Agenda and minutes

The Panel is requested to elect a Chairman for the hearing in line with rules agreed by the Licensing and Safety Committee. 

 Councillor Carr was elected Chairman for this meeting.

There were none. 

To agree that the Chairman, after consultation with the other members of the Panel, sign the record of this meeting outside the meeting. 

It was agreed that the Chairman, after consultation with the other members of the Panel, would sign the record of this meeting outside the meeting. 

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 new Premises Licence in respect of Tops Pizza, 40 Luton Road, Chatham, ME4 5AA. All responsible authorities have been consulted in line with the Licensing Act. Representations have been received from a member of the public, the Police, Public Health, Licensing Enforcement, Planning and a Ward Councillor and no agreements have been reached.

The Licensing Officer advised that this application had been withdrawn by the applicant.

The applicant has applied for a new Premises Licence in respect of JAJ Your Local Choice 55 Ordnance Street Chatham ME4 6SJ. All responsible authorities have been consulted in line with the Licensing Act. Representations have been received from the Police, Public Health, Licensing Enforcement, a Ward Councillor, a member of the public, a local business and a school and no agreements have been reached.

Discussion:

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

The Licensing Officer stated that, in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the Council had received an application for a new premises licence for the supply of alcohol off the premises between 0600 and 2300 hours, Monday to Sunday, in respect of JAJ Your Local Choice, 55 Ordnance Street, Chatham, ME4 6SJ.  She confirmed that the application had been correctly advertised in the local press and notices displayed at the premises for the required timescale.

The Licensing Officer stated that the premises were located within a Cumulative Impact Policy (CIP) area.  Where the policy applied, and there were relevant reputations, there was a rebuttable presumption of refusal by the Licensing Authority in all but exceptional circumstances, unless the applicant could demonstrate that the premises would not adversely affect the licensing objectives.

The following documents were included in the agenda report for the Panel’s consideration: -

•           Appendix A – The application for a new premises licence.

•           Appendix B – Location plan.

•           Appendix C – Representations received from the Police, Public health, Licensing Enforcement, a Ward Councillor, a member of the public, a local business and a school.

The Chairman invited the applicant to present the application for a premises licence. 

Mr Gibson stated that the premises were located at the bottom end of the Chatham CIP. The aim of the application was to provide a ‘one stop shop’ for customers so that customer spend was increased. It was not expected that there would be increased footfall and he questioned whether people would come from further away just to visit these premises when there were three other premises nearby.

Mr Gibson assured the Panel that the applicant took the fact that the premises were in a CIP area very seriously and explained why prior negotiation with those who had made representations had not been possible. On behalf of the applicant he offered the following amendments to the application and conditions which he proposed be attached to the licence.

1.    In view of street drinking in the area, the commencement hour for the sale of alcohol (off the premises) was put back from 0600 hours to 0900 hours. This would delay the sale of alcohol until after the school day had commenced.

2.    No beers, lagers or ciders above 5.5% ABV would be sold. It was envisaged that this would deter street drinking as other premises in the area sold higher strength products.

3.    No single cans would be sold which would deter low income drinkers and youths.

4.    Two CCTV cameras would be sited externally to cover the road on both sides of the premises.

5.    The counter would be extended to the far wall of the premises and all alcohol would be displayed behind the counter. This would deter theft and staff would be able to ascertain if customers were under the influence of alcohol  ...  view the full minutes text for item 606.

The applicant has applied for a new Premises Licence in respect of Medway Food Centre ME5 7LP. All responsible authorities have been consulted in line with the Licensing Act. Representations have been received from members of the public, the Police, Public Health, Licensing Enforcement and a Ward Councillor together with a petition and no agreements have been reached.

Discussion:

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

The Licensing Officer stated that, in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the Council had received an application for a new premises licence for the supply of alcohol off the premises in respect of Medway Food Centre, 43 – 45 Luton High Street, Chatham, ME5 7LP.   She confirmed that the application had been correctly advertised in the local press and notices displayed at the premises for the required timescale.

The application was for the supply of alcohol off the premises between 0800 hours and 2300 hours Monday to Sunday, and between 0800 hours and 0200 hours during non-standard times, these being St Patrick’s Day, Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve. The application had subsequently been amended to expand on the steps that the applicant would take to promote all four licensing objectives.

The Licensing Officer stated that the premises were located within a Cumulative Impact Policy (CIP) area.  Where the policy applied, and there were relevant reputations, there was a rebuttable presumption of refusal by the Licensing Authority in all but exceptional circumstances, unless the applicant could demonstrate that the premises will not adversely affect the licensing objectives.

The following documents were included in the agenda report for the Panel’s consideration: -

•           Appendix A – The application for a new premises licence.

•           Appendix B – Amendments to the application

•           Appendix C – Location Plan

•           Appendix D - Representations received from the Police, Public Health, Licensing Enforcement, a Ward Councillor, a member of the public, and in the form of a petition.

The Chairman invited the applicant to present the application for a premises licence. 

Mr Hopkins asked to table some additional submissions which had been emailed to the Licensing Authority on the previous afternoon.  These had been shared with the objectors immediately prior to the hearing.  The Panel agreed to receive and read these. These consisted of:

a)    A Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ) statement, (referred to in Medway’s Statement of Licensing Policy as Cumulative Impact Policy (CIP)), as follows:

The applicant, Mr Ali Akpinar understands that the shop is located in Medway Council`s Luton Road and Chatham Central cumulative impact zone and of the issues arising in the area including street drinking, anti-social behaviour etc. the shop will operate as a one stop convenience shop with an integral off licence if the licence is granted. Taking into account the relevant parts of the Council`s Statement of Licensing Policy and having “googled” the Luton High Street area we have proposed a list of robust conditions to prevent the Medway Food Centre from increasing negative cumulative impact and to ensure that the licensing objectives are fully promoted.  The applicant`s proposed list of robust conditions includes measures to address the issue of street drinking such as only selling a minimum of four bottles or cans of beer, lager or cider and a maximum strength  ...  view the full minutes text for item 607.

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 7 and 8 because consideration of these matters 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 9 (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.