Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

An application for a Premises Licence in respect of Shisha Point, Sunbeam Street, Wolverhampton, WV2 4LA was considered following representations received from West Midlands Fire Service 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.

The Chair reminded all parties that the initial Hearing on Thursday 14 April 2022, had been adjourned so that Members of the Sub-Committee could conduct a site visit in order to assess the layout of the balcony. That site visit had now been conducted and consideration of the Application could resume.

Debra Craner, Section Leader Licensing, provided an outline of the application. Mr Mohammed Ali, Applicant, confirmed that the summary was accurate.

The Chair invited Other Persons to make representations. Councillor Paul Birch did so as per Appendix 4 of the report. He stated that the premises was not suitable for the proposed business and that access and egress via a fire escape was neither safe nor compliant.

The Chair invited all parties present to question Councillor Birch in relation to his submission. No questions were asked.

Dave Abel, Solicitor and Legal advisor to the Sub-Committee, reminded Members that they could only consider the application in relation to the Licensing Objectives under the Licensing Act, and not as enforcement action under any other legislation.

The Chair invited Other Persons to make representations. Gary Wood

did so as per Appendices 5 - 6 of the report and stated that:

• The postcode on the application form was incorrect.
• There were issues with the fire exit.
• There were parking issues at the premises.
• The applicant did not have use of the car park opposite.
• Planning permission should not have been granted.

Dave Abel, Solicitor and Legal advisor, confirmed that the address of the premises was correct and stated again that planning issues could not be considered by the Licensing Sub-Committee.

The Chair invited all parties present to question Mr Wood in relation to his submission. No questions were asked.

The Chair invited all parties present to make their final address.

Councillor Paul Birch, Neil Aston-Baugh and Mr Ali made a final statement,

and Dave Abel, Solicitor, provided legal guidance to Members.

Councillor Page, Councillor Muston, Councillor Inston, the Solicitor and Democratic Services Officer, withdrew from the meeting to enable the Sub-Committee to determine the matter.

The Sub-Committee adjourned at 13.34 hours.

The Hearing reconvened at 14:07 hours.

Councillor Page, Councillor Muston, Councillor Inston, the Solicitor and Democratic Services Officer re-joined the meeting.

The Chair advised all parties of the decision of the Sub-Committee, which was read out by the Solicitor.

Resolved:

The Statutory Licensing Sub-Committee listened carefully to all of the representations made by those attending and carefully considered the paperwork placed before them. They also had regard to the guidance issued by the secretary of state under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 and Wolverhampton Council’s  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.