Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

An application for a review of a Premises Licence in respect of Billa Mini Market, 90 Upper Villiers Street, Wolverhampton, WV2 4NX had been received from the Licensing Authority in its capacity as a Responsible Authority.

The Chair welcomed all parties to the hearing and invited all those present to introduce themselves. All parties did so. She 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.

Anita Chonk, Senior Licensing and Compliance Officer, provided an outline of the report. She stated that the original hearing, scheduled on 14 December 2023, had been adjourned after a request was received from the Premises Licence Holder’s representative.

Amitabh Singh, Section Leader – Licensing, confirmed that the summary was accurate.

The Chair invited the Licensing Authority to present their application. The Section Leader – Licensing, did so as per Appendix 3 of the report. He stated the following:

1.       On 2 May 2023, during a routine compliance inspection of the premises, neither the Premises Licence Holder or Designated Premises Supervisor were present, and several breaches of the licence conditions were noted.

2.       On 1 June 2023, a further visit was conducted, and several breaches of the licence conditions were still outstanding.

3.       On 6 June 2023, a visit confirmed that there were no longer single cans and bottles of alcohol with an ABV of 6.5 or over for sale.

4.       On 7 June 2023, the Premises Licence Holder submitted an application for a Variation of a Premises Licence to extend the licensable activity for the supply of alcohol off the premises and to amend the operating schedule to allow the sale of single cans and bottles of alcohol over 6.5 ABV. This application was withdrawn on 1 August 2023.

5.       On 14 July 2023, during a telephone conversation, it became apparent that the Designated Premises Supervisor was not involved with the premises.

6.       The Premises Licence Holder was advised to submit an application to vary the Designated Premises Supervisor to reflect the day-to-day management of the premises.

7.       On 10 August 2023, a Licensing and Compliance Officer entered the premises at approximately 8:20am and was able to purchase alcohol, in breach of the premises’ licensable hours to trade from 09:00 to 22:45 hours, Monday to Sunday.

8.       On 16 August 2023, a visit to the premises found several breaches of licence conditions remained outstanding from the visit on 1 June 2023. 

9.       No application to vary the Designated Premises Supervisor had been received from the Premises Licence Holder.

10.      The Licensing Authority requested that the Licensing Sub-Committee consider removing the current Designated Premises Supervisor and suspending the Premises Licence for three months, or until all licence conditions had been satisfactorily complied with. 

11.      The Licensing Sub-Committee may instead conclude that there would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.