Apologies were received from Dianne Slack, District Officer, Trading Standards.

There were no declarations of interest.

An application for an expedited review of a Premises Licence in respect of The Outback, 50 Queen Street, City Centre, Wolverhampton, WV1 3BJ, had been received from West Midlands Police on 28 January 2019. A Licensing Sub-Committee hearing was head on 30 January 2019 to determine the interim steps required pending full review.

The Chair led round-table introductions and outlined the procedure to be followed. All parties confirmed that they understood the procedure.

Michelle James, Licensing Policy Manager, provided an outline of the application. She reported that since the agenda had been published, mediation had taken place between West Midlands Police and Jake Flannigan, Licensing Consultant representing the Premises Licence Holder. She confirmed that a written copy of this mediation had been published as supplementary information and copies had been sent to all relevant parties.

West Midlands Police confirmed that the summary was accurate.

Jake Flannigan, Licensing Consultant, queried the Sub-Committee report presented by the Licensing Policy Manager and stated he had not received a copy of the document.

Donna Cope, Democratic Services Officer, assured the Licensing Consultant that a copy of the Sub-Committee report had been emailed to both himself and his client, Mr Manjit Singh.

The Chair asked the Licensing Consultant if he and his client wanted to adjourn the Hearing to allow them time to view the report. The Licensing Consultant agreed to this. 

The Sub-Committee adjourned at 10.20 hours.

The Hearing reconvened at 10.30 hours.

Jake Flannigan, Licensing Consultant, advised the Sub-Committee that he and his client had received the specified report via email, but as the document had been encrypted for data protection, neither of them had viewed it.

The Chair invited West Midlands Police to present their application.

PC Michelle Churm, West Midlands Police, confirmed that mediation had occurred with the Licensing Consultant and his client prior to the Hearing and a written agreement between the two parties had been produced. She stated that the only issue outstanding within the agreement was the closing time of the premises as the Licensing Consultant and his client had not agreed to the hours requested by the police.

PC Churm stated that West Midlands Police were satisfied that the agreed amendments and additional conditions to the licence would promote the four licensing objectives. However due to the stabbing that took place on 26 January 2019 and the number of previous incidents at the premises, they believed that the closure time should be reduced from 6.00am to 4.00am.

The Chair afforded all parties present the opportunity to question the Review applicant in relation to her submission. PC Michelle Churm and Inspector Stuart Roberts provided the following responses to questions asked:

·       A log of previous incidents at the premises had not been provided prior to the Hearing due to IT issues, however PC Churm had paper copies with her should anyone wish to view it.

·       The previous incidents included issues with door staff, no knife arch in place and disorder within the premises.

·       A number of the incidents had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.