Resolved – That Councillor Andrew Hodson be appointed Chair for this meeting.

Members of the Licensing Panel are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non pecuniary interests, in connection with any application on the agenda and state the nature of the interest.

Members of the Panel were asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary and non-pecuniary interests in connection with any application on the agenda and state the nature of the interest.

No such declarations were made.

The Licensing Manager introduced the report which was an application to vary a Premises Licence under the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003. The application was made by Green King Brewing and Retailing Limited and related to the premises known as The Wellington, 10 The Village, Bebington, CH63 7PY.

It was reported that the premises currently have a Premises Licence which permitted the hours outlined within the report. The application was to change the layout of the premises and to increase the licensed area in relation to the outside area of the premises. The application requested a number of conditions of the licence be removed and for them to be replaced with alternative conditions which were set out in the report.

The applicant had submitted an operating schedule setting out how the business would be conducted/managed 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, twelve representations had been received from local residents. The representations related to noise nuisance and anti-social behaviour from patrons of the premises. Copies of the representations were available.

The applicant attended the meeting together with their legal representative, and there were a group of local residents in attendance, due to the number of residents, two spokespersons were elected to represent them at the hearing. The Licensing Manager confirmed that all documentation had been sent and received.

The applicant’s legal representative explained that the application sought to change the layout of the interior and to redesignate part of the car park into an external area for customers. The sub-committee were informed that on the opening weekend under the new management at the premises, there were some teething issues that led to noise nuisance such as improper insulation on an external door and use of a fire door which was then left open leading to noise and music emanating out of the premises. The legal representative apologised to local residents and gave assurance that these issues were being mitigated with a glass collector being asked to monitor the fire door and to keep it shut whilst waiting for an alarm to be installed and to have the insulation issue on the door fixed. The legal representative stated that there was no intention to have regulated entertainment in the outside area of the premises on a regular basis with nothing planned for the remainder of the year and that there would be no speakers permitted outside to play music. The Sub-Committee were advised that the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) would implement a garden management plan to ensure that customers are behaving appropriately in the external area of the premises and that this would be a condition of the licence if it were to be granted.

The legal representative then detailed the request to remove some conditions of the licence and replace them with 7  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The Director of Law and Governance reported upon an application that had been received from Puvanenthiran Kandaiah and related to the premises known as Prenton Convenience at 338 Woodchurch Road, Prenton, CH42 8PQ.

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

It was reported that the premises do not currently have a Premises Licence. The hours applied for the Premises Licence were set out within the report.

The applicant had submitted an operating schedule setting out how the business would be conducted/managed 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.

Following consultation with Merseyside Police, the applicant had agreed to have conditions placed on the premises licence which included CCTV, an incident book and refusals log being kept at the premises and a Challenge 25 policy being operated. The full list of conditions was set out in the report.

In respect of the application 3 representations had been received from local residents. The representations related to concerns that anti-social behaviour would increase should the application be granted due to there being several other premises which sold alcohol in the local area and concerns about customers parking on zig zags whilst they were in the premises.

The representations included customers leaving the premises late at night causing a nuisance which the residents had indicated was currently a problem with other nearby premises. The residents also had concerns regarding the use of the outside area at the rear of the premises which could cause a nuisance to local residents. A copy of the representations was available.

In response to the representations submitted by local residents, the applicant explained that he was not responsible for where customers parked and that this was not a relevant matter for the Sub-Committee to consider. The applicant informed the Sub-Committee he operated two other premises and had done for over 20 years with no issues. The applicant stated that alcohol sales contributed around 10% of his total sales and that in his other premises his staff were all trained on the conditions on the licence that would be the case should this application be granted.

In determining the application Members of the Licensing Act 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.

In coming to their decision Members gave consideration to the submissions made by the applicant, in particular that the business would be run by the applicant and his wife and that they had 20 years’ experience and two other premises that operated under the same or similar conditions.

Members gave consideration to the written representations made by local residents, however Members had to have regard to the statutory guidance issued under the Licensing Act 2003 that the decision of the Licensing Panel must  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.