsible authorities have been consulted in line with the Licensing Act 2003.

A representation regarding the review application has also been received from a member of the public against the review application.

Appendix B is under exempt appendices.

The Licensing Officer informed the Panel that in accordance with Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003, the Council had received an application from Kent Police, as a responsible authority, for a review of the existing premises license in respect of The Ship Inn, Court Lodge Road, Gillingham, Medway, ME7 2QX.

All responsible authorities had been consulted in line with the Licensing Act 2003 and a representation regarding the review application had also been received from a member of the public against the review application.

Kent Police, as the applicant who requested the review, were invited to speak in support of their application.

PC Hunt informed the Panel that Nathaniel Regen-Welch is the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) for the Ship Inn, the premises license holder is Punch Partnership Limited and described the location of the premises.

PC Hunt explained that the Ship Inn first came to the attention of Kent Police in 2020 due to concerns about incidents of violence and disorder and lock-ins. In response to this the DPS employed door supervisors and informed Kent Police that people present until as early as 4am were friends and not paying customers and likened this to having friends’ round for drinks. Kent Police issued a warning letter dated 23 September 2020. Kent Police received some calls to the premises in 2021 and 2022 but nothing of concern.

PC Hunt informed the Panel of visits to the premises and the outcome:

-       February 2023 – PC Hunt attended and spoke to the DPS and were informed that the WhatsApp group with local residents was working well.

-       14 July 2023 – PC Hunt and PC Smuts attended in response to a complaint about noise, anti-social behaviour, and lock-ins from a local resident and the DPS assured them that lock-ins were a thing of the past and that CCTV would always be made available to refute any allegations of lock-ins.

-       26 August 2023 – PC Hunt attended at approximately 7pm in response to excessive music noise to find a band performing in the beer garden. PC Hunt recorded the noise levels from various locations in the vicinity on his mobile phone.

-       4 October 2023 – PC Hunt and PC Smuts attended due to further complaints of disturbances and lock-ins in September 2023. Charlotte Robinson, the partner of the DPS denied the lock-ins but admissions were then made when CCTV was reviewed. Kent Police requested CCTV from the early hours of 24 and 28 September 2023 and reported that despite numerous requests for this afterwards it had not been provided. A warning letter was handed to the DPS and sent to the premises license holder and there had been no response.

-       17 November 2023 – PC Hunt reported that this was when the trigger incident occurred when Kent Police attended the premises as part of an operation which involved attending several licenced premises with a team of officers and a passive drugs dog. This visit resulted in multiple arrests. PC Hunt  ...  view the full minutes text for item 515.

The applicant has applied for a Full Variation for Amala Buka, 365 High Street, Rochester, Kent ME1 1DA.

All responsible authorities have been consulted in line with the Licensing Act 2003.

Representations have been received from the public. No agreements have been reached.

The Licensing Officer informed the Panel that the applicant had applied for a Full Variation for Amala Buka, 365 High Street, Rochester, Kent ME1 1DA.

All responsible authorities had been consulted in line with the Licensing Act 2003, Representations had been received from the public and no agreements have been reached.

The details of the application were as follows:

Recorded Music

Monday to Wednesday      11:00 to 01:00

Thursday to Saturday        11:00 to 03:00        

Sunday                              13:00 to 01:00

Performances of dance

Friday to Saturday             08:00 to 02:00

Sunday                              08:00 to 01:00

Late Night Refreshment

Monday to Sunday             23:00 to 03:00

Supply of alcohol

Monday to Sunday             11:00 to 03:00

The Chairperson invited the applicant to present the application, however, Ms Beyond did not have anything further to add.

The Chairperson asked the objectors if they had questions for the applicant. Concerns were raised by the objectors regarding anti-social behaviour in the area and the applicant informed them that there had never been any problems with her customers. In response to questions about toilet facilities and noise Ms Beyond, the applicant, explained that there were toilet facilities, and that noise is kept to a minimum by keeping the door shut and can only be heard when customers are exiting via the door.

The number of nights that the applicant intended to have live music was also queried and the applicant confirmed that she only intends to hold events on the first and third Friday’s of each month from 8pm until 1am and that there would not be live music every night. The applicant also confirmed that she would like to serve food until 1am and not 3am as she had stated on the application. The applicant explained that she had stated 3am on the application as this is the time she would be on the premises until, to clean up, after food service ceases at 1am.

The Chairperson invited Panel Members to question the applicant. The Panel queried the variation that the applicant required as this appeared to differ to the times stated in the application form. The applicant confirmed that she wanted to be able to serve food until 1am and hold live music events on two Fridays per month and occasionally on Saturdays.

Based on the changes required to the variation the objectors confirmed that they had no further objections.

Apart from the Legal Adviser and Democratic Services Officers, the Chairperson asked all parties to leave the room during the Panel’s deliberations and informed the applicant that they would be informed of the decision in writing within 5 working days.

Decision:

The Panel were required to determine an application to vary the licensing conditions in respect of Amala Buka, a venue which occupies 365 High Street, Rochester, Kent ME1 1DA. The application was outlined fully in the papers and subsequent representations were made by members of the public. The Panel have carefully and objectively considered the individual merits of that application and have also taken into due consideration the objections  ...  view the full minutes text for item 516.

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 Panel excluded the press and public during part of the meeting to enable discussions of The Ship Inn and also during the decision-making process for items 6 and 7 because consideration of this matter in public would disclose information falling within one of the descriptions of exempt information contained in Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as specified below, and, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption, outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.