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 McDonald was elected Chairperson for this meeting.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Brake.

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.

To consider a new Premises Licence application for Budgens, 1 Block C, Pioneer Wharf, Chatham, ME4 4HA following the submission of representations, received during the consultation period.

Discussion:

The Chairperson asked those present to introduce themselves and explained the process that the hearing would follow as outlined in the agenda.

The Chairperson acknowledged that a revised operating schedule had been submitted by the agent just before the start of the meeting.

The Licensing Officer informed the Panel that the applicant had applied for a new Premises Licence for Budgens, 1 Block C, Pioneer Wharf, Chatham

ME4 4HA.  All responsible authorities had been consulted in line with the Licensing Act 2003 and representations had been received from the Public Health team, Kent Police, Trading Standards and a member of the public.

The application was for:

Sale by Retail of Alcohol, Off Sales – Daily 06:00 to 01:00

Late Night Refreshment – Daily 23:00 to 01:00

The Licensing Officer confirmed that Trading Standards had withdrawn their representation and that supplementary information had been provided by Kent Police and the agent as set out in the supplementary agenda.

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

The agent explained that the premises was in a new build development as part of a regeneration project with flats above and retail space on the ground floor and would make a positive contribution to the area. The Panel were informed that Budgens had a long-standing history and was now owned by Tesco. The premises would support the local economy and be managed by Jenny Benedict as the Store Manager along with Assistant Store Managers and 20 staff.

With regards to the Cumulative Impact Area (CIA) the agent explained that there had been some confusion as to whether the premises was located in the CIA. The agent informed the Panel that the premises would not add to any existing problems in the CIA and would be a supermarket with alcohol sales as a small part of the premises aimed at local residents. The premises would not sell single cans or strong beers and ciders, and according to the revised operating schedule submitted immediately before the meeting, the proposed hours had been reduced to from 06:00 to 01:00 daily to 06:00 to 23:00 daily.

PC Carrie Knight queried whether the applicant and agent were familiar with the area and were informed that the agent had driven around the area. The level of training provided to staff was also queried. The Panel were informed that staff were trained on anti-social behaviour (ASB) and how not to escalate situations and they were trained not to serve people who were intoxicated. The store manager explained that they were experienced in dealing with street drinkers and built good relationships with customers as well as local Police and Police Community Support Officers and had not needed to train staff in conflict management but could do so if needed.

Barbara Murray queried how the applicant would ensure the sale of alcohol did not add to the existing issues of street drinking, ASB and domestic abuse. The agent explained that Budgens were exceptional in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 170.

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.