Minutes:
At the request of the Chairman, Robert Botkai, on behalf of the applicant presented his case.
He thanked the Senior Licensing Officer for making reference to the relevant sections of the Section 182 Guidance and Council’s Licensing Policy.
Robert Botkai explained that the petrol garage was currently open 24hrs and a window hatch was often used overnight. He explained that the area was quiet at night time.
The Sub-Committee was informed that Malthurst Limited was currently carrying out a programme of applications to licence their premises and jointly with Motorfield Group over 550 of their premises were now licensed. He explained that the company also had experience in dealing with any issues quickly.
Robert Botkai reminded the Sub-Committee that no representations had been received from any of the Responsible Authorities.
The Sub-Committee were also referred to paragraph 5.3 of the Borough Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy which stated that “with regard to shops, stores and supermarkets, it is the policy of the Borough Council that such premises should be free to provided sales of alcohol for consumption off the premises at any times when the retail outlet is open for shopping unless there are very good reasons for restricting those hours.” Robert Botkai explained that if the Sub-Committee were minded to refuse the application, they would need to provide evidence that the granting of the licence would undermine the four Licensing objectives.
It was his understanding that the ‘other persons’ did not object to the provision of late night refreshment, nor to the sale of alcohol, they just wanted to see the hours restricted. Robert Botkai explained that the provision of late night refreshment would involve the sale of hot drinks.
Robert Botkai explained that some of the other premises which he had been involved in getting licensed had also gone to Hearing. The main reason that residents had objected to the applications was because of residents fear of what could happen once the licence had granted, however in reality their fears had not materialised. He also stated that there was no evidence of antisocial behaviour or other issues within the vicinity of the premises at the moment.
The Sub-Committee was informed that any residents with concerns would be provided with contact details for the Area Manager and were encouraged to contact them if they had any issues. Robert Botkai explained that there were over 500 licensed premises within the company and he was only aware of problems with one premises, and in this instance swift action had been taken to remedy the problem by working with the local Licensing Authority and temporarily suspending the licence.
Robert Botkai stated that the area was quiet at the moment and he did not expect this to change because of alcohol off sales. He requested that the Sub-Committee give regard to the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and Section 182 Guidance and grant the application as applied for.
He also referred to the conditions that the applicant had put forward.
The Chairman invited questions from all parties.
The Senior Licensing Officer asked if all sales overnight were conducted through the hatch. It was explained that it was staff discretion as to whether to use the hatch, however if the Sub-Committee were minded to they could add a condition to the licence to require all sales between 11pm and 5am to be carried out through the hatch.
Councillor Bambridge asked how any noise issues would be dealt with. Robert Botkai explained that there was no evidence that noise was currently an issue. He explained that the purchase of alcohol would be for off sales only. There was signage at the premises to say smoking and the use of mobile phones was prohibited. Staff did have access to a loud speaker and would ring the police if there were serious issues.
Councillor Whitby asked if there was any signage regarding the consumption of alcohol. It was explained that there were some in the store and the location of the signage could be looked at so that it was visible when being served at the window hatch. Robert Botkai suggested that a notice could be put up asking customers to respect neighbours and leave quietly.