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Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Roger Croft Room Council Offices Market Street Newbury. View directions

Contact: Moira Fraser / Maria Legge 

Items
No. Item

1.

Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations of interest from Members.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest received.

2.

Application No. 17/01614/LQN - The Vault Club, 4A The Kennet Centre, Newbury pdf icon PDF 215 KB

Proposal:     To review the premises licence under Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Location:      The Vault Club, 4A The Kennet Centre, Newbury, RG14 5EN

Applicant:     Thames Valley Police

Additional documents:

Decision:

NOTICE OF DECISION

 

The Licensing Sub Committee of West Berkshire Council met on 24th September 2019 and considered Application 17/01614/LQN made by Thames Valley Police as Responsible Authority for a review of the premises license issued in respect of The Vault Club, 4A The Kennet Centre,Newbury, RG14 5EN and Resolved to Revoke the Premises Licence

 

In coming to their decision, the Sub-Committee had regard to the four licensing objectives, which are:

 

1.            the prevention of crime and disorder;

2.            public safety;

3.            the prevention of public nuisance; and

4.            the protection of children from harm.

 

They also considered the Department of Culture, Media and Sport Guidance on the Licensing Act 2003 and West Berkshire Council’s licensing policy.

 

The Sub Committee heard representations made by:

 

1.    The Applicant:  PC Simon Wheeler, Thames Valley Police as a Responsible Authority

 

Decision

 

Having taken all relevant representations into account, the Licensing Sub Committee RESOLVED that further to Application reference 17/01614/LQN the Premises Licence be Revoked.

 

Reasons

 

The Sub Committee heard evidence from PC Wheeler that the Premises Licence was issued on the 12th January 2018 after lengthy consultations with Thames Valley Police to establish a suitable operating schedule that contained what was hoped to be sufficient conditions to ensure the premises would promote the licensing objectives.

 

However since the licence has been in operation, a number of incidents have occurred at the premises ranging from public order incidents, assaults, vulnerability of customers, inconsistencies in door supervision and concerns regarding under 18’s and boxing events.

 

In addition, Thames Valley Police as a Responsible Authority, had undertaken two licensing inspections, on the 16th January 2018 and the 9th February 2019 respectively, which demonstrated inherent failures to comply with the conditions attached to the premises licence. Examples provided related to the quality and provision of CCTV, usage of the Newbury radio system, and ID scan equipment.

 

Two Section 19 Closure Notices had been served on the premises licence holder, neither of which has led to any greater compliance.

 

On the 22nd February 2019, Thames Valley Police arranged a performance meeting to be held with the premises licence holder, however neither the premises licence holder nor did any representative attend the meeting. Thames Valley Police did not receive any communication from the premises licence holder nor a representative to explain the reasons for non-attendance.

 

The Sub Committee found the evidence from PC Wheeler to be both reliable and credible. The Sub Committee noted that the oral representations made by PC Wheeler were substantiated by documentation which had been submitted with the Sub Committee Licensing Hearing Pack and which the Sub Committee took into account in their deliberations.

 

The Sub Committee noted that the Premises Licence was granted on the 12th January 2018, and on the evening of the 12th January 2018 an assault occurred on the premises.

 

In addition the Sub Committee noted that on the 10th March 2018 Thames Valley police were required to attend the premises  ...  view the full decision text for item 2.

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee considered a report (Agenda Item 2(1)) concerning a review of the premises licence (17/01614/LQN) held by Big Fish Clubs UK Ltd for The Vault Club, 4A The Kennet Centre in Newbury.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, Amanda Ward (Licensing Officer, West Berkshire Council) and PC Simon Wheeler (Applicant) addressed the Sub-Committee on this application.

Ms Ward, in addressing the Sub-Committee, raised the following points:

·           The Licensing Authority received the application for a review of the premises licence under section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003 on the 31st July 2019. This application had been recorded under reference number 19/00998/LQN.

·           The premises operated as a Night Club providing regulated activities including Boxing and Wrestling, Live Music, Recorded Music, Performance of Dance, Late Night Refreshment and the supply of Alcohol. Regulated activity took place on the premises between the hours of 11:00 to 03:30 Monday to Sunday with the exception of Boxing and Wrestling which took place on the premises Friday and Saturday between 13:00 and 23:00.

·           The premise licence was granted on 6th January 2018 to Big Fish Clubs UK Limited. The current Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) was Mr Robert Anderson. Mr Anderson’s Personal Licence was issued by Swindon Borough and Ms Ward confirmed that there had been no variation of the DPS or transfer requests since the licence was first granted.

·           The Licensing Authority was satisfied that this application for review met the appropriate legislative requirements as set out within the Licensing Act 2003 and was therefore a valid application to be considered by the Panel.

·           The 28 day consultation period ran from 1st August 2019 to 28th August 2019 and Ms Ward confirmed that the required site notices were placed at the premises by officers of the Public Protection Partnership and at the main entrance to the Council Offices on 1st August 2019. 

·           During the statutory consultation period no relevant representations had been received from any other Responsible Authorities nor other parties to either support or object to the application for review.

·           Ms Ward completed a Companies House search on Friday 20th September 2019 to establish the current status of the company Big Fish Clubs UK Limited. The current company status shows as Active – Active proposal to strike off.

·           Ms Ward also confirmed that as of today’s date, no communication had been received from the Premises Licence holder in response to the application for review.

·           Contact had been made with the Kennet Centre Management company who confirmed that they had not seen anyone from the company for a long time (many months) and that the premises was not currently trading. There had however been no surrender of the licence.

PC Wheeler, in addressing the Sub-Committee, raised the following points:

·           Thames Valley Police (TVP) recommended that the premises licence be revoked. This was primarily to prevent crime and disorder, but this request to review and revoke the licence applied to all four objectives of the Licensing Act. The others being  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.