Agenda and minutes

Councillor Stephen Wells was appointed as Chairman for the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

DECISION

1. The panel made the following decision having regard to:

    - The four licensing objectives

- The Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy 2016-2021

- Guidance issued under the Licensing Act 2003

- Written and oral representations from Local Residents

- Oral representation from the Ward Councillor

The sub-committee decided to grant the application for a variation of the licence in full, plus a further condition and additional conditions offered by the applicant.

Further Condition:

1. Signage shall be placed prominently by the night bay window and by the means of entry and egress from the store, requesting all customers to respect local residents and leave the premises quietly.

Additional Conditions offered by the applicant:

2. Night pay window – If there was only one member of staff on duty between 0000  and 0500, the entrance door to the shop would be closed to customers and any sales between those hours would be made through the night pay window.

3. Remote door lock – Where there was more than one member of staff on duty between the hours of 0000 and 0500, a remote door lock facility would be in use for all admissions of customers entering the premises and all customers entering the premises would be monitored.

Reasons for the Decision:

The applicant’s solicitor, Mr Botkai put forward representations for a variation of the licence. Although he acknowledged objections to the application from local residents and the Ward Councillor, he emphasised that there had been no objections to the application by the Metropolitan Police and other Responsible Authorities.

He confirmed that the CCTV at the premises had been updated and there had been no evidence of any disturbances at the site since the last licensing application was granted in 2014.

Mr Botkai addressed some of the issues raised in objection to the application. In particular he explained that the applicant had spoken with Mr and Mrs Johnson who lived in close proximity to the premises. He made reference to their concerns about delivery times to and from the premises and the noise disturbance caused as a result. He stated that regardless of the outcome of the application, the Area Manager, Mr Davidson would attempt to resolve any issues concerning the deliveries.

A member of the sub-committee made reference to the possibility of applying a time condition to the licence in order to address the delivery concerns. However this was rejected by the applicant’s solicitor on the basis that the application was not relevant to deliveries and that the premises was allowed to operate as a 24hr store. The applicant questioned the enforceability of a time condition in this case.

The sub-committee asked why it was necessary to sell alcohol beyond 11pm. In reply the applicant stated that they had reviewed 60 licences with later hours granted under Grandfather Rights and found that they had traded successfully. As a result they looked at 100 stores with alcohol restrictions. The majority went through without objection and out of the hearings  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.