Agenda item

The applicant has applied for a new Premises Licence in respect of Grillers, 7 Canterbury Street, Gillingham, Kent ME7 5TP.

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

Representations have been received from the Police.

Discussion:

The Licensing Officer advised that the applicant had applied for:

Late Night refreshment - Outdoors only

Non-standard timings - New Year’s Eve 23:00 to 01:00

Supply of Alcohol (on the premises) - Monday to Sunday 12:00 – 23:00

Non-standard timings – New Year’s Eve 12:00 - 01:00

She asked Members to note that the application submitted would mean that on New Year’s Eve, only alcohol would be sold on the premises between 23:00 – 01:00 and not food. If customers wanted food during this time, they would not be able to eat it on the premises. The applicant had subsequently stated that this was not his intention and had been an error on his part; he had selected ‘outdoor’ on the application because there was an outside eating area. He had confirmed that this part of the application could be removed but no written confirmation had been received. The Licensing Officer confirmed that the application had been correctly advertised in the local press and notices displayed at the premises for the required timescale.

In accordance with section 9.14 of the Amended Guidance to the Licensing Act, the Licensing Officer had been in discussions with Planning and confirmed that the planning permission stated: ‘The use hereby permitted shall only operate between the hours of 11:00 to 00:00 Sunday to Wednesday including Public Holidays, between the hours of 11:00 to 00:30 on Thursdays and between the hours of 11:00 to 01:00 on Friday and Saturday’.

The Licensing Officer stated that the matter had been put to the Licensing Hearing Panel because the Council has received representations from the Police and no agreement had been reached. The objections raised were relevant representations and related to prevention of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance and protection of children from harm.

In the absence of the applicant to present his case, the Chairman asked the representatives of Kent Police to present their objections. PC Hunt noted that the application described the premises as a Peri Peri Chicken restaurant. However, the area to be licenced, as shown on the plan attached to the supplementary agenda, was a Shisha Lounge to the rear of the premises. He therefore concluded that the proposed licence was for a bar rather than a restaurant. PC Hunt said that the applicant had been opposed to his suggested condition, that alcohol would only be sold with a substantial meal.

PC Hunt outlined the reasons for representation from Kent Police, as set out in the agenda report, noting that the premises were close to Gillingham High Street in an area that suffered from crime and anti-social behaviour. He was concerned that, if a licence was granted, people would seek to use the licenced part of the premises as a bar and the proposed operating schedule in the application did not reflect this use by setting out the appropriate policies that the Police would expect to be in place for a bar. Kent Police had therefore concluded that the proposed conditions were insufficient to promote the licensing objectives. PC Hunt requested that, should the Panel be minded to grant a licence, more stringent conditions be attached to it.

In response to questions from members of the Panel, PC Hunt said that he was not aware of any other Shisha bars within Medway.

Summing up, PC Hunt said that the application seemed to be misleading in that it was the room to the rear of the premises that would be licenced and would operate more as a bar than a restaurant. He considered that more objections to the application may have been received if this had been clearer.

The Chairman asked the representatives of Kent Police and the Licensing Officer to leave the room whilst the Panel considered its decision and, when the meeting was reconvened, he advised that the decision would be available within 5 working days.

Decision:

1.   The Panel considered all the written evidence before it and had listened carefully to the oral evidence presented by the Kent Police and unanimously decided to refuse the application for a premises licence for Grillers, 7 Canterbury Street, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 5TP, having regard to the requested licenced area, the Shisha Lounge to the rear of the premises, as shown on the plan attached to Supplementary agenda no. 1.

2.   The Panel was concerned that the area requested for a licence would operate more as a bar than a restaurant, and as such would fall within the Council’s Cumulative Impact Policy. Whilst the Panel had no issue with a Shisha bar, the application as submitted was not clear as it appeared to suggest a restaurant use rather than a bar. As such the proposed operating schedule and conditions did not reflect what appeared to be the intended use and were insufficient for a bar.