Agenda, decisions and minutes

Nominations for a Chairman of the Licensing Sub-Committee were sought and it was

Resolved:

To elect Councillor Jonathon Seed as Chairman for this meeting only.

The Chairman noted that the licence holder was absent from the hearing at the scheduled start time for the hearing. It was agreed to delay the start of the hearing to allow time for him to arrive.

Having waited 20 minutes, the Licensing Officer confirmed that the Mr. Olmez, the premises licence holder, had received a copy of the agenda and that she had spoken to him  by phone on Friday 15 July, when he had confirmed his intention to attend the hearing. It was also confirmed that officers had unsuccessfully attempted to contact Mr. Olmez by both mobile and landline phone at 9.37 am on 18 July.

Members were therefore satisfied that every effort had been made to ensure the licence holder’s attendance. It was therefore agree to proceed with the hearing in the absence of Mr. Olmez.

The Chairman gave details of the exits to be used in the event of an emergency.

To consider and determine an Application by Wiltshire Police for a Review of the Premises Licence in respect of Favourite Chicken & Ribs, 3 Market Street, Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 8EY.

Application for the review of a Premises Licence by Wiltshire Police in respect of Favourite Chicken & Ribs, 3 Market Street, Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 8EY.

The Licensing Officer introduced the purpose and scope of the review, the premises to which it related and the key issues for consideration.

In accordance with the procedure detailed in the agenda, the Responsible Authority was given the opportunity to address the Sub-Committee.

Key points raised by Jacqui Gallimore on behalf of the Responsible Authority were:

·                That police are concerned at the volume and frequency of incidents within and immediately outside the premises since the variation of the premises licence in August 2009;

·                There have been 55 definitively linked incidents in this time, of which 30 related to violent disorder;

·                That the overwhelming majority of incidents have occurred between the hours of 0300 and the terminal hour of the licence;

·                That by comparison with other similar businesses, the premises has an anomalously high rate of police call-outs;

·                Officers have witnessed the premises operating beyond 0500, in contravention of the condition of the current premises licence to close by 0500;

·                Difficulties had been experienced in obtaining suitable CCTV footage on request from the premises, although this is stipulated in the conditions of the existing licence, to aid investigations. However, following a recent inspection this issue appeared to have been adequately addressed by the licence holder  ; and

·                That realistic expectations of the night time economy are held, but that the premises puts a disproportionate demand upon police resource.

Mr. Olmez, the premises licence holder, arrived at 11.20 am, after the end of the representations by the police. Mr. Olmez confirmed that he had received a copy of the police’s representations as set out in the agenda and that he had no questions on those representations.

Key points raised by the licence holder, Mr K. Olmez, were:

·               That the proposal of the responsible authority to require the employment of door staff could be applicable on a Saturday, but would not be necessary on any other day due to low footfall;

·               That difficulties in obtaining CCTV footage experienced by the police previously had been due to technical faults, and that the police are now satisfied that the system is fully operational;

·               That the premises staff or any door staff are unable to police the street outside, so to attribute incidents in the street to the premises is unfair;

·               That a reduction of operational hours over the weekend would have a detrimental impact upon the financial viability of the business; and

·               That discretion has always been applied to the time of closing the premises, and at times getting customers to leave has been problematic.

The parties were given the opportunity to ask questions of the Applicant, Responsible Authority, Interested Parties and Wiltshire Council Officers.  A debate ensure in which the Sub Committee discussed the following:

·                Incidents requiring police attendance linked to the premises since the extension of its licence in 2009;

·                Proportion of incidents that have occurred within the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.