Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

An application for a Review of a Premises Licence in respect of Burleigh Mini Market, 70 Burleigh Road, Penn Fields, Wolverhampton, WV3 0HN, had been received from Trading Standards.

The Chair led round-table introductions and outlined the procedure to be followed.

Jonathan Lloyd, Senior Licensing Officer, provided an outline of the application. Paul Dosanjh, Service Lead, Trading Standards (applicant), confirmed that the summary was accurate.

David Abel, Solicitor for the City of Wolverhampton Council, advised the Chair that the Premises Licence Holder, Mr Tangarasa Yogarasa was not present at the Hearing. Donna Cope, Democratic Services Officer, confirmed that numerous attempts had been made to contact the Premises Licence Holder but all attempts were unsuccessful.

In response to this, Mr Hamidreza Khodaei, Premises Owner, stated that Mr Yogarasa had previously been the premises’ supervisor and had left approximately 5 months ago. Mr Hamidreza Khodaei stated that he too had been unable to contact him.

As Mr Yogarasa,, Premises Licence Holder, could not be contacted, the Sub-Committee agreed to consider the application in his absence.

The Chair invited Trading Standards to present their application. Paul Dosanjh, Service Lead, did so as per Appendix 3 of the report.

The Chair afforded all parties present the opportunity to question the applicant in relation to his submission. Paul Dosanjh, Service Lead, provided the following responses to questions asked:

• The trading of illegal tobacco was serious organised crime;
• The illegal trading was harmful to legitimate businesses and tax payers;
• The illegal tobacco products were not safe for consumers;
• Evidence gathered by Trading Standards strongly suggested the illegal products found on the premises were not for personal use.

The Chair invited Mr Hamidreza Khodaei, Premises Owner, and Mr Mohammadreza Khodaei, Premises Manager, to make representations. Mr Hamidreza Khodaei and Mr Mohammadreza Khodaei did so.

Mr Mohammadreza Khodaei, Premises Manager, explained that he had engaged in illegal tobacco trading without the knowledge o Mr Hamidreza Khodaei, Premises Owner. He stated that he was young, stressed and inexperienced in this business area. He explained that demand for illegal tobacco was high and due to financial problems, he felt he had no choice. He acknowledged he had made a mistake and was sorry. He also claimed that some of the goods seized, were not his.

Mr Hamidreza Khodaei, Premises Owner, confirmed that he was unaware of the illegal activities going on at the premises.

The Chair afforded all parties present the opportunity to question the Premises Owner and Premises Manager in relation to their submission. Mr Hamidreza Khodaei, Premises Owner, and Mr Mohammadreza Khodaei, Premises Manager, provided responses to questions asked.

The Chair invited the Licensing Authority to make representations. Mrs Elaine Moreton did so as per Appendix 5 of the report.

The Chair invited all parties present to question the Licensing Authority in relation to its submission. Mrs Moreton provided responses to questions asked.

The Chair invited West Midland Police to make representations. Sgt Steph Reynolds did so as per Appendix 4 of the report.

The Chair invited  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

To pass the following resolution:

That, in accordance with section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business as they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within paragraph 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act relating to any individual.

Resolved:

That, in accordance with section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business as they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within paragraph 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act relating to any individual.

The Chair led round-table introductions and outlined the procedure to be followed.

Jonathan Lloyd, Senior Licensing Officer, outlined the report regarding an application for a Personal Licence, which had been circulated to all parties in advance of the meeting. 

The Applicant confirmed that the information contained within the report was accurate.

The Chair invited the Applicant to present his application.

The Applicant discussed his previous employment and explained how his physical problems had affected his ability to carry out physical work. He acknowledged he had done stupid things when he was younger and stated he was now a changed man with a family.

The Chair afforded all parties present the opportunity to question the Applicant in relation to his submission.

In response to questions from the Sub-Committee and West Midlands Police, the Applicant elaborated further on his personal circumstances and discussed the previous situation.

He stated he had grown up and now had responsibilities as a father. He explained that he wanted to use his Personal Licence, if granted, to organise community events which would bring people together and keep youths off the streets.

The Chair invited West Midlands Police to present their application. Sgt Steph Reynolds did so as per appendix 5 of the report.

The Chair afforded all parties present the opportunity to question West Midlands Police in relation to her submission. Sgt Steph Reynolds provided responses to questions asked.

The Police and Applicant were afforded the opportunity to make a closing statement.

Sgt Steph Reynolds and the Applicant did so.

All parties, with the exception of the Solicitor and Democratic Support Officer, withdrew from the meeting to enable the Sub-Committee to determine the matter.

All interested parties were invited back to the meeting and the Chair advised them of the decision of the Sub-Committee, which was read out in full by the Solicitor.

Resolved:

The Licensing Sub-Committee listened carefully to all the representations made by those in attendance and carefully considered all the paperwork before them and their decision was to grant the application.

The Right of Appeal to all parties to the Local Magistrates Court within 21 days of receiving written notification of the Committees Decision, was stated.