Agenda item

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 impact on any of the four licensing objectives shall be recorded in a register kept at the premises for this purpose.
2. The names of the person recording the incident, and those members of staff who deal with any incident shall also be recorded. Where known, any offenders name will also be recorded.
3. This record shall be available for inspection by a Police Officer or an Authorised officer of West Berkshire District Council upon request and shall be retained for one year.
4. The record shall be signed off by the DPS or nominated representative on a monthly basis.

 

Staff Training

1. Staff employed to sell alcohol shall undergo training upon induction. This shall include, but not be limited to:

• The premises age verification policy

• The law relating to underage sales

• Dealing with refusal of sales

• Proxy purchasing

• Recognising valid identity documents not in the English language

• How to identify and safeguard vulnerable persons who attend the premises

• The four licensing objectives

Such training sessions are to be documented and refreshed every six months.

2. All training sessions are to be documented in English. Records of training shall be kept for a minimum of one year and be made available to an authorised officer of Thames Valley Police and West Berkshire District Council upon request.
3. Before any person is employed at the premises sufficient checks will be made of their bona fides to ensure they are legally entitled to employment in the UK. Such checks shall include:

• Proof of identity (such as a copy of their passport)

• Nationality

• Current immigration status

4. Employment checks will be subject of making copies of any relevant documents produced by the employee, which will be retained on the premises and kept for a minimum period of one year. Employment records as they relate to the checking of a person's right to work will be made available to an authorised officer of West Berkshire District Council or Thames Valley Police upon request.

 

Prevention of Public Nuisance:

1. Clearly legible and suitable notices shall be displayed at all exits requesting Customers to respect the needs of local residents and to leave the premises and Area, quietly.
2. Staff shall actively discourage and disperse persons who congregate outside the Premises, to minimise disturbance to local residents.

 

The Protection of Children from harm:

 

Age Verification

1. The premises shall at all times operate an age verification policy of at least Challenge 25 to prevent any customers who appear to staff members to be under the age of 25 years from purchasing alcohol without having first provided identification.
2. Only a valid driver's licence showing a photograph of the person, a valid passport, national identity card or proof of age card showing the "PASS" hologram (or any other nationally accredited scheme as set down within the mandatory conditions) are to be accepted as identification.

Refusal Book

1. All staff involved in the sale of alcohol shall be trained to record refusals of sales of alcohol in a refusals log (whether written or electronic). The log shall contain:

• Details of the time and date the refusal was made;

• The identity of the staff member refusing the sale;

• Any detail or description of the person refused and the reason why

2. The refusals log will be available for inspection by a Police Officer or Authorised Officer of West Berkshire District Council upon request.

 

Public Safety:

 

Lighting

 

1. All external lighting shall be positioned in such a way so as not to disturb or intrude upon local residents or businesses.

 

Reasons:  

 

The Licensing Sub-Committee considered the Application, together with the relevant written and oral representations made.  

 

The Sub-Committee considered the representations from all parties and noted that the concerns of the objectors related mainly to the licencing objectives of prevention of crime and disorder and the prevention of public nuisance. The police are a key source of information and advice on the impact of licensable activities, particularly on the crime and disorder objective; Environmental Health, is a key source of information and advice in relation to public nuisance. The Sub-Committee noted that Responsible Authorities had not made any representations in relation to this application and Thames Valley Police had agreed conditions with the Applicant.

 

The Sub-Committee, having taken into account the relevant written and oral representations, and having considered the type, location, and characteristics of the premises established that an earlier end-time, of one hour compared to the hours applied for on Friday and Saturday, in relation to the supply of alcohol, was suitable for this premises and a reasonable and proportionate step to ensure the licensing objectives of prevention of public nuisance and crime and disorder are not undermined.

 

The Licensing Sub-Committee decided that the promotion of the licensing objectives could be achieved through conditions. The Sub-Committee was satisfied that the conditions as set out in the operating schedule and those that had been agreed between Thames Valley Police and the Applicant, and modified above, were reasonable, proportionate and appropriate in all the circumstances.

 

In reaching its decision, the Sub-Committee noted the Council as Licensing Authority must determine each application under the Licensing Act 2003 on its own merits, and every decision must be both justified and proportionate based on the available evidence in accordance with the Statutory Guidance and the Council’s Licensing Policy.  

 

 

 

Cllr Phil Barnett(Chairman)

Cllr Clive Taylor

Cllr Paul Dick

Date: 17/11/2023

 

 

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 three full-time members of staff and one part-time.

Councillor Dick requested to know what areas the CCTV would cover, and it was explained that there would be two cameras one that would monitor the front of the site and the other would monitor the side.

Councillor Taylor asked what the applicant would do to minimise anti-social behaviour and it was argued that the conditions put forward by Thames Valley Police should be sufficient and that people would not be served who were already drunk.

Councillor David Marsh in addressing the Sub-Committee, raised the following points:

·         That there were concerns over the late-night sale of alcohol and that there may not be a market for alcohol past 22:00 pm.

·         There were already issues with public nuisance in the area and the site could make this worse, as residents who had got drunk in the pub may be inclined to buy alcohol after the pub closes.

·         That the Sub-Committee should shorten the alcohol license hours.

Mr Jordan, in summing up for the Sub-Committee, raised the following points:

·         Thames Valley Police had provided conditions and if these were to be followed there should be no public disorder.

·         That all the claims of further public nuisance were speculative.

·         That Environmental Health raised no objections.

The Sub-Committee retired at 11:10 to make its decision.

Having taken the representations into account, including the written representations made by Blake Ludwig, Chris Hobbs, Chris Brown, Meg Thomas, David McTurk, Dorothy Hogg, Gemma Fuller, Hannah Hickson, Jennie Drake, Laura Carter, Marian Fenn, Mary Moffatt and Shelley Dancey the Licensing Sub-Committee RESOLVED that Application 22643 be granted, subject to the conditions laid out on the decision notice.