Agenda item

To consider a full variation application for a Premises Licence at Greedy Banker, 89-93 High Street, Rainham, Gillingham, ME8 7HS following the submission of representations, received during the consultation period.

Discussion:

The Licensing Officer informed the Panel that the applicant had submitted a full variation application for a Premises Licence at Greedy Banker, 89-93 High Street, Rainham, Gillingham ME8 7HS.

The Panel were informed that an application for a full variation of the Premises Licence had been received on 8 November 2024. The application was:

1. To extend the footprint of the outside high street area by including a strip of curtilage to the outside seating area to encompass both entrance doors, this would allow patrons to access the seating area without breaching condition 21.

2. To extend the licensable area upstairs in the cocktail bar following the removal of a partitioning wall.

3. To remove condition 11 on the premises licence “that limits the available super-strength lagers, beers and/or ciders to an ABV of 6.5% or below”.

The Licensing Officer sought clarification regarding the timings for Super Bowl events as the current licence had a terminal hour of 03:30 however the variation application stated a terminal hour of 04:00 but no change had been requested on the application form. This was identified as an error and the applicants confirmed that they were happy with a terminal hour of 03:30 for Super Bowl events.

A plan was circulated outlining the new layout in line with the application and the Licensing Officer confirmed that the Responsible Authorities had been contacted and the public notices had been advertised in accordance with the regulations at the premises, council webpage and in the local press.

The Panel were informed that on 4 December 2024, Licensing Services received a representation to the variation application in relation to the Prevention of Public Nuisance licensing objective from the Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator. The Objector did not attend the hearing.

The Chairperson invited the applicants to speak in support of their application.

The applicants explained that they had requested the extension to the footprint outside following a meeting with the Licensing Officer. The applicants explained that they would like to make use of the upstairs area as a cocktail lounge on Friday and Saturday evenings and use this space as a rentable community space during the week. The wall upstairs had been removed following a fire risk assessment.

The applicants explained that as they were a craft beer bar, the limit of 6.5% limited the range of beers they could sell. The Panel were informed that the applicants had experience of selling higher strength beers at another premises in Rochester and due to the type of clientele and higher price range, this had never caused any issues.

With regards to the representation received from Neighbourhood Watch the applicants informed the Panel that the evening in question, a new doorman, who was not properly briefed, was in attendance and propped the door open even when asked not to. The applicants explained that lessons were learnt and the next day closers were added to all doors. Processes were changed so that all doormen were briefed and the doorman was not used again. The applicants requested all staff record a sound check in the car park and send to the Directors for approval if they were not on site.

The Panel queried how residents could make contact if they had a complaint and were informed that contact could be made via social media or a live chat facility on the website which was promptly responded to. The Panel and applicants discussed the niche clientele that would be attracted by craft beer and a cocktail lounge and the higher price point for higher strength craft beers.

In summing up the applicant said that staff were well trained and strict on diffusing situations and refusing service if required and due to the higher price point and specific atmosphere at their premises in Rochester and Rainham they had not experienced any issues. </TRAILER_SECTION>

With the exception of the Legal Representative and the Democratic Services Officer, all present left the room during the Panel’s deliberations, returning to hear the Panel’s decision.

Decision:

The Committee listened carefully to the written and oral submissions from all parties and decided to grant the full variation application as applied for.

The Committee confirmed that the hours for the sale of retail of alcohol, live music, recorded music, late night refreshment and opening hours for Super Bowl Events would be 09:00 to 03:30 as per the current Premises Licence.

Members suggested that the applicants considered how they engaged with local residents that did not use social media.