Borough of Poole – Licensing Sub-Committee – 14 March 2011
BOROUGH OF POOLE
LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE
14 MARCH 2011
The Meeting commenced at 2:02pm and concluded at 3:55pm
Present:
Councillor Mrs Butt (Chairman) Councillors Mrs Evans and Maiden
Also Present:
Michelle Coplestone – Democratic Support Officer, Legal and Democratic Services, Borough of Poole (BoP) Russell Wileman – Senior Solicitor, Legal and Democratic Services, (BoP) Frank Wenzel – Principal Licensing Officer, Environmental and Consumer Protection Services (ECPS), (BoP) Cassie Schofield – Consumer Protection Officer, ECPS, (BoP) Mr V Sathiaruban – the Applicant Mr Dick Hudson –Licensing Consultant, Dorset Licensing, representing the Applicant Councillor Mrs Moore – Ward Councillor for Canford Heath East, Objector James Duncan – Work Experience Placement (Observing) Stephen Ankers – Regulatory Team Leader, Legal and Democratic Services (BoP), (Observing)
Members of the Public present: 0
LSC24.11 WELCOMES AND INTRODUCTIONS
The Chairman welcomed all present to the Meeting. Members of the Licensing Sub-Committee introduced themselves and the Chairman explained the Procedure for dealing with the Application received for a new Premises Licence, in respect of the Premises known as ‘Moorland Wine’, 9 Adastral Square, Poole, situated within Canford Heath East Ward.
LSC25.11 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
No apologies for absence were received.
LSC26.11 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
No declarations of interest were made.
1 Borough of Poole – Licensing Sub-Committee – 14 March 2011
LSC27.11 MOORLAND WINE
The Chairman invited Frank Wenzel, Principal Licensing Officer, Environmental and Consumer Protection Services (ECPS), to read out the Report of the Head of ECPS, as previously circulated.
The Sub-Committee was advised that the Application proposed opening times of Monday to Sunday 07:00 hours until 23:00 hours each day, with the supply of alcohol off the Premises Monday to Sunday 07:00 hours until 23:00 hours.
It was noted that the Applicant had identified a number of steps in order to promote the Licensing Objectives and that two Letters of Representation had been received from interested parties, which referred to Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) from persons using the Premises.
The Chairman thanked the Principal Licensing Officer and asked if the Sub- Committee had any questions with regard to the Report? In response to a question raised by the Chairman, the Consumer Protection Officer (ECPS), confirmed that the location map (attached as Appendix A to the Report) showed the correct location of the Premises.
The Sub-Committee then heard representations from Councillor Mrs Moore, Ward Councillor for Canford Heath East (Objector), which included the following:-
Canford Heath was a large Housing Estate and therefore ASB from young people was inevitable. The Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) had worked hard to reduce levels of ASB. Ad-Astral Square was often the centre of ASB and had previously been subjected to Section 30 Dispersal Orders. A ‘Street Meeting’ had been held on 28 January 2011 to discuss the concerns of residents, which had involved the attendance of the Police, Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) SNTs and Ward Councillors. On the advice of SNTs, Traders in Ad-Astral Square closed at 8:30pm to avoid incidents of ASB. It would be pleasing to see an empty premises become filled, however, residents felt that the Premises known as ‘Moorland Wine’ could attract ASB from young people. There had been an Off Licence in Ad-Astral Square in the past, which had closed down due to problems with ASB and there was concern that ASB may become a problem again if the Licence for ‘Moorland Wine’ was granted.
The Chairman thanked Councillor Mrs Moore for her representations and asked Members of the Sub-Committee if they had any questions?
2 Borough of Poole – Licensing Sub-Committee – 14 March 2011
In response to questions raised by the Sub-Committee, Councillor Mrs Moore confirmed that:-
Numerous residents had contacted her to voice their concerns with regard to the Application. The previous Off Licence situated in Ad-Astral Square had closed at 21:00 hours. It had been subjected to vandalism and the area had been adorned with graffiti, caused by young people who had been refused the sale of alcohol. The levels of ASB in the area had reduced and the current Traders in Ad-Astral Square were very good with dealing with young people.
In response to a question from the Sub-Committee, the Consumer Protection Officer confirmed that the Police had not objected to the Application.
The Sub-Committee then heard representations from Mr Dick Hudson, Licensing Consultant, on behalf of the Applicant, which included the following:-
The Premises known as ‘Moorland Wine’ was one of the empty units situated in Ad-Astral Square and would sell soft drinks, cigarettes and snacks, in addition to alcohol. The Applicant had applied for the sale of alcohol off the Premises between the hours of 07:00 hours and 23:00 hours daily to provide flexibility. However, it was anticipated that the Premises would open from 10:00 hours to 23:00 hours daily. A number of voluntary conditions had been proposed by the Applicant to promote the four Licensing Objectives. It was anticipated that the Premises would have two CCTV cameras situated outside (covering both the front and rear of the Premises) and four CCTV cameras situated inside the Premises. The CCTV System would be live, which meant that the Applicant could monitor the Premises online from any destination. The Applicant was both the proposed Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) and the Premises Licence Holder and would be the full time Manager of the Premises. In due course the Applicant intended to appoint a Manager to take his place, who would also be the DPS. The Applicant would then remain the Premises Licence Holder. The Applicant had a number of other businesses in the area and intended to employ local staff. Initially there would be two members of staff employed at the Premises at all times. The Till System at the Premises would carry a built in safeguard, which flashed up a warning to the till operator to request identification whenever an age restricted product was scanned. Somerfield was the only other business in Ad-Astral Square that was licensed for the sale of alcohol, for consumption off the Premises. In addition to this there was a Public House and an Off Licence situated in Canford Heath. The concerns raised by Councillor Mrs Moore were based on the Area’s historic problems of ASB, however, the Applicant was 3 Borough of Poole – Licensing Sub-Committee – 14 March 2011
experienced in dealing with issues such as this. There was no reason to suspect a return in the high levels of ASB, however, all staff at the Premises would be trained in this area and the Applicant was willing to work closely with existing Traders and the SNTs. The Applicant appreciated the concerns raised by the Objector, however, the Premises would be well managed and there had been no objections from the Police, which suggested that it did not have undue concern.
Mr Hudson requested that the Application be granted.
The Chairman thanked Mr Hudson for his representations and asked Members of the Sub-Committee if they had any questions?
In response to various questions raised by the Sub-Committee, the Applicant advised that:-
He would be directly involved with the Business for the first few months and would complete the Refusals Register whenever a sale of alcohol was refused. He would regularly monitor the Refusals Register and take action if necessary i.e by adopting a ‘Challenge 25 Policy’ in place of a ‘Challenge 21 Policy’. He would liaise with other Traders in Ad-Astral Square and the SNTs with regard to crime and disorder. He owned a number of other businesses in the area (a Post Office in Bournemouth, an Off Licence in Purbeck and newly acquired Premises in New Milton). He was happy to work with existing Traders in Ad-Astral Square and would not want to keep his Premises open when other Traders had closed for the evening. He reiterated that he would be happy to close earlier than 23:00hours.
A discussion ensued with regard to the location of other Traders in Ad- Astral Square. It was noted that Somerfield had a licence for the sale of alcohol and that its hours of business was 07:00 hours until 21:00 hours, despite being licensed to sell alcohol until 23:00 hours.
In summary Councillor Mrs Moore explained that all Traders in Ad- Astral Square closed by 21:00 hours and that if ‘Moorland Wine’ remained open past this hour, it would be the only Premises to do so. Councillor Mrs Moore reiterated that Traders closed early to avoid young people congregating in the area.
In summary, Mr Hudson, on behalf of the Applicant, asked the Sub- Committee to consider the matters raised by himself and the Applicant and asked that the Application be granted with the voluntary conditions submitted.
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The Chairman confirmed that all parties had had an opportunity to speak and were happy for the Sub-Committee to consider the representations submitted before withdrawing to consider its decision.
The Sub-Committee reconvened and gave its decision as follows:
RESOLVED that:
The Licensing Sub-Committee has granted the Application, subject to the following conditions:-
1) At all times when the Premises operate under the terms of the Licence, the CCTV system serving the Premises shall: -
a) be maintained fully operational and in good working order at all times; b) make and retain clear images of the public area of the Premises and outside of the Premises, front and back, including the points of sale of alcohol and facial images of the purchasers of alcohol; and c) show an accurate date and time that the recordings were made.
2) All CCTV images shall be retained for a period of not less than 31 days and shall be made available for viewing by any Police Officer, Community Support Officer or authorised person on demand.
3) An original, or copy, of CCTV recordings shall be provided upon demand to any Police Officer, Community Support Officer or authorised person. Copies shall be provided in a format that can be viewed on readily available equipment without the need for specialist software.
4) No alcohol shall be sold if the CCTV equipment is inoperative for any reason.
5) At all times during licensing hours, there shall be a member of staff on the Premises trained in the operation of the CCTV system.
6) The Premises shall operate in accordance with the ‘Challenge 21’ Scheme. This Scheme operates on the basis that, whilst alcohol may be sold to persons aged 18 years or over, any person who appears under 21 years of age shall be required to provide ID. Notices to this effect shall be displayed in a clear and prominent position at the Premises along with the hours between which alcohol is on sale. The only ID accepted in respect of the sale of alcohol shall be: a) Proof of Age card, bearing the PASS hologram logo; b) Passport; c) UK photo driving licence
5 Borough of Poole – Licensing Sub-Committee – 14 March 2011
7) All staff will be trained in the legality and procedure of alcohol sales using the SWERCOTS Training Pack (or an equivalent scheme approved by the Government/Trading Standards) prior to undertaking the sale of alcohol, which shall include the prevention of underage sales and not serving ‘drunken’ persons and as aforesaid the operation of the CCTV system. Such training shall be recorded and these records shall on request be made available to the Police, Community Support Officer or other authorised person.
8) A Refusals Book, or similar record, shall be kept at the Premises in which shall be recorded forthwith the date, time and circumstances under which any attempted purchase by a person under 18 years of age, or unable to provide acceptable ID of their age, has been refused. The Designated Premises Supervisor is to review the Refusals Book every seven days and so note in said book that he has done so. This Book, or other form of record, shall be made available for inspection by a Police Officer, Community Support Officer or other authorised person on demand.
9) There shall at all times be present on the Premises two members of staff, one of whom must be a Personal Licence Holder, where alcohol is served or supplied.
10) The Premises shall be permitted to supply alcohol for consumption off the Premises at the following times:
Monday to Sunday 0700hrs until 2100hrs each day.
The Sub-Committee, having heard evidence from Councillor Mrs Moore and the Applicant, together with a letter from Mrs J Hodges, considers that the combination of the offered and imposed conditions should allow the Premises to operate until 2100hrs whilst continuing to promote the four licensing objectives. The Sub-Committee did not grant the Application in its entirety as it considered that the provision of licensable activities at the Premises until 2300hrs would undermine the licensing objectives of the prevention of public nuisance and prevention of crime and disorder.
The conditions have been imposed by the Sub-Committee so as to ensure the proper promotion of the licensing objectives.
The Applicant should be aware that he has the right to appeal the decision of the Sub-Committee and that any such appeal must be made to the Dorset Magistrates Court within 21 days of receipt of the decision in writing.
CHAIRMAN 6