Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted by Councillor Steve Evans.

There were no declarations of interest.

An application for a Premises Licence in respect of McDonalds Restaurant, 725 Cannock Road, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV10 8PN was considered following representations received from Other Persons.

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

The Chair 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 representations, and to take such steps as contained in the Licensing Act 2003, as it considered appropriate for the promotion of the Licensing Objectives.

Debra Craner, Section Leader – Licensing and Compliance, provided an outline of the application. She stated that Councillor Steve Evans had submitted a written statement that would be read out on his behalf. Mr Chris Weatherstone, Applicant, confirmed that the summary was accurate.

The Chair invited the Applicant to present the application. Mr Weatherstone did so, as per Appendix 1 of the report. He stated the following:

1.         The Application was to extend the premises licence between the hours of 23:00 and midnight, in order to provide services to customers who had been asking for this for some time.

2.         The Applicant served a number of different customers at this time, including shift workers, emergency service workers and those supporting the night-time economy.

3.         An extension would create further sales, generating more working hours and job opportunities in the process. In particular, it would create job opportunities for 18 – 23-year-olds; a group where unemployment was high in the local area.

4.         McDonalds had deep roots in the community, was a community-based restaurant, and strived to be good neighbours.

5.         The Applicant had commissioned an independent company to complete a detailed noise impact report. This concluded that an extension to the hours of operation would not create any additional noise impact for residents.

6.         The Applicant was confident that car park capacity was sufficient and that an extension to the hours of operation would not impact neighbours or congestion on the road or in the car park itself.

7.         The car park was generally quiet from 21:00 onwards, even on peak days on Friday and Saturday. There was also very little footfall into the restaurant after 21:00.

8.         The large petrol station next door operated until midnight, seven days a week.

9.         The Applicant had personally supervised the restaurant for over ten years and there were no major incidents in the evening during that time.

10.       The Applicant had significant experience with operating restaurants with extended hours; there were nine restaurants under his supervision, with most operating on a 24-hour basis and all past 21:00.

11.       Extensive employee training, on call security and CCTV were in place at the restaurant.

12.       There had been no objections from residents or Responsible Authorities.

The Chair afforded all parties present the opportunity to question the Applicant in relation to his submission. Mr Weatherstone responded to questions asked.

The Chair invited Other Persons to make  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.