Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any declarations of interest from Members.

(Councillor Billy Drummond declared a personal and prejudicial interest in Agenda item 2(1) by virtue of the fact that he knew several of the objectors personally. As his interest was personal and prejudicial he left the meeting and took no part in the debate or voting on the matter).

Proposal:     An Application for a premises licence to be granted under the Licensing Act 2003

Location:      Newbury Premier, 3 Monument Close, Essex Street, Newbury RG14 6QW

Applicant:     Eng Retails Ltd

NOTICE OF DECISION 

The Licensing Sub-Committee of West Berkshire Council met on 13 November 2023 and resolved to approve Application 22643 in respect Newbury Premier, 3 Monument Close, Essex Street, Newbury subject to conditions which are set out below. 

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 Home Office Revised Guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 and West Berkshire Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy.  

The Sub-Committee considered the Application submitted by the Applicant, which appeared at Appendix 1-3 of the Agenda pack. 

The Sub-Committee heard representations made by: 

1. The Applicant: Thusyanthan Thiyagarajah through his agent Robert Jordan 
2. Ward Member: Councillor David Marsh 

The Licensing Sub-Committee also considered all relevant written representations of objectors, who did not attend.

The Sub-Committee considered the proposed conditions which were agreed between Thames Valley Police and the Applicant and appeared at Appendix 4 of the Agenda pack.

The Sub-Committee further considered the extract of the training manual which was submitted by the Applicant. This material had been emailed by the Applicant’s agent to the Licencing Authority on the 7^th November 2023, which was less than 5 clear working days before the date of the hearing. The Applicant applied for this late material to be introduced and this was admitted into evidence on the day of the hearing with the agreement of all participants.

Decision 

Having taken those representations into account, the Licensing Sub-Committee RESOLVED that Application 22643 be granted subject to the conditions as in the operating schedule, as modified below, as well as any relevant mandatory conditions in ss19-21 of the Licensing Act 2003 and secondary legislation. 

Operating Schedule 

Box J: Supply of Alcohol 

Monday to Sunday 6:00 - 23:00off the premises only

Conditions:  

CCTV

1. The premises licence holder shall ensure the premises' digitally recorded CCTV system cameras shall continually record whilst the premises are open to the public, and recordings shall be kept for a minimum of 31 days, with time and date stamping. The entire licensable area shall be covered by the CCTV.
2. There shall be at least one camera positioned at each entry and exit point to monitor any external areas to the premises. This includes any areas designated for a designated smoking area.
3. Data recordings shall be made immediately available to an authorised officer of Thames Valley Police or West Berkshire District Council together with facilities for viewing upon request.
4. Recorded images shall be of such quality as to be able to identify the recorded person in any light.
5. At least one member of staff on the premises at any time during operating hours shall be trained to access and download material from the CCTV system.
6. Signs shall be placed in prominent positions on the premises notifying Customer's that CCTV is in operation.

Incident Register

1. All incidents which  ...  view the full decision text for item 8.

Councillor Drummond left the meeting and Councillor Clive Taylor stood in for the Councillor.

The Sub-Committee considered a report (Agenda Item 2(1)) concerning Licensing Application 22643 in respect of Newbury Premier, 3 Monument Close, Essex Street, Newbury RG14 6QW.

The Chairman stated that the Sub-Committee decided that the meeting would proceed in the Objector's absence in compliance with Regulations, when making this decision. the Sub-Committee considered that:

·         Enough time had been given to the objector to attend (47 min) 

·         That the Objector had made a valid written representation therefore his views would be taken into account by the Sub-Committee.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, Philippa Heath (Licensing Officer, West Berkshire Council), Mr Thusyanthan Thiyagarajah (Applicant), Mr Robert Jordan BSc (Agent) and Councillor David Marsh (Ward Member) addressed the Sub-Committee on this application.

The applicant made a request to provide late evidence to the Sub-Committee and it was explained that it was a document that detailed the training procedure for staff that would sell alcohol.

As the material had been submitted out of time, it was explained to all parties that the material could only be introduced, if this was unanimously agreed.

Councillor Dick proposed to allow the evidence to be introduced and this was seconded by Councillor Taylor. The vote was put to all parties, and it was agreed unanimously.

The Sub-Committee adjourned at 10:30 am to provide members of the Sub-Committee and all parties, with an opportunity to read the document and returned at 10:47 am.

Ms Heath introduced the report to Members, which took account of all the relevant policy considerations and outlined the application timeline. Ms Heath explained there had been no representations made by responsible authorities.

Councillor Taylor questioned whether the Objector from Newbury Town Council represented the Town Council’s view or was it personal and the Chairman advised that it was considered at the Newbury Town Council meeting, however this would have been covered in the consultation.

Mr Jordan, in addressing the Sub-Committee, raised the following points:

·           There had been no responses from Responsible Authorities.

·            The s182 Guidance at paragraph 10.15 states that stores and supermarkets should normally be free to provide sales of alcohol for consumption off the premises at any times when the retail outlet is open for shopping unless there are good reasons, based on the licensing objectives, for restricting those hours, and that the application was within retail hours.

·           A lot of the representations made were speculative or not relevant.

·           There were conditions suggested that were agreed by Thames Valley Police to help make the application acceptable.

·           Environmental Health did not make a representation.

·           The applicant had 12 years of experience of working in similar shops and had also experience as a DPS. 

Councillor Dick queried whether the Thames Valley Police conditions were difficult to accept, and Mr Thiyagarajah explained that they were easily taken on board.

Councillor Dick asked about the number of people that would be employed by the Applicant and Mr Thiyagarajah stated there would be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.