Agenda item

The Panel is requested to consider and determine an application for a premises licence in respect of the above. 

Discussion:

 

The Panel was advised that this application was for a new premises licence in respect of the Blues Rock Café, Priestfield Stadium, Redfern Avenue, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 4DD.

 

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 the Licensing and Local Land Charges Manager advised that the application had been correctly advertised in the local press and notices displayed on the premises for the required timescale.

 

In accordance with section 9.14 of the Amended Guidance to the Licensing Act, Licensing officers have been in discussions with Planning and can confirm the current planning position in respect of stated under planning reference MC2006/0669 are 0800 to 0100 on any day unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

 

The application was for the following:

 

Provisions of plays, films, indoor sporting events live music, recorded music and performance of dance - indoor

Sunday to Thursday                       10:00 to 01:00

Friday & Saturday                                                           10:00 to 02:00

Christmas Eve                                                      10:00 to 02:00

New Years Eve through New Years Day            10:00 to 03:00

           

Late night refreshment - indoors

Sunday to Thursday                                           23:00 to 01:00

Friday & Saturday                                                            23:00 to 02:00

Christmas Eve                                                       10:00 to 02:00

New Years Eve through New Years Day            10:00 to 03:00

 

 

Supply of alcohol – both on & off the premises

Sunday to Thursday                                           10:00 to 01:00

Friday & Saturday                                                           10:00 to 02:00

Christmas Eve                                                        10:00 to 02:00

New Years Eve through New Years Day            10:00 to 03:00

           

Hours premises are open to the public

Sunday to Thursday                                           08:00 to 01:30

Friday & Saturday                                                            08:00 to 02:30

Christmas Eve                                                        08:00 to 02:00

New Years Eve through New Years Day            08:00 to 02:00

 

The Licensing and Local Land Charges Manager confirmed that the application had been referred to the Panel for determination following receipt of relevant representations.                                          

 

The applicant’s representative stated the following in support of the application:

 

·        As previously mentioned in the other licence applications, the new licence would make it easier to follow than the current licence and covered specific sections of the ground. The old licence was unwieldy and covered every aspect of the football ground and would be incomprehensible to most people.

·        The Blues Rock Café bar was adjacent to the ground and operated separately to the rest of the ground.

·        The club had worked with both the police and the Safety Advisory Group to ensure that the bar is controlled and safe for those inside the premises and residents living nearby.

·        The club were looking to increase the operating hours at the bar, including during the week. The purpose behind the additional hours was to operate more functions and events, especially around Christmas time.

·        The Lindley Group was responsible for the running of the licensed premises and had been running a number of similar operations at sports grounds around the country. They were used to operating late night venues and would ensure the Blues Rock Café would run the same way. A contract with the Lindley Group had four years left to run and had yet to experience any difficulties since they had been in charge.

·        The Lindley Group employed a designated premises supervisor and they had been trained to operate the premises to the same high standard as other venues.

·        Any persons that were looking to enter the premises would be reminded to leave the premises at the end of the evening as quickly and as quietly as possible.

·        With regards to dispersal of persons at the premises, the club would ensure that they had close contact with taxi firms, enabling people to leave quickly and avoid taxis waiting outside the premises for an extended period after they had been called.

·        With regards to the representations around smoking outside the premises there were two potential ways of dealing with the issues raised. The first was to limit the number of smokers allowed outside the premises onto Redfern Avenue at any one time to 10, and the second was to allow smokers into the car park. It was envisaged that the second option might cause problems for staff at the ground as smokers had to walk through the premises and past the banqueting suite to get to the car park.

 

The applicant’s representative informed the Panel that the club had agreed to the conditions proposed by the environmental health team. Following discussions with the police it was agreed to remove the original conditions 9 and 10 as they were covered as part of the age verification policy.

 

The Objectors and the Panel then asked a number of questions and the applicant’s representative responded as follows:

 

·        It was confirmed that the conditions in the licence ensured that the outside smoking area would be supervised. In addition if the conditions were not adhered to then the premises licence holder would be liable to criminal conviction and possible fines of up £20,000.

·        It was understood that there had been no meetings recently between the club and the local PACT group. It would be acceptable to include a condition to ensure that at least 2 meetings a year would be held with residents within the vicinity of the ground.

·        If the panel were minded to reduce the maximum number of people allowed outside to smoke on Redfern Avenue to 4, then this would be acceptable to the club.

·        The reason for extending the hours was more of a commercial driver, the additional hours provided the club with the opportunity to host more functions. By extending the hours it was hoped that the Blues Rock Café would compete with other similar venues, and enable the Blues Rock Café to bring in more business.

·        The club had focused on the representation made and had altered the conditions in the licence to try and reduce such concerns as noise nuisance. 

·        Allowing smokers into the car park was an option, however it was not the preferred option, as it would involve people having to walk through the back part of the premises to reach the foyer and then the car park.

·        It was envisaged that if the smokers were to use the car park this would only apply after a certain time.

 

The environmental health representative then outlined one further concern in relation to smoking, asking if a condition could be included to restrict the re-entry of patrons back into the premises after a certain time.

 

The objectors raised no further comments.

Decision:

 

The Panel carefully considered the application for a new premises licence in respect of the Blues Rock Café, Priestfield Stadium, Redfern Avenue, Gillingham, Kent ME7 4DD.

 

The Panel agreed the removal of the original conditions 9 and 10 on the advice of police and agreed to the applicants change in wording to the original condition 13, which was now condition 11.

 

Taking note of objections raised the Panel decided to grant the application as follows:

 

Provisions of plays, films, indoor sporting events live music, recorded music and performance of dance - indoor

Sunday to Thursday                                           10:00 to 01:00

Friday & Saturday                                                           10:00 to 02:00

Christmas Eve                                                       10:00 to 02:00

New Years Eve through New Years Day            10:00 to 03:00

           

Late night refreshment - indoors

Sunday to Thursday                                           23:00 to 01:00

Friday & Saturday                                                23:00 to 02:00

Christmas Eve                                                       10:00 to 02:00

New Years Eve through New Years Day            10:00 to 03:00

 

Supply of alcohol – both on & off the premises

Sunday to Thursday                                           10:00 to 01:00

Friday & Saturday                                                 10:00 to 02:00

Christmas Eve                                                        10:00 to 02:00

New Years Eve through New Years Day            10:00 to 03:00

           

Hours premises are open to the public

Sunday to Thursday                                           08:00 to 01:30

Friday & Saturday                                                08:00 to 02:30

Christmas Eve                                                       08:00 to 02:00

New Years Eve through New Years Day            08:00 to 02:00

 

 

The following conditions:

 

1.                  The telephone number of the Blues Café duty manager will be made available to residents

 

2.                  A register of complaints shall be kept by the club and made available to the Licensing Authority on request.

 

3.                  Notification to be given to the police football unit of any event/function to be held on a match day, one week before the designated sporting event.

 

4.                  CCTV will be provided in the form of a recordable system, capable of providing pictures of evidential quality in all lighting conditions particularly facial recognition. Cameras shall encompass all ingress and egress to the premises, fire exits and all areas where the sale and supply of alcohol occurs. Equipment must be maintained in good working order, be correctly time and date stamped, recordings MUST be kept for a period of 31 days and handed to Police on request. The premises licence holder must ensure at all times a DPS or appointed member of staff is capable and competent at downloading CCTV footage in a format acceptable to the Police and Local Authority on demand. The recording equipment and recordings shall be kept in a secure environment under the control of the DPS or other responsible named individual. An operational daily log report must be maintained endorsed by signature, indicating the system has been checked and is compliant, in the event of any failings actions taken are to be recorded. In the event of technical failure of the CCTV equipment the premises licence holder or DPS must report in writing to the Police Licensing Officer for the area immediately.

 

5.                  Incidents/refusal records are to be kept by the Licence Holder. These records will detail the following:

 

·        Day, date and Time of incident/refusal

 

·        Nature of the incident/refusal

 

·        Resolution

 

·        Each entry to be checked and signed by a manager on the day of the event

 

·        The DPS will review the record at regular intervals and endorse the record accordingly

 

6.                  The performance of dance will not include performance of an adult nature, nor naked or semi-naked dancing.

 

7.                  A notice shall be displayed at the entrance/exit of the premises to remind customers to leave the premises quietly.

 

8.                  There shall be acoustic lobbies at the entrance/exit of the premises.

 

9.                  The premises shall have a written drug policy. This will include agreed procedures with the police to cover:

 

1.     swabbing as a condition of entry when requested by police;

 

2.     the regular swabbing of public areas

 

3.     the handling and retention of any article seized

 

4.     the collection or delivery drugs to police.

 

10.             No licensable activities to take place in any outdoor area.

 

11.             No drinks shall be allowed to be taken off the premises onto Redfern Avenue for the consumption immediately outside the football stadium.

 

12.             On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays when public regulated entertainment is being provided after 20:00 (8pm) door supervisors will be on duty in such number as may be agreed with Kent Police in writing from time to time.

 

13.             When live music or recorded music takes place inside the premises save for entrance and exit all doors and windows will be kept shut. Entrance/exit doors will be fitted with self-closing mechanism that will enable them to automatically close once persons enter or leave the premises.

 

14.             No amplified music is to be permitted unless a noise management plan, which has been agreed with the Local Authority is in place. The noise management plan shall be periodically reviewed and/or when significant changes occur in the operation, building or event or following a complaint substantiated by Environmental Health.

 

15.             All persons that sell or supply alcohol to customers must have licensing training. Training should take place within six weeks of employment and any new employees will be supervised until the training has taken place. Refresher training should be repeated every six months or earlier if requested due to changes of legislation. Individual training records must be kept on the premises and shall contain the nature, content and frequency of all training. Records must be made available for inspection by police, Police Licensing Officer and authorised officers from Medway Council on demand either electronically or hard copy.

 

16.             Training must include:

 

a)     Avoiding sales of alcohol or age restricted products to those under the age of 18

 

b)     Recognising customers who appear drunk and refusing sale or supply of alcohol

 

c)     Knows the licensing objectives

 

d)     Have read and understood licence conditions

 

e)     Can produce licences/certificates/permits relevant to the premises in absence of licensee

 

f)       Can point out where the summary is displayed in absence of licensee

 

g)     Understands consequences for breaching legislation that can impact them as individuals and those that impact the licensee and the premises

 

h)     Have the relevant contact details of the designated premises supervisor or licensee.

 

 

17.             A minimum of two meetings to be held every year with residents of Toronto Road, Redfern Avenue, Sunnymede Avenue and Gordon Road. The Councillors of the Ward should also be invited. The meeting should be no closer than five months apart. The residents of those properties and the local councillors must be notified by the premises licence holder either electronically or non-electronic means, at least 14 days before the meeting. The minutes of the meeting are to be submitted by the premises licence holder to the licensing authority within seven days of the meeting being held.

 

18.             Smokers are to be constrained to the main car park after 21:00 (9pm), prior to 21:00 smokers can be permitted on Redfern Avenue but limited to a maximum of four at any one time.