Agenda and draft minutes

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Contact: Mike Hooper  01902 551250 Email: mike.hooper@wolverhampton.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

2.

Declarations of interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

3.

Exclusion of the Press and Public

To pass the following resolution:

That in accordance with section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business as it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within paragraph 3 of schedule 12A to the act relating to the business affairs of particular persons.

 

Minutes:

Resolved

          That the press and public be excluded.

4.

Licensing Act 2003 - Application for a Variation to a Premise Licence - Drinks Express, 64 Chapel Ash pdf icon PDF 70 KB

Minutes:

An application had been made by Mrs Hardip Kaur and Mr Rajit Singh, the Premises Licence Holders, in respect of Drinks Express, 64 Chapel Ash, Wolverhampton WV3 9TT.

 

The Section Leader (Licensing) provided an outline of the variation application, drawing attention to an administrative error in the report – the premises were in Park Ward, not St. Peter’s. Mrs Kaur confirmed that the summary was accurate.

 

The applicants presented their application.  The request to extend the sale of alcohol for an additional 4 hours, until 3am, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday had been made due to demand from existing customers, including local brewery staff, and following requests to deliver goods after hours.  Currently, people were travelling to a 24 hour off-licence in Penn Fields to purchase alcohol after 11pm.  The applicants felt that the extended hours would allow their business to reach its full capacity, not just through the sale of alcohol but of other goods as well.

 

The applicants stated that they had not had any issues with littering in the vicinity of the shop nor any trouble.  A declaration had been signed following consultation with the Police for the store to have SIA registered door staff.  24 hour CCTV cameras were already in operation and recordings were retained for 30 days.  There was also an incident book on site.  Overall, the applicants felt that they had been very good licence holders with no problems stemming from the sale of alcohol from their premises.

 

The Sub-Committee questioned the Licence holders on their application, with the latter providing the following responses:

 

They had deemed that there was demand for the additional opening hours as a high number of customers had been requesting it for a long time.  Both the brewery and many takeaway outlets were located in the vicinity of the premises and many people wanted to be able to purchase a couple of beers after work or to take home with their food.  It was accepted that when a previous request for extended hours, around 6-7 years ago, was refused there had been alcohol related issues in the area.  However, since the removal of a nearby bus stop those problems had been eradicated.  In addition, if a customer appeared to be drunk they would not be served alcohol.

 

The Police had never been called to the premises.  The only time they had visited was to erect a poster regarding a mental health matter.

 

They were not aware of any anti-social behaviour (ASB) in the vicinity of the shops during its opening hours.  They had also consulted local takeaways with regard to such issues occurring after 11pm but they had been assured that there were no such problems.

 

There had been incidences of ASB at the nearby bus shelter but since it had been removed two years ago such issues no longer existed.

 

The Section Leader – Licensing referred to a meeting between herself, the Licensing Manager, the Council’s ASB Team and the Licence Holders 4 years previous in which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

5.

Application for a Private Hire Driver Licence (11.30)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair made introductions and outlined the procedure to be followed during the meeting.

 

Elaine Moreton, Section Leader – Licensing, outlined the report regarding an application for a Private Hire Driver Licence, which had been circulated to all parties in advance of the meeting.  The matter had been referred to the Sub-Committee in accordance with Guidelines Relating to Relevance of Convictions and Breaches of Licence Conditions, specifically paragraph 5.1.12(a) (Violence).  The conviction would not be clear of the guidelines until October 2019.

 

The Applicant (MR), accompanied by Mr M. Sarfraz, Manager of Blueline Cars of Birmingham who MR had been working for at the time, confirmed that the information contained within the report was accurate.

 

In reference to the relevant conviction, Mr Sarfraz, on behalf of MR, provided a detailed account of the incident which led to it.  He added that he had no concerns regarding the character of MR.  MR stated that he was really sorry that the incident occurred and emphasised that he had a clean driving licence and that the relevant conviction was the only time that he had been in trouble with the Police.

 

All parties, with the exception of the Solicitor and Democratic Support Officer, withdrew from the meeting to enable the Sub-Committee to determine the matter.

 

The parties were invited back to the meeting and the Chair advised them of the decision of the Sub-Committee.

 

Resolved

          That, having considered all of the information presented to the meeting, both written and oral, the Licensing Sub-Committee was not satisfied that the Applicant (MR) was a fit and proper person to hold a Private Hire Driver’s Licence and accordingly the application was refused.

 

The Applicant (MR) has a right of appeal against the decision of the Sub-Committee to the Magistrates’ Court within 21 days of receipt of the decision.

6.

Application for a Private Hire Driver Licence (12.00)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chair made introductions and outlined the procedure to be followed during the meeting.

 

Elaine Moreton, Section Leader – Licensing, outlined the report regarding an application for a Private Hire Driver Licence, which had been circulated to all parties in advance of the meeting.  The matter had been referred to the Sub-Committee in accordance with Guidelines Relating to Relevance of Convictions and Breaches of Licence Conditions, specifically paragraph 5.1.3(b) – Major Traffic Offences.

 

The Applicant (ML), accompanied by Mr S. Ali, Director of 247 Cars, confirmed that the information contained within the report was accurate.

 

Mr Ali stated that the applicant had approached 247 Cars in January 2016 as he seeked employment.  He had found ML to be open and honest and would not hesitate to offer him employment.  ML said that he had been 22 years old at the time of the relevant offence.  He had since matured, had not been in trouble with the Police since and held a clean driving licence.

 

All parties, with the exception of the Solicitor and Democratic Support Officer, withdrew from the meeting to enable the Sub-Committee to determine the matter.

 

The parties were invited back to the meeting and the Chair advised them of the decision of the Sub-Committee.

 

Resolved

          That, having considered all of the information presented to the meeting, both written and oral, the Licensing Sub-Committee was not satisfied that the Applicant (ML) was a fit and proper person to hold a Private Hire Driver’s Licence and accordingly the application was refused.

 

The Applicant (ML) has a right of appeal against the decision of the Sub-Committee to the Magistrates’ Court within 21 days of receipt of the decision.