Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Councillor McDonald.

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 Premise Licence in respect of Super Pizza, 6 Batchelor Street, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4BJ.

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

Representations have been received from the Environmental Protection team and the Police. No agreements have been reached.

Background:

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

The Licensing Assistant stated that, in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the Council had received an application for a variation of the Premises Licence in respect of Super Pizza, 6 Batchelor Street, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4BJ. It had been confirmed that no planning application had been made to increase the licensed hours of the premises.

The application had been referred to the Licensing Hearing Panel for determination because the Council had received relevant representations relating to two of the licensing objectives. A representation had been received from Environmental Health on 20 March 2023 in relation to the Prevention of Public Nuisance. A representation had been received from Kent Police on 21 March in relation to the Prevention of Public Nuisance and the Prevention of Crime and Disorder. No agreement had been reached in relation to the representations.

The Chairman invited the applicant’s agent, Mr Eric Oppong, to present the application.

Mr Oppong said that Super Pizza had been operating since 2016 and that most orders were home deliveries. Three employees worked at the premises in addition to Mr Khan, the owner. Four delivery drivers were also employed. The business had not benefitted from local population growth due to increased competition. There had not been any disturbance or nuisance in Batchelor Street caused by the premises and the street was a quiet area of mainly businesses.

Mr Oppong said that many potential customers had called the premises after the current closing time to enquire about delivery and that this was the reason that an application was being made for longer opening hours. This would not have an impact on the area as the premises would only be doing deliveries.

Mr Oppong said that the premises would be happy to comply with the licence conditions proposed by the Police, should the application be granted, that the premises have a CCTV system operating and a security guard on duty at specific times. He said that the aim of the application was to increase the hours of operation of the premises and to serve local residents.

PC Hunt asked why the premises were looking to increase its hours of operation and why 5am was considered to be a suitable closing time. Mr Oppong said that based on the calls that had been received after the current closing time, it was considered that there was demand for the extended hours proposed.

Panel Members asked for clarification of the opening hours being applied for, questioned the level of demand for extended opening hours and asked how many orders were for collection rather than delivery. It was also asked whether customers were currently able to collect orders up until the premises closed and how many after hours calls were received.

Mr Oppong said that the application was for the premises to open from 11:00 to 05:00 seven days per week. It was difficult to give an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 745.

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.