Agenda item

The Committee considered an application which had been made under Section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003 for a premises licence in relation to the above property.

The hearing was held in accordance with the provisions of Section 18 Licensing Act 2003 and the Licensing act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005.

          At the beginning of the hearing it was confirmed that the applicant had accepted the conditions proposed by the Police in their representations (as set out in the Committee item) and consequently the Police had not attended the hearing.

          At the hearing, the Committee were addressed by the applicant Baljinder Singh Dhillon and his representative Robert Jordan.  Mr Silcock together with Mrs Foster and Cllr John Swain who spoke on behalf of Mrs Foster also addressed the Committee.  The representations received from Mr & Mrs Brown of 77 Oxford Road Runcorn were not accepted as relevant representations on the basis that the address was not within the vicinity of the premises and no justification had been provided to demonstrate that the address was in the vicinity.

          In addition when addressing the Committee the applicant Mr Dhillon voluntarily  agreed to reduce the hours for the supply of alcohol from the premises from 08.00 to 22.00 to 08.00 to 21.00 each day.

Following the hearing the Committee retired to consider the application and all the relevant representations.

          RESOLVED: That   having   considered   the   application   in accordance with section 4 Licensing Act 2003 and all other relevant considerations it is decided that the application be granted subject to the voluntary condition of the hours the premises shall be opened for the supply of alcohol shall be 08.00 to 21.00.

Reason

It is considered that the application is consistent with the licensing objectives.

For the avoidance of doubt it is now recorded that the applicant agreed to the following conditions with the Cheshire Constabulary, which shall be deemed to be added to the operating schedule and be conditions of the licence:

1        CCTV

a) An effective CCTV system should be designed and installed in accordance with the   Cheshire Constabulary’s CCTV guidance document called ‘CCTV in Licensed Premises – An Operational Requirement’. It must also include a colour monitor not less than 24” screen size clearly visible to customers showing them as they enter.

b) The Designated Premises Supervisor will need to demonstrate that their CCTV system complies with their Operational requirements.  A commissioning test must be carried out with the licensing and CCTV Liaison Officers before hand over of the system and activation of the premises licence.  The commissioning test will need to demonstrate the following

• Recordings are fit for their intended purpose.
• Good quality images are presented are presented to the officer in a format that can be relayed on a standard computer.
• The supervisor has an understanding of the equipment / training
• Management records are kept
• Maintenance agreements and records are maintained
• Data protection principles and signage are in place.
• There are enough staff trained to be able to operate and download images when required by a relevant person 

2        The sale of spirits shall be by counter service only.

          Following the announcement of the Committee decision the Chairman of the Committee advised the local residents that the Committee had sympathy with them regarding the problems they have encountered in the immediate locality of the premises but that they did not provide any evidence that the grant of the premises licence would undermine any of the four licensing objectives.  However the local residents were advised of the review process which is part of the Licensing Act 2003. The residents were further advised that the review process was evidence based and that any evidence must be specific to the premises and demonstrate that the use of the premises for a licensable activity undermines one or more of the four licensing objectives.