Agenda and draft minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

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.

Resolved      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.

The Sub-Committee broke for lunch.

Following lunch, the meeting resumed in public session.

An application had been made by Ms K. Eskandari for a Premises Licence Holders in respect of Pizza Donnini, 11 High Street, Bilston, Wolverhampton WV14 0EH.

The Section Leader (Licensing) provided an outline of the application and drew attention to an error in the report – the map attached as part of Appendix 3, which was supposed to detail Bilston’s Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ), showed the wrong area.  Corrrect maps were tabled for all parties.

Ms Eskandari confirmed that the report (with replacement map) and the summary provided by the Section Leader (Licensing) was accurate.

Mr P. Burke of PMB Licensing, on behalf of and accompanied by the applicant, presented the application, stating the following:

·     Ms Eskandari had run Pizza Donnini for 7 years and there had been no concerns raised with regard to her character or the business;

·     Prior to becoming the proprietor of the business, Ms Eskandari had spent 15 years as a support worker (P3 Social Exclusion) for people with drug and alcohol related issues;

·     The application had been submitted primarily to provide the business with a point of difference, a unique selling point, on the Just Eat website/app.  Alcohol would be sold only online and would not be available for sale or collection on site;

·     The applicant had met with the Police prior to submission of the application.  The Police had assisted with the wording to be included in the application and were happy for it to be submitted;

·     Similarly, the applicant had met with the Council’s Environmental Health prior to submission of the application and had agreed conditions with them relating to issues raised;

·     With regard to the concerns raised by Ward Councillors in relation to the consumption of alcohol on the streets and of the potential for increased anti-social behaviour, neither of those would be realised as alcohol would not be served on site, it would only be sold as part of deliveries;

·     Alcohol would only be sold as an addition to food orders to be delivered, making it unlikely that anyone living within the CIZ, and therefore the vicinity of the shop, would utilise the service;

·     The applicant and her delivery drivers had received training on how to deal with awkward or aggressive customers.  Delivery drivers would refuse to provide alcohol to customers that were abusive, drunk or failed to show identification;

·     It would be stated on Just Eat that on delivery of orders including alcohol the customer would have to show identification that matched up to the cardholder that placed the order.  If it could not be provided, the alcohol would not be handed over;

In response to questions from the Sub-Committee, Mr Burke and Ms Eskandari stated the following:

·     The premises currently operated as a takeaway and small restaurant with 4 tables.  Trading hours in operation were until 11pm;

·     If an aggressive person demanded alcohol with a food order in-store it would be refused.  Alcohol would not be available for sale on site nor advertised on site;

·     Alcohol would not be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

This matter had been deferred in advance of the meeting and would be considered by the Licensing Sub-Committee on 2 December 2016.