Agenda and minutes

Venue: Online meeting

Contact: Donna Cope, Democratic Services Officer  Tel: 01902 554452 Email:  donna.cope@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

2.

Declarations of interest

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

3.

Licensing Act 2003 - Application for a Review of a Premises Licence in respect of The Pendulum, Blaydon Road, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV9 5NP pdf icon PDF 289 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

An application for a review of a Premises Licence by West Midlands Police in respect of The Pendulum, Blaydon Road, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV9 5NP was considered following representations received from Licensing, the Home Office, Trading Standards and Other Persons.

 

The Chair advised all parties that the previous hearing had been adjourned to allow additional documentation to be redacted if necessary and circulated to all parties.

 

Jaswinder Kaur, Democratic Services Manager, confirmed that all parties were given the opportunity to submit additional documentation by 20 June 2022 and that all information submitted by that date had been circulated to all parties.

 

After discussion, it was confirmed that an exempt document submitted by West Midlands Police was a matter of public record and the Sub-Committee would not need to enter exempt session to discuss it.

 

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 Sub-Committee’s statutory duty was to consider the application and any representations, and to take such steps as contained in the Licensing Act 2003 as it considered appropriate for the promotion of the licensing objectives.

 

After consideration, the Sub-Committee determined that late documentation, which had been submitted by the Premises Licence Holder after 20 June 2022, would be excluded from the hearing.

 

Debra Craner, Section Leader Licensing, provided an outline of the application. Mr Gary Grant, Barrister representing the Applicant, confirmed that the summary was accurate. Mr Geoff Parry, Solicitor for the Premises Licence Holder, confirmed that the summary was accurate.

 

The Chair invited the Applicant to present the application. Mr Gary Grant, Barrister representing the Applicant, did so as per Appendices 3 and 12 of the report. He stated the following:

1.       The Pendulum pub operated as a hub for criminal activity and a base for human trafficking and was operated by both Mr Ali, and his father Khalil Ali.

2.       On 15 October 2021, Khalil Ali had been arrested in Poland on human trafficking offences and had since been convicted of those criminal offences.

3.       It was clear that the pub, the car wash that operated from the pub car park and the residences above the pub were one operation, albeit split into different corporate entities.

4.       On 25 February 2022, a multi-agency visit found three illegal workers at the car wash. They confirmed that they lived above the pub and were employed and paid by Mr Ali. An error in Home Office procedure had prevented the usual Fixed Penalty Notice from being issued on this occasion.

5.       On 25 February 2022, a Licensing Compliance Check found that 15 conditions had been breached. A visit on 18 March 2022 found 16 breaches and a visit on 25 March 2022 found 17 breaches. Khalil Ali had been in charge on both visits made by officers in March.

6.       The premises licence had been revoked in May 2020 under the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.