Agenda item

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The Panel were informed that Kent Police and Public Health had withdrawn their objections following the inclusion of an extra condition as set out in the supplementary agenda.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objections from Kent Police and Public Health, constructive engagement had taken place with them, and they had now withdrawn their objections.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 addition of the condition agreed with Kent Police and staff were all trained in Challenge 25, and how to handle conflict and anti-social behaviour.

The objectors expressed concerns about the seating in the high street outside the premises and were concerned that later hours of sale for alcohol would create more mayhem and noise at night. The objectors queried why the hours needed to be increased to 20:00 and were informed that every part of the business contributes to the overall outcomes and all sensible retailers need to diversify to survive, with alcohol sales being a minor part of that but essential for the survival of convenience stores.

Following a question from the Panel regarding staff training and CCTV and retention they were informed that all staff were experienced personal licence holders who were experienced in refusing sales, challenging underage sales and dealing with conflict management if needed. With regards to CCTV, 32 new evidence quality cameras have been installed with a retention period of 2 months.

The Panel queried whether alcohol would be stored behind the counter or behind shutters. The representative confirmed that the current condition stated that spirits and wine should be kept behind the counter however the application requested that this be amended to spirits only so that wine could be kept in the fridge.

The Panel discussed the impact extended hours for the sale of alcohol would have for the business and how this was part of the whole convenience store offer.

The objectors were then given the opportunity to express their concerns and explained that could not see how the application would benefit the area and believed it would add to existing issues of street drinking and anti-social behaviour. The objectors were concerned that it would cause issues in the evening and they struggled to see why the extension to the hours was needed and why the Post Office needed longer hours for alcohol sales to survive.

The applicant and Panel were given the opportunity to ask the objector questions, however, they had none.

In summing up, the objectors explained that they objected to the variation being granted as they could not see how it would benefit the area and were concerned that it would cause issues in the evening.

In summing up, the representative explained that the Panel were there to consider whether the licensing objectives would be upheld at this premises. The representative said that the current arrangements demonstrated that the premises already protects the licensing objectives, no responsible authorities were objecting, and the application should be granted as there was no evidence to show that it would add to problems already in the area.

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.

Following initial deliberations, the Panel reconvened to ask the applicant what consideration they had given to upholding the licensing objectives as the hours cross over into the nighttime economy. The representative explained that the terminal hour of 20:00 that had been applied for was not late, did not impact on the nighttime economy and the hours had already been amended from 21:00 to 20:00.

Decision:

The Panel considered the application to vary the premises licence at Wards News in Gillingham. Having considered the written report, the application and amended hours, and the written and oral representations from all parties, the Panel reached a decision.

The Panel had regard to the Licensing Act 2003, the four licensing objectives, the statutory Guidance, the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and the cumulative impact policy and assessment for Gillingham High Street. The Panel considered this application on the individual merits of this case and on the evidence that was available.

The Panel acknowledged the genuine concerns raised by local residents about existing issues in the High Street, including street drinking and associated nuisance, and were grateful to them for explaining the impact this has on them, particularly in the evenings. However, the Panel also noted the generality of the evidence which does not provide specific evidence linking this premises to crime and disorder or public nuisance.

In this case, the premises before the Panel is an existing post office and convenience store, where alcohol forms a relatively small and controlled part of a wider business. The licence already carries conditions restricting product type and strength, single sales, and requiring CCTV, staff training and age?verification, and there is no history before of problems linked to the current operation of this premises.

The Panel noted that the responsible authorities for crime, disorder and public health initially objected but, having discussed further conditions with the applicant and agreed a prohibition on the sale of spirits in containers under 200ml together with reduced hours, they have withdrawn those objections and do not suggest that the variation now proposed will undermine the licensing objectives. The Panel therefore found that they cannot rely on their initial objections save to identify that whilst there is a risk of the licensing objectives being undermined in this cumulative impact area, those concerns are demonstrably alleviated by the imposition of conditions.

The Panel has balanced the concerns about the wider area against the evidence specific to this premises and the conditions that will apply. In the absence of sufficient evidence that the problems in the High Street are attributable to, or are likely to be worsened by, this particular premises operating with the amended hours and conditions, the Panel do not consider there is a sufficient basis to conclude that granting this variation will undermine the licensing objectives or materially add to the cumulative impact in this location.

Accordingly, the Panel grants the application to vary the premises licence so that alcohol may be sold for consumption off the premises between 08:00 and 20:00 Monday to Saturday and between 10:00 and 18:00 on Sundays, subject to all existing conditions, the additional condition that no spirits may be sold in containers of less than 200ml in volume, and the amendment of the ‘spirits and wine behind the counter’ condition so that it applies to spirits only.