Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed all those in attendance and introductions were made.  The Chair reminded those present that the meeting was being recorded and would be made available following the meeting via the Council’s website – Click Here to View

There were no apologies for absence received.

There were no declarations of interest made at the beginning or during the course of the meeting.

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 his report and outlined the application for a new premises licence at Rhymney Garage, Victoria Road, Rhymney.  Members were advised that the application initially sought to permit the sale of alcohol via off sales, 24 hours a day, Monday to Sunday.  The applicant subsequently amended his application to reflect the sale of alcohol via off sales, between the hours of 05:00 until 02:00 Monday to Sunday.  The applicant had also volunteered a number of steps as part of the Operating Schedule to promote the Licensing Objectives, which were set out in Section 1.3.1 of the report. 

During the 28-day consultation period, representations were received from Trading Standards who advocated conditions in relation to the application.  Representations were also received from the Gwent Police and Licensing Authority in their role as Responsible Authority, and Gwent Police, who both raised objections in relation to the extent of the hours applied for and suggested revised hours of 07:30 – 23:00 to be appropriate for a premise of this type in the Rhymney area. Further details were set out in Section 1.6 of the report.  No representations were received from local residents.  The applicant’s response was summarised in Section 1.7 of the report, with the applicant agreeing to the conditions proposed by Trading Standards but indicated they did not agree with the Gwent Police and Licensing Authority position in relation to the hours proposed by them.  

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.  The Sub Committee were referred to the recommendation set out in the Licensing Manager’s report, which considered the position of the Responsible Authorities and recommended that the application for a Premises Licence to permit the retail sale of alcohol be granted between the hours of 07:30 to 23:00 Monday to Sunday, subject to the conditions as set out at Appendix 8 of the report.

All parties present were afforded the opportunity to ask questions of the Licensing Manager and none were received.

Representations were then invited from the applicant, Rhymney Garage.

Mr Rajesh (Licensing Consultant) addressed the Sub Committee on behalf of his client, Mr Piratheepan (applicant).  Mr Rajesh explained that the premises would be run as a convenience store and not a wine shop, with his client being a personal license holder with an excellent track record and several years of experience in the licensing trade, and who already runs another 24-hour business nearby.  He explained that his client was fully aware of the expectations that will be placed on him regarding licensing conditions and understood that these need to be complied with.

Mr Rajesh summarised the history of the application, explaining that his client initially applied for 24 hours and accepted the conditions proposed by Trading  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.