Agenda and draft minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

[Hearing following representations by the Premises Licence Holder]

In Attendance

For the premises

Mr Steve Nation – Premises Licence Holder

Mr John Coen – Partner, Weightmans LLP – Counsel on behalf of the Premises Licence Holder

Mr Peter Thacker – Designated Premises Supervisor

Responsible Authority

Sgt Jake Flanagan – West Midlands Police

PC Mitch Harvey – West Midlands Police

The Chair, Cllr Alan Bolshaw, introduced the parties and outlined the purpose of and the procedure to be followed at the meeting.

Rob Edge, Section Leader (Licensing) outlined the report submitted to the meeting, which had been circulated to the parties in advance.

Sgt Flanagan outlined the application for an expedited summary review of the premises licence due to the opinion of the West Midlands Police that the Premises Licence Holder and the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) had demonstrated a failure to uphold the conditions of the premises licence or sufficiently uphold the licensing objectives and cited intelligence of crime arising from the operation of an organised crime group and the sale and use of drugs at the premises and its car park.  A warrant under S23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act having been granted by magistrates, on 4 March 2016 a police operation involving in excess of 40 officers and sniffer dogs had been carried out.  This had led to the recovery of £800 of Class A drugs, namely cocaine, and digital weighing scales, and £600 of Class B drugs, namely cannabis.  Self-seal bags containing drugs had been found on the premises and numerous discarded and empty bags were found on the floor and in the male toilets.  Hydroponic equipment that could be used to cultivate drugs had been found in the cellar of the premises.  Also found at the premises were non-duty cigarettes and tobacco and non-duty spirits.

Sgt Flanagan confirmed that the DPS had been arrested at the scene and had been bailed pending further investigation.  He added that the DPS had not cooperated with the Police’s investigation and that he had declined to answer questions under caution.  Sgt Flanagan emphasised that he was not suggesting that the DPS was dealing drugs but stressed that the DPS must have known that such activity was being carried out at the licenced premises.  He stated that the Chief Constable was seeking to seriously disrupt this and was therefore applying for an immediate suspension of the licence.

At this point, a video recording of the police operation on 4 March 2016, derived from the Express & Star website, was played for the benefit of the Sub-Committee and attendees.

Cllr Alan Bolshaw enquired about the steps required to eliminate the dealing of drugs from the premises car park.  Sgt Flanagan responded by stating that the Police had been advised that such activity was a regular occurrence and, furthermore, that a number of deal wraps had been found in the residential area of the premises, which was used by the DPS.

Cllr Alan Bolshaw sought clarification on the recovery of the drugs, it having been confirmed that cocaine  ...  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 item of business as it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within paragraph 3 of schedule 12A to the act relating to the business affairs of particular persons.]

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 item of business as it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A to the Act relating to the business affairs of particular persons.

The Sub-Committee discussed the issues which had been raised during consideration of the application.

The parties returned to the meeting and were advised of the Sub-Committee’s decision as follows.

An application was received from the West Midlands Police on 8 March 2016 for an Expedited Summary Review in respect of the Talisman, Wildtree Avenue, Wolverhampton WV10 8LL.  The review application cited an incident of serious crime on the premises on 4 March 2016.

The Chief of Police had provided a certificate under Section 53A(1)(B) of the Licensing Act 2003, stating that the premises were associated with serious crime and requesting that interim steps be applied to the premises licence pending a full review hearing.

The Sub-Committee heard from the West Midlands Police that:

1.     Intelligence having indicated that drug dealing activity was occurring at The Talisman, with organised crime involvement, a Police operation took place on 4 March 2016.

2.     During this Police operation the following were recovered from the premises:

·         £800 of Class A drugs (cocaine) and £800 of Class B drugs (cannabis)

·         Digital weighing scales

·         Hydroponic equipment that could be used in the cultivation of cannabis

·         Quantities of Golden Virginia tobacco pouches, cigarettes, spirits and clothing, which were suspected to be either counterfeit or non-duty paid items.

·         Deal bags and wraps and discarded cannabis cigarettes.

3.     Four persons had been arrested and one had been issued with a street caution during the Police operation.

4.     The DPS, Mr Thacker, had not cooperated with the Police during the operation and had not replied to questions asked during caution.

5.     If convicted of these offences of possessing with intent to supply a controlled Class B drug, the DPS and his staff could reasonably be expected to be sentenced to a maximum of 14 years imprisonment.

The Sub-Committee heard from and on behalf of the Premises Licence Holder that:

1.     The DPS had substantial experience, being based at The Talisman for 21 years, and that during this time assistance from the Police had only been requested on six occasions.

2.     The DPS was unaware of the existence of the Class A and Class B drugs recovered from the premises and that these could have been brought onto the premises by customers or other persons.

3.     The DPS was unaware of the hydroponic equipment found in the cellar of The Talisman.

4.     The tobacco and spirits had been brought back from foreign holidays for personal use, that the spirits had been purchased legitimately, and that the items of clothing were in the ownership of the DPS.

5.     The failure to call for Police assistance, for instance at the time of the fracas on New Year’s Eve, and the standing of The Talisman in its community was reflective of the clientele that used the premises.

The Sub-Committee was satisfied that a serious crime had occurred on the premises.  Serious disorder was to be given its plain ordinary meaning and as such the Sub-Committee was satisfied that serious disorder had occurred on the premises.

Based on the information before the Sub-Committee, consideration was given to whether it is appropriate to take interim steps pending determination of the review and,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.