Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

The Chair stated that in 2018, he served as a member of the Planning committee when the planning application for the premises had first been considered. He had no longer been a member of the planning committee and served only one year.

Additionally, Cllr Inston had also been a member of the planning committee that considered the original planning application. Councillor Inston remained on the Planning Committee and was now Chair of the Planning committee.

Legal advice had been taken and the Chair and Councillor Inston had been satisfied that they had not been pre-determined and would approach the application on its own merits in line with the Statement of Licensing Policy, the Licensing Act 2003 and the guidance under the act. In addition to any relevant representations.

An application for a Premises Licence in respect of Rose Garden Banqueting Hall, 295 Parkfield Road, Wolverhampton, WV4 6ED was considered following representations received from the Licensing Authority, Environmental Health, Planning, West Midlands Police, Councillor Paul Birch and Other Persons.

Jaswinder Kaur, Democratic Services Manager, welcomed all parties to the hearing and explained that the meeting would be conducted in line with The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020. She invited all parties to introduce themselves and all parties did so.

The Chair welcomed all parties to the hearing and outlined the procedure to be followed. All parties confirmed that they understood the procedure.

Debra Craner, Section Leader Licensing, provided an outline of the application. She advised that the premises had been situated within the CIZ and that the Applicant had mediated with West Midlands Police. Copies of the mediation were attached at appendix 11. Mr Leo Charalambides, Barrister on behalf of the applicant, confirmed that the summary provided was accurate.

The Chair invited the Applicant to present the application.

Mr Leo Charalambides, on behalf of the Applicant, did so as per Appendix 1 of the report. He advised that the following changes had been made to the application to address the concerns raised in the Responsible Authorities and Other Persons representations:

1. The licence will include neither the Provision of Late-Night Refreshments nor the Provision of Boxing or Wrestling Entertainments;
2. The opening hours of the premises shall be 10:00 to 23:00 hours;
3. The licensable hours shall be 11:00 to 23:00 hours on all days;
4. The licence shall only apply to the ground floor of the venue, specifically excluding the first-floor area;

He advised the Committee that mediation had occurred between the Applicant and Environmental Health and queried if Committee Members had sight of the mediation documents. Kirsty Tuffin, Democratic Services Officer, confirmed that all mediation documents had been circulated to Committee Members prior to the hearing and copies of these would be published on the Council website following the hearing.

The Chair afforded all parties present the opportunity to question the Applicant and their representative in relation to its submission.

Mr Leo Charalambides responded to questions asked.

The Chair invited the Licensing Authority to make representations. Mrs Elaine Moreton, Section Leader Licensing, did so as per Appendix 4 of the report. She requested that consideration be given to a reduction in licensable hours to allow for a ‘drinking up’ period, all other representations centring on compliance with planning consent now having been complied with.

The Chair afforded all parties present the opportunity to question the Licensing Authority in relation to its submission. Mrs Elaine Moreton responded to questions asked.

The Chair invited Environmental Health to make representations. Emma Waites, Senior Officer – Food and Consumer Safety, did so as per appendix 7 of the report. She confirmed that mediation had taken place between Environmental Health and the Applicant and no longer had concerns  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.