The Director of Law, HR and Asset Management reported upon an application that had been received from Merseyside Police for the review of a Premises Licence in respect of The Fender, 340 Upton Road, Noctorum, under the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003.

The premises currently have a Premises Licence which allows the licensable activities as set out in the report.

A copy of the Premises Licence setting out the hours and conditions attached to the licence was available.

The Director advised that the Sub-Committee may, having regard to the application for review and any relevant representations, take such of the following steps as it considered necessary for the promotion of the licensing objectives:

• Modify the Conditions of the Licence.
• Exclude a licensable activity from the scope of the Licence.
• Remove the Designated Premises Supervisor.
• Suspend the Licence for a period not exceeding three months.
• Revoke the Licence.

The Licensing Authority may decide that no action would be necessary if it found that the review did not require it to take any steps necessary to promote the licensing objectives.

The application had been submitted by Merseyside Police and the Licensing Sergeant advised that the grounds for review were in relation to the prevention of crime and disorder and public safety due to the Designated Premises Supervisor illegally abstracting gas at the premises.  A number of breaches had also been identified including the premises trading outside of the hours permitted on the Premises Licence.

Further to the application being submitted the Premises Licence Holder had changed the Designated Premises Supervisor at the premises.

Sergeant P Jenkins and Constable P Coley, Merseyside Police, attended the meeting.

Ms B McBeath, Designated Premises Supervisor, attended the meeting together with Mr B Peace, Operations Manager, GRS Pubs Investment and Mr J Anderson, Solicitor.

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

Sergeant Jenkins reported that he had been in close liaison with GRS Pubs Investments and that a good working relationship with them had now been established.  Further to discussions with the Solicitor representing them, he advised that some conditions he had requested had already been put into place at the premises.  Sergeant Jenkins reported that there was an ongoing criminal investigation into the illegal abstraction of gas at the premises and gave the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the gas being illegally abstracted and also of the breaches of the Premises Licence.  Sergeant Jenkins proposed that certain conditions be attached to the Premises Licence which he believed would be fair and proportionate.

Sergeant Jenkins responded to questions from Members of the Sub-Committee.

Mr Anderson, Solicitor reported that GRS Inns were in the process of setting up a property team who would carry out audits on premises to check upon meters and ensure they had not been tampered with.  He advised that a number of measures had now been put in place to ensure the conditions of the licence were complied with.  He reported that a due diligence checklist would now be operated and that the Designated Premises Supervisor would attend a level 3 course for Designated Premises Supervisors and that the other members of staff would also be booked on courses.  He advised that he was in agreement with the proposed conditions by Merseyside Police and submitted that this would be a proportionate approach.

Mr Anderson responded to questions from Members of the Sub-Committee.

Members gave careful consideration to the application made by Merseyside Police to Review the Premises Licence at The Fender, 340 Upton Road, Noctorum, and the representations made by representatives of GRS Inns and the Designated Premises Supervisor Ms McBeath.

In determining the review application Members had regard to the licensing objectives, the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and relevant guidance issued under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Members accepted the evidence provided by Merseyside Police that the gas supply at the premises had been unlawfully tampered with and breaches of the Premises Licence had occurred.  Members therefore noted that Merseyside Police had concerns in respect of the licensing objectives of public safety and crime prevention regarding this.

Members welcomed the ongoing close liaison between GRS and Merseyside Police and the fact that GRS had indicated their intention to undertake regular checks at the premises.

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 conditions of the Premises Licence in respect of The Fender, 340 Upton Road, Noctorum, be modified as follows:

1.  CCTV installed at the premises must be in accordance with the specification issued by the Licensing Authority.  Tapes and visual images recorded must be retained for a period of 31 days and access to the system must be made available to Licensing Officers and Responsible Authorities on request.

2.  That from 1 August 2012 the Designated Premises Supervisor at these premises must attain a minimum Level 2 Award for Designated Premises Supervisors.

3.  That from 1 August 2012 all staff authorised to sell alcohol must have attended training delivered either by Wirral Trading Standards or by a training provider who can deliver accredited training in relation under-aged sales.