Connect to us on social media and join in the conversation
Agenda item
Determination of Premises Licence Application - Clarence Food & Wine, 88 High Street, Blackwood, NP12 1AE.
Minutes:
The Legal Advisor to the Sub Committee outlined the procedure for the meeting, including
the order of representations and the opportunities for all parties to ask
questions.
Mr Lee Morgan (Licensing Manager) presented the
report and outlined the application submitted by Mr A. Xavier for a new
premises licence for Clarence Food and Wine located at 88 High Street,
Blackwood. It was noted that as part of
the hours applied for in the initial application, Mr Xavier had sought to
permit off-sale
of alcohol between the hours of 07.00 – 01.00 Friday &
Saturday. However, following
representations received, the applicant subsequently modified his application
to Supply of Alcohol (Off Sales only) Monday – Sunday 07.00 –
22.00. A number of steps had also been volunteered
by the applicant as part of the Operating Schedule, to promote the Licensing
Objectives, and were set out in the report.
During the consultation process, representations were received from
Gwent Police and Trading Standards who advocated conditions which were accepted
by the applicant, and these Responsible Authorities were subsequently satisfied
with the applicant’s ability to promote the Licensing Objectives. Relevant representations were also received
from two local ward members, two local residents and a local business owner and
full details were appended to the Officer’s report.
It was noted that since the preparation of the
report, one local resident (Mr Llewellyn) had withdrawn his representation in
view of the above modification. The
other local resident (Mr Bennett) had confirmed he did not wish to attend and
his comments were included in the meeting papers for Members’ consideration. Furthermore, Mr Edwards (local business
owner) had given apologies for the meeting but had indicated he would be
satisfied with the modified hours.
Councillor Farina-Childs (Blackwood Local Ward Member had also given
apologies and it was noted that his concerns would be relayed via the Licensing
Manager later in the meeting.
Attention
was drawn to the local policy considerations as set out in the report and to
the way in which the Sub-Committee would deal with the application. Members were referred to
the recommendation set out in the Licensing Manager’s report, which recommended
that the application for a premises licence be granted for off-sales of alcohol
between the hours of 07.00 - 22.00 Monday to Sunday, subject to the conditions
in the report.
All parties present were afforded the opportunity
to ask questions of the Licensing Manager.
A Member asked if the proposed CCTV condition could be strengthened to
state that images must be of a good quality in order to clearly identify
persons of interest on the footage.
Following discussion, it was confirmed that this could be added to the
condition if the Sub Committee were minded to do so, although it was emphasised
that the reliability of CCTV imagery also depends on other factors such as
camera positioning.
Representations were then invited from the
applicant, Mr Alex Xavier.
Mr Xavier summarised his application and confirmed
that high quality 4K resolution CCTV would be installed at the premises, and
that all staff would be appropriately trained in licensing requirements to
enable them to carry out their duties. Mr Xavier responded to general queries from
the Sub Committee regarding the premises layout and staffing arrangements and
confirmed that he was in agreement with the proposed conditions. A Member enquired as to the intended customer
base, given that most stores on the High Street close at 5.30 p.m. Mr Xavier explained that this would comprise
of local residents and shoppers in the area.
Representations were then invited from Responsible
Authorities.
PC Karina Williams confirmed that Gwent Police had
made representations as set out in the meeting papers and had objected to the
proposed closing time of 1.00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, as they were
concerned that this had the potential to exacerbate existing anti-social
behaviour in the town centre. Having
discussed these concerns with the applicant, Gwent Police confirmed that should
these hours be reduced to 11.00 p.m., they would withdraw their objection. Gwent Police also proposed a number of
conditions as set out in the report to assist in meeting the 4 Licensing
Objectives.
In response to queries from the Sub Committee
around CCTV, PC Williams confirmed that any images should be of an appropriate
standard, and that if CCTV was requested from the premises and found to be
substandard, then this matter would be addressed with the applicant. However, it was emphasised that if
perpetrators are wearing disguises to hide their faces, then this is outside
the control of the premises. PC Williams
also confirmed that Gwent Police had objected to the premises closing at 1.00am
but were satisfied with a closing time of 11.00 p.m. or earlier.
Representations
were then invited from Trading Standards.
Mr Tim Keohane (Senior Trading Standards
Officer) confirmed that his representation advocated conditions to improve
staff awareness around underage sales and strengthen the Licensing Objective
relating to the Prevention of Children of Harm, which were accepted by the
applicant.
There were no questions received for Trading Standards
and representations were then invited from Other Persons.
Councillor
Nigel Dix (Blackwood Local Ward Member) summarised his objections to the
application in view of anti-social behaviour hotspots in Blackwood which are
fuelled by alcohol, particularly around pub closing times. He emphasised that the majority of other
off-licences in Blackwood close at 10.00 p.m. and that the application in its
original form could set a precedent for closing times in the area and lead to
an increase in anti-social behaviour.
Councillor Dix also expressed concerns about those dependent on alcohol
having additional opportunity to purchase alcohol if the premises was open to
1.00 a.m.
All parties were afforded the opportunity to ask
questions, and Councillor Dix confirmed that he objected to a 1.00 a.m. closing
time and that 11.00 p.m. was still not sufficient, but that it was felt by both
himself and local residents that 10.00 p.m. would be a sensible and
satisfactory compromise.
The Licensing Manager then summarised the
representation from Councillor Andrew Farina-Childs (Blackwood Local Ward
Member) who had objected to the premises licence being granted to 11.00 p.m.
due to concerns that this could increase anti-social behaviour in the area. It was noted that the Member had also
suggested that a precedent could be set by the granting of any licence past
10.00 p.m. and had asked for the Sub Committee to consider Welsh Government
Tier 4 guidance around 10.00 p.m. closing times.
The Sub Committee were reminded that the Licensing
Act 2003 entitles the applicant to seek any time of their choosing for the
supply and sale of alcohol and that the Tier 4 guidance only relates to the
current Covid-19 provisions in place.
The Sub Committee were also reminded that the applicant had agreed to
amend his closing hours to 10.00 p.m. and on this basis, the concerns of
Councillor Farina-Childs had been addressed.
The Licensing Manager also summarised the
representations of Mr Bennett (local resident) and Mr Edwards (local business
owner) who were not in attendance and explained that Mr Edwards was satisfied
with the application on the basis of the amended opening hours to 10.00
p.m. The Licensing Manager also referred
to Councillor’s Dix’s earlier point regarding other premises along Blackwood
High Street and explained that some of these premises might have permission to
operate to 11.00 p.m. but instead choose to close at 10.00 p.m.
All parties were afforded the opportunity to sum up
before the Licensing and Gambling Sub Committee retired to make its
decision. The Licensing Manager,
Responsible Authorities, Local Ward Member and Mr Xavier summarised their
representations to the Sub Committee.
Before the Sub Committee retired, the Legal Advisor drew attention to
the aforementioned precedent and explained that the granting of premises
licenses does not set a precedent, as each application is judged on its own
merits. There is no cumulative impact
assessment in place for the local area, but premises are expected to have control
over the behaviour of its customers. The
Legal Advisor also clarified the proposed wording in respect of the CCTV
condition to include the wording “a good quality image” and recommended that
Condition SA06 proposed by Trading Standards be removed from the advocated
conditions, as underage sales are prohibited by law in any event.
The
Legal Advisor informed all parties present that the Sub Committee would retire
to consider the representations made at the meeting and they would be informed
in writing of the decision in the next 5 days.
The Sub Committee retired at 11.10 a.m. to
make its decision and all other parties left the meeting.
Following consideration of the application for the grant of a new
premises licence for Clarence Food & Wine, 88 High Street,
Blackwood, NP12 1AE, and having regard to the Licensing
Manager’s report and all the representations made, the Licensing and Gambling
Sub Committee unanimously
RESOLVED
that the application be granted in accordance with the operating schedule set
out at section 1.3 of the Licensing Officer’s report (Supply of Alcohol (Off Sales only) Monday – Sunday 07.00 – 22.00 and subject to the
conditions set out at section 1.10 of the Licensing Officer’s report and
appended to these minutes, with the addition of the wording “a good quality image” to Condition 1.
In
making their decision, the Sub Committee considered all four Licensing
Objectives, the Licensing Act 2003, revised Home Office Guidance and Caerphilly Council’s Licensing Policy.
The
Sub Committee noted that discussions had taken place following the Applicant’s
original application and in response to concerns raised, the Applicant had
revised his application to agree to a terminal hour for alcohol sales of 22:00
Monday-Sunday, which alleviated the concerns of almost all of the objectors.
The Applicant had also agreed to the recommended conditions as set out in the
Licensing Manager’s report, save for the addition of the words “a good
quality image” in Condition 1.
The Panel were satisfied that the revised
operating schedule together with the aforementioned conditions, would be
satisfactory in order to promote the Licensing Objectives set out in the
Licensing Act 2003 and the Section 182 Guidance.
The
decision notice advised that any person aggrieved by the decision had the right
to appeal to the local Magistrates Court within 21 days from the date of
written notification of the decision.
The
meeting closed at 12.15 p.m.
APPENDIX
Conditions
applicable to the grant of the licence as per Section 1.10 of the Licensing
Manager’s report (addition to Condition 1 in bold):
1. CCTV shall be in use at the premises.
Where a CCTV system is to be installed, extended or replaced, it shall
be to an appropriate standard as agreed with the Licensing Authority in
consultation with the Police. Where a
CCTV system is to be installed, it shall be fully operational by the date the
licence is granted.
The CCTV equipment shall be maintained in good working order and continually
record a good quality image when licensable activity takes place and for
a period of two hours afterwards.
The premises licence holder shall ensure images from the CCTV are
retained for a period of 31 days. This
image retention period may be reviewed as appropriate by the Licensing
Authority;
The correct time and date will be generated onto both the recording and
the real time image screen;
If the CCTV equipment (including any mobile units in use at the
premises) breaks down the Premises Licence Holder shall ensure the designated
premises supervisor, or in his/her absence other responsible person, verbally
informs the Licensing Authority and the Police as soon as is reasonably
practicable. This information shall be
contemporaneously recorded in the incident report register and shall include
the time, date and means this was done and to whom the information was
reported. Equipment failures shall be
repaired or replaced as soon as is reasonably practicable and without undue
delay. The Licensing Authority and the
Police shall be informed when faults are rectified;
The premise licence holder shall ensure that there are trained members
of staff available during licensable hours to be able to reproduce and download
CCTV images into a removable format at the request of any authorised officer of
the Licensing Authority or a constable;
There shall be clear signage indicating that CCTV equipment is in use
and recording at the premises.
2. There
shall be no consumption of alcohol beverages purchased from the premises in
open containers outside at the front of the premises.
3. Should
customers be outside the premises causing congestion, loitering and/or causing
Anti-Social Behaviour they will be told move away from the vicinity.
4. An
incident report logbook shall be held at the premises at all times and shall be
produced to an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a constable
immediately upon request. It shall
contain the details of persons involved, incident description, time and date,
actions taken and final outcome of the situation.
5. All
refusals will be kept in a refusals book detailing the time, date, the goods,
the staff member and the name of the persons who tried to purchase. If no name
is given, then a good description will be recorded. This documentation should be available for
inspection on request by an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a
Constable.
6. Rowdy
and/or disorderly customers will be asked to leave the premises.
7. All staff/members who
serve alcohol to be trained in the prevention of underage sales to a level
commensurate with their duties. All such
training to be updated as necessary, for instances when legislation changes,
and should include training on how to deal with difficult customers. The training should be clearly documented and
signed and dated by both the trainer and the member of staff receiving it. The documentation shall be available for
inspection on request by an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a
constable
8. (a) An approved proof of
age scheme shall be adopted, implemented and advertised within the premise such
as ‘Challenge 25’ whereby an accepted form of photographic identification shall
be requested before any alcohol is sold to any person who appears to be under
25 years of age. Acceptable proof of age
shall include identification bearing the customers photograph, date of birth
and integral holographic mark or security measure. Suitable means of identification would
include PASS approved proof of age card, photo-card driving licence and
passport.
(b) Publicity materials notifying customers of the operation of the
Challenge 25 scheme shall be displayed
at the premises, including a Challenge 25 sign of at least A5 size at the entrance
to the premises and where practicable at each point of sale.
Supporting documents:
- Licensing & Gambling Sub Committee 15th Jan 2021 - Report, item 3. PDF 419 KB
- Appendix 1, item 3. PDF 157 KB
- Appendix 2, item 3. PDF 243 KB
- Appendix 3, item 3. PDF 265 KB
- Appendix 4, item 3. PDF 16 KB
- Appendix 5, item 3. PDF 315 KB
- Appendix 6, item 3. PDF 399 KB
- Appendix 7, item 3. PDF 592 KB
- Appendix 8, item 3. PDF 227 KB
- Appendix 9, item 3. PDF 236 KB
- Appendix 10, item 3. PDF 247 KB
- Appendix 11, item 3. PDF 421 KB