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

There were none.

Councillor Vye left the meeting at this point as his attendance was no longer required.

To consider a full variation to a premises licence for Chatham Town Football Club, Maidstone Road Sports Ground, Maidstone Road, Chatham ME4 6LRfollowing the submission of representations, received during the consultation period.  

Discussion:

The Chairperson explained the process that the hearing would follow.

The Senior Licensing Officer informed the Panel that the applicants had applied for a Full Variation at Chatham Town Football Club, Maidstone Road Sports Club, Maidstone Road, Chatham ME4 6LR.  All responsible authorities had been consulted in line with the Licensing Act 2003 and representations had been received from Kent Police and members of the public however Kent Police have since agreed conditions with the applicant as set out in appendix E to the report.

The Panel were informed that the applicants would like to seek authorisation for the sale of alcohol for consumption on and off the premises within designated and controlled areas around the stadium. In particular, the application was to amend current hours for on sales in the clubhouse from:

10:00 to 23:00 from Sunday to Wednesday and

10:00 to 24:00 from Thursday to Saturday

to:

On and off sales in the clubhouse and 2 pop up bars in the pitch area to

10:00 to 23:00 from Sunday to Thursday and

10:00 to 24:00 Friday to Saturday

And

Late night refreshment on a Thursday to cease.

The Panel were informed that the applicants would also like to remove the following embedded condition from the premises licence:

The rules of the club concerning admission of new members and the sale of intoxicating liquor shall not be altered without the consent of the Licensing Authority.

The Chairperson invited the applicants to speak in support of their application and the applicants explained they were applying for the sale and consumption of alcohol using 2 pop up bars and no alcohol was to leave the stadium at any time. The Panel were informed that this would be monitored by SIA security staff on entry and exit points and was to enhance the supported experience so that they did not have to queue for so long in the clubhouse. The use of the pop up bars would primarily be on match days on a Saturday from 14:00 to 17:00.

The Chairperson asked the objector if they had any questions for the applicants and Lizzie Convey queried what would happen during the World Cup and how the applicants would ensure that existing problems were not added to. Issues with people consuming alcohol outside the premises, urination, litter and noise nuisance were mentioned.

Gary Hake explained that the pop up bars would not increase the crowds and alcohol would not be able to be taken off the premises. There would be an enhanced level of SIA security staff on the gates and in the car park to stop people leaving with alcohol along with additional signage and tannoy announcements reminding people to leave respectfully. During World Cup events the national guidance would be adhered to regarding extended hours.

The Panel clarified the ratio of stewards and security staff on match days as well as average match day attendance and maximum capacity.

Following a question from the Panel regarding the pop up bars, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

To consider a full variation premises application for the Wards News, 53 High Street, Gillingham following the submission of representations, received during the consultation period.

Discussion:

The Chairperson explained the process that the hearing would follow.

The Licensing Officer informed the Panel that the applicant had applied for Full Variation at Wards News, 53 High Street, Gillingham ME7 1BQ and the premises was in the Gillingham High Street cumulative impact area. All responsible authorities had been consulted in line with the Licensing Act 2003 and representations had been received from Kent Police, Public Health and members of the public.

The application was to vary the hours of off sales from Monday to Saturday 08:00 to 17:30 to 08:00 to 21:00 however this had since been amended to 08:00 to 20:00 Monday to Saturday and 10:00 to 18:00 Sunday.

The Panel were informed that Kent Police and Public Health had withdrawn their objections following the inclusion of an extra condition as set out in the supplementary agenda.

The Chairperson invited the applicantto speak in support of their application and Ms Sherratt, the applicant’s representative explained that the applicant is an experienced retailer with many years’ experience in making alcohol sales and has experienced staff who are premises licence holders.

The Panel were informed that the applicant purchased this premises which includes a Post Office to ensure that it can survive and to do so requires diversification including alcohol sales. The applicant had made a significant financial investment in the premises to preserve the Post Office which is a valuable resource in a town with no banks and limited cash machines and one of the busiest Post Offices in Kent.

The representative explained that the applicant was partnering with Go Local (an equivalent to Costcutter or Spar) to provide a full convenience store in addition to the Post Office and alcohol sales for the opening hours of the store was a crucial element of this necessary for survival.

The representative informed the Panel that the applicant was aware of the issues in the local area and with his already well run premises and conditions in place, the additional hours would not add to the existing issues.

The representative explained that despite initial objections from Kent Police and Public Health, constructive engagement had taken place with them, and they had now withdrawn their objections. The Panel were informed that they were the experts and best placed to assess whether an application would contribute to problems in a cumulative impact assessment and they had withdrawn their objections.

The Chairperson asked the objectors if they had any questions for the applicant. The objectors queried why alcohol sales were needed to make the business viable and what would be put in place to address anti-social behaviour in the area. The representative explained that the alcohol sales were part of the convenience store offer as you would find in other convenience stores.

The representative confirmed that the premises did not sell high strength alcohol or single cans which can be targeted at street drinkers and this was already restricted by the existing conditions.  The premises would not sell miniatures with the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46.

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 items 6 and 7, 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 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.