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 McDonald 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.

Councillor Kemp was released from the meeting at this point.

To consider a new premises application for the Best Food Centre, 15-19 New Road, Chatham following the submission of a representation, received during the consultation period.

Discussion:

 The Chairperson asked those present to introduce themselves.

The Licensing Officer informed the Panel that the applicant had applied for a new Premises Licence at Best Food Centre, 15-19 New Road, Chatham. All responsible authorities had been consulted in line with the Licensing Act 2003, and a representation had been received from Public Health relating to two of the licensing objectives (the prevention of crime and disorder and the prevention of public nuisance).

The application was for the sale by retail of alcohol (off sales) Monday to Sunday from 10:00 to 22:00.

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

The representative explained that the premises were in a listed building in a residential area aiming to serve the local community. The applicant informed the Panel that she recognised the premises was in a cumulative impact area and there were genuine issues with anti-social behaviour and public nuisance in parts of Chatham. The applicant said that the key question was whether the premises would add to the cumulative impact and undermine the licensing objectives.

The Panel were informed that the premises was a convenience store in a residential area with a local community who rely on the store for everyday shopping. Alcohol would not form more than 20% of the business as the aim was to supplement customers who were buying groceries. The applicant explained that street drinkers were not the target customer and the premises would not run alcohol led promotions. The premises would be open from 07:00 to 23:00 however the licensed hours applied for were restricted to 10:00 to 22:00 as they did not wish to sell alcohol early in the morning or late at night.

The Panel were informed that alcohol would be screened in chillers when not on sale and spirits would be behind the counter with limited self-serve options for alcohol when it was on sale. The premises would be managed by experienced managers who were Personal Licence Holders, were local to Medway and would be involved in the day to day running of the premises.

The applicant explained that the premises aimed to know its customers well and promoted responsible operations. The staff were confident to refuse the sale of alcohol if needed and if service was refused this would be communicated to the wider team so that they could all be aware and vigilant.

The applicant acknowledged the issues with litter and nuisance in the wider area and had spent time clearing litter to better understand the nature of the issue. The Panel were informed that a number of discarded high strength, single cans were observed and the premises would not be selling high strength alcohol or single cans and this would reduce the likelihood of contributing immediate consumption. The applicant explained that the premises would also clean up the area surrounding the premises to ensure litter was not an issue.

The applicant explained that the premises took pride in the local community and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 752.

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.