Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

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, West Midlands Police, Public Health and Other Persons.

The Chair welcomed all parties to the hearing and invited all those present to introduce themselves. All parties did so. He outlined the procedure to be followed and all parties confirmed that they understood the procedure.

Elizabeth Gregg, Senior Licensing and Compliance Officer, provided an outline of the application. She highlighted an error on page 4 of the Agenda Pack and noted that the date the application was received should state 29 July 2021.

Leo Charalambides, Barrister representing the Applicant, Mr Kuljinder Pahal, questioned the status of Appendix 3 and asked if there were maps for the five Culminative Impact Zones as he could not find them within the published Statement of Licensing Policy.

Following a discussion on the matter, it was agreed to continue with the proceedings and that Sarah Hardwick, Senior Solicitor, would provide clarification on the issue before close of the Hearing.

The Chair invited the Applicant to present the application. Leo Charalambides, Barrister representing the Applicant, did so as per Appendix 1 of the report. He stated the following:

1. There was an existing premises licence in place for the ground floor and the Applicant now wished to extend operations to the mezzanine/first floor area.
2. There would be no overall change to the occupancy restrictions of 600 people or to the proposed hours of operation.
3. The premises were mainly used as a banqueting hall for weddings.
4. In relation to Cumulative Impact, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy talked about primary activity which for this premises was food led. The policy further promoted a matrix approach, supported restaurants, and suggested that they should be allowed to open until midnight. These premises were only open until 23:00 and alcohol sales were a minimal part of what the premises did. This type of premises was an exception to none grant under the policy and the responsible authorities had not objected to that argument.
5. Environmental Health had made no representations and were satisfied with the Noise Management Plan that was in place.
6. West Midlands Police had withdrawn their representations.

The Chair afforded all parties present the opportunity to question Mr Charalambides and his client in relation to his submission. In response to questions asked Mr Charalambides stated the following:

1. There had been three Temporary Event Notices at the premises in the last year and no issues had arisen.
2. Additional parking provisions had been agreed with the Planning Authority.
3. The current schedule would be incorporated into the new licence.
4. The premises were not alcohol led.
5. Overparking was not a licensing issue and was being dealt with by the Planning Authority.
6. Environmental Health were the experts, and they had no concerns regarding noise.

The Chair invited the Licensing Authority to make representations. Amitabh Singh, Section Leader Licensing, did so as per Appendix 4  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.