Agenda and draft 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

Councillor Howcroft-Scott declared that she knew one of the members of the public that had submitted a representation objecting to the application in a professional capacity. Councillor Howcroft-Scott was the fourth member and there were no other declarations so she was allowed to leave.

The applicant has applied for a new Premise Licence for Kaneera Medway Ltd, 120 Maidstone Road, Rochester, Kent, ME1 3DT.

All responsible authorities have been consulted in line with the Licensing Act. Representations have been received from 12 members of the public. Conditions have been agreed by with the Police.

Discussion:

The Licensing Officer informed the Panel that the applicant had applied for a new Premise Licence for Kaneera Medway Ltd, 120 Maidstone Road, Rochester, ME1 3DT. All responsible authorities had been consulted in line with the Licensing Act 2003 and representations had been received from 12 members of the public. Conditions had been agreed with the Police.

The Chairperson invited the applicant and their representative to speak in support of their application.

The applicant’s representative, Ms Sherratt, explained to the Panel that this was a new application for a convenience store under the Premier franchise with the intention to open from 8am to 11pm seven days per week. The Panel’s attention was drawn to Mr. Poopalachandran’s previous experience as a Store Manager and of retailing alcohol at various premises. The Panel were informed that the applicant agreed to all the conditions proposed by the Police, that he planned to have internal and external CCTV, a fully trained workforce of 13 staff and that the applicant would be the designated premises supervisor based at the premises on a full-time basis.

Ms Sherratt advised the Panel that the application upholds the licensing objectives and would provide healthy competition and that she did not see any justification for there to be restrictions on the sale of single cans or bottles or on super strength alcohol.

The Chairperson asked the objector if they had questions for the applicant, but they did not have any questions.

The Panel questioned the applicant regarding the Premier franchise’s policy on the sale of super strength alcohol and it was confirmed that there is not a general policy and it is applied on a case by case basis.

The Objector was then given the opportunity to express their concerns. Ms Wagner informed the Panel that as a local resident she was concerned about the sale of cheap, strong alcohol and the additional anti-social behaviour, traffic and noise that an additional premises could attract.

In summing up, the Applicant’s representative said that whilst they understand the fears and concerns of residents the applicant’s priority was the local community and providing a well-run premises with choice for customers.

With the exception of the Legal Representative and the Democratic Services Officer, all present left the room during the Panel’s deliberations, returning to hear the Panel’s decision.

Decision:

The Panel, having considered all the written evidence and listened carefully to the oral evidence presented by the Applicant and objectors decided to grant the premises licence for Kaneera Medway Ltd, 120 Maidstone Road, Rochester, ME1 3DT including the conditions agreed with the police at Appendix C. The Panel were satisfied that the application as set out in the application form and the conditions agreed with the police met all four licensing objectives.

This report is to assist members to determine an application for a new premises licence for Medway Rugby Football Club following receipt of an objection.

Decision:

It was agreed with prior approval from all interested parties to adjourn the meeting until a later date (14 March 2024) to allow all parties to attend.

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 paragraph5 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.