The Director of Law, HR and Asset Management reported upon an application that had been received from Narinda Kaur Singh for the grant of a Premises Licence in respect of R S News and Convenience, 6 King Street, Rock Ferry, under the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003.

The application for the grant of a Premises Licence was as follows:

Sale by Retail of Alcohol

Sunday to Saturday  07:00 to 23:00

Hours Open to the Public

Sunday to Saturday  06:00 to 23:00

Applicants were required to submit an operating schedule setting out how they would conduct/manage their business in accordance with the four licensing objectives.  A copy of the full application was available.  Members were advised that the proposals set out in the operating schedule may become conditions of the licence should the application be granted.

In respect of the application, five representations had been received from local residents.  The representations related to alcohol related anti-social behaviour and public nuisance which was currently a problem within the vicinity of the premises.  A copy of the representations were available.

The applicant, Mrs Singh, attended the meeting together with her representative, Mrs Gibbs.

Mrs Smythe and Miss Roberts, local residents, were also in attendance.

The Licensing Officer confirmed that all documentation had been sent and received.

Mrs Gibbs advised that the application had been made as Mr and Mrs Singh intended to take over the premises and turn it into a convenience store.  She reported that the premises had previously been sub-let and run as a green grocers and the aim was to provide a one stop shop and also offer Asian food, beer and wine.  Mrs Gibbs informed Members that Mr and Mrs Singh were well experienced and had previously owned a premises in Upton and a premises next-door-but-one to these premises, also that they had been living above the premises for two years and were familiar with customers and neighbours.  Mrs Gibbs reported that no representations had been received from Merseyside Police and that after taking into consideration the concerns of local residents, the applicant would be willing to reduce the hours applied for as follows:

Sale by Retail of Alcohol

Sunday to Saturday  08:00 to 22:00

Hours Open to the Public

Sunday to Saturday  06:00 to 22:00

Mrs Gibbs responded to questions from Members of the Sub-Committee, Mrs Smythe and Miss Roberts.

Mrs Smythe addressed the Sub-Committee and reported that residents had previously experienced problems in the area due to youths drinking alcohol, however this had improved and she felt that should the licence be granted the problems would re-occur as the premises would provide another outlet for purchasing alcohol.

Miss Roberts reported that the premises had previously held a premises licence some years ago and that she had experienced incidents of anti-social behaviour.  She informed Members that there had also been a drug problem in the area.  She advised Members that she objected to the application as she felt these problems would re-occur and she also felt that there were enough licensed premises within the vicinity where alcohol could be purchased.

Mrs Smythe and Miss Roberts responded to questions from Members of the Sub-Committee, Mr Abraham, Legal Advisor to the Sub-Committee and the applicants.

In determining the application the Licensing Act 2003 Sub-Committee had regard to the Licensing Objectives, the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and the Statutory Guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Members of the Licensing Act 2003 Sub-Committee considered representations from local residents regarding the number of licensed premises within the vicinity of these premises and the history of anti-social behaviour within the area.  Members also had regard to the fact that there were no representations from the Responsible Authorities, in particular, Merseyside Police.

Members considered that the hours and conditions applied were a proportionate response to the application presented and were necessary for the promotion of the Licensing Objectives.

Members took into account Section 11 of the Guidance in respect of the review mechanism provided by the Licensing Act 2003 when problems associated with the Licensing Objectives occur after the grant of a Premises Licence.

Resolved -

(1)  That in accordance with Regulation 14(2) of the Licensing Act 2003, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the application.

(2)  That the application to grant the Premises Licence in respect of R S News and Convenience Store, 6 King Street, Rock Ferry, be granted with the following hours:-

Sale by retail of Alcohol

Sunday to Saturday 08:00 to 22:00

Hours Open to the Public

Sunday to Saturday 06:00 to 22:00

(3)  That in addition to the appropriate conditions proposed in the operating schedule, the following conditions be applied to the licence:

·  The premises must adopt a Challenge 25 Policy and display the appropriate posters regarding this policy.

·  Staff must receive training on underage sales provided by Wirral Trading Standards.  This training must be completed before the premises starts to sell alcohol.

·  Staff working at the premises must receive regular updated training in respect of preventing the sale of alcohol to persons under 18 years of age.  Training records must be kept and maintained and made available to any authorised officer upon request.

·  Records of training must be supplied to the Licensing Authority when this training has taken place.

·  The premises must maintain a refusal log with regular checks. This log must be made available on request to Licensing Officers and Responsible Authorities to ensure that it is being used.

·  Posters must be displayed in the premises stating that no sale of alcohol will take place to persons buying alcohol on behalf of persons under the age of 18.

·  The premises must only accept a passport, a photo driving licence or PASS accredited identification in support of till checks.

·  The Premises Licence Holder or his/her representative must ensure that inspections of the outside area of the premises are undertaken on a daily basis in order that the outside area is free from bottles, glasses and general customer debris.  A record of these checks must be maintained and available for inspection by an authorised officer.

·  CCTV must be installed at the premises at least in accordance with the minimum specification issued by the Licensing Authority.  Tapes and visual images recorded shall be retained for a period of 31 days and access to the system must be made available to an authorised officer on request.