Application for the
Review of a Premises Licence; Karma 17a Station Hill, Chippenham,
Wiltshire.
The Licensing Officer introduced her report to
the Committee.
The application for the Review
was presented by Mr R Light. At the
start of the hearing Mr Holley, representing the Premises Licence
holder, agreed to accept the police incident reports as presented
at items 1 - 100 in the Appendices to the police
evidence. As well as referring to
the written submissions, Mr Light called evidence from
witnesses.
The key points of the oral
evidence presented by the Police were:-
- Concerns were raised regarding the promotion, of what was
considered to be irresponsible drinks promotions, selling alcohol
very cheaply, in particular the sale of shots of spirits for 50p
and promotion of ‘Black Rat’ cider.
- Within
the Facebook, social networking site pages, the Club appeared to
encourage excessive drink and, in relation to some of the entries,
possible violence and homophobic behaviour.
- The
entries on the Club’s Facebook page also indicated that there
had been underage drinking in the club, detailing that IDs were not
being checked.
- In
February 2010 confusion had arisen over the use of the Club for
under 18’s events, resulting in a formal warning.
- Whilst
there had been regular discussions with the Club about improving
the levels of disorder, there were still a number of issues that
needed to be resolved. Levels of crime
and disorder linked to the premises had initially dropped but had
recently increased again.
- There
were concerns that the maximum capacity of the club may have been
exceeded on occasions and that the systems for monitoring the
number of people in the Club did not seem to be robust.
- Concerns were raised that door staff were not sufficiently
identifiable to members of the public, especially those who worked
at the entrance to the club.
- Whilst
representatives of Karma had attended meetings of Pubwatch, they
had not been put forward sufficient numbers of persons to be
banned, given the number of incidents that had occurred at the
Club. Only 4 of the current banned list of 15 had originated from
Karma.
- There
was no visible leadership by the Designated Premises
Supervisor. The majority of staff there
did not appear to know what his role was. This was compounded by a general inconsistency in
management.
- It was
strongly felt that there was a need for a long-term sustained
improvement in behaviour and a change of culture surrounding the
club.
Cllr Caswill, as local member
for the area drew the panels attention the Premises Licence, Annex
A, Prevention of Public Nuisance (page
21 of the Agenda refers). Cllr Caswill detailed the numerous
complaints he had received about the consistent volume of the noise
and the ‘thumping’ from local residents. These issues had also been reiterated in the
representations from other Interested Parties. He stressed that the Club should do more to reduce
the problems caused by excessive noise, and that temporary closure
would please the local people.
Mr
Holley, on behalf of Karma, called evidence from management and
employees of the Club and made the following points:
- The Club employs
between 30 and 35 full and part time members of staff.
- He
accepted that the incidents in the submissions from the Police had
occurred. However, he said that the Club could not always prevent
violent incidents from occurring.
- Every
time the Club had been asked to make changes from their discussions
and regular meetings with the police they had sought to do
it.
- There
were other licensed premises in the town that had drinks promotions
and Karma needed to complete with them.
- They
did have arrangements for dealing with people considered to be
intoxicated.
- They
had a procedure for checking numbers of people going into and
leaving the Club. Assurance was given
that although the number had been exceeded through the course of a
whole evening, the club had never exceeded the maximum number
allowed at one time.
- The
Club had appointed a consultant to audit the procedures at the Club
and to develop and implement new policies and training, which were
now in place and operating.
- Very
few of the reported incidents took place before 0300hrs, so
reducing the Club’s hours would not assist. In fact, the situation may be made worse, as there
would be people leaving several premises at the same
time.
In their deliberations, the
Sub-committee considered each of the proposed conditions that had been submitted by Wiltshire
Police as part of their review with a view to deciding whether
those conditions were necessary to meet the licensing objectives
and also whether any other conditions should be applied, in view of
the representations that had been made and the evidence
presented. With regard to the proposed
conditions put forward by the police, the Sub-committee came to the
following views on each of them,
- The current provider of security at Karma to be
replaced.
Whilst there had been weaknesses with the current security staffing
arrangements, the Sub-committee felt that progress was being made
towards improving these and did not consider that these weaknesses
necessitated the replacement of the current security
provider.
- Door Supervisors are to remain on duty outside
the venue for not less than 30 minutes after the last customer has
left the venue, to provide a visible presence and deter anti social
behaviour.
This was felt to be a useful additional condition to help prevent
any acts of violence in the vicinity of the Club and to encourage
patrons to leave the area, thereby reducing the levels of nuisance
to neighbouring residents and businesses.
- The premises licence is to be reduced to 0200hrs
on a Thursday evening into the Friday morning for the sale of
alcohol and the provision of entertainment and the premises are to
be closed to the public at 0245hrs. The
Sub-committee did not consider that a reduction in opening hours
was necessary. Whilst the current hours did cause difficulties for
the police, given their current shift arrangements, there was
insufficient evidence that a reduction in hours would lead to a
reduction in the levels of crime and disorder and that these
problems were better addressed by improved management
arrangements.
- The premises licence is to be reduced to 0230hrs
on a Friday evening into the Saturday morning for the sale of
alcohol and the provision of entertainment and the premises are to
be closed to the public at 0315hrs. The
Sub-committee did not consider that a reduction in opening hours
was necessary. Whilst the current hours did cause difficulties for
the police, given their current shift arrangements, there was
insufficient evidence that a reduction in hours would lead to a
reduction in the levels of crime and disorder and that these
problems were better addressed by improved management
arrangements.
- The premises licence is to be reduced to 0230hrs
on a Saturday evening into the Sunday morning for the sale of
alcohol and the provision of entertainment and the premises are to
be closed to the public at 0345hrs. The
Sub-committee did not consider that a reduction in opening hours
was necessary. Whilst the current hours did cause difficulties for
the police, given their current shift arrangements, there was
insufficient evidence that a reduction in hours would lead to a
reduction in the levels of crime and disorder and that these
problems were better addressed by improved management
arrangements.
- The designated premises supervisor is to be
present at the venue during all key trading times. The Sub-committee felt that it was important that a
personal licence holder was present at the venue during all key
trading times. It had been accepted by the parties that it was not
reasonable for the DPS to be on site at all time, but that there
should be an identified responsible person. The proposed condition
would be amended accordingly.
- The designated premises supervisor is to
undertake further training, the course to be approved by Wiltshire
Police. This
was considered to be beneficial and to contribute to the good
management of the Club and the promotion of the licensing
objectives.
- Venue Management to provide a management
structure outlining roles and
responsibilities. The Sub-committee felt that the key to
addressing the problems at the Club and to promoting all of the
licensing objectives was to get improved management practices and
procedures that were understood and implemented by all staff. In
addition to the management structure information requested by the
police, the Sub-committee felt that there should be a detailed
Management Plan which also included, risk assessments, policies and
procedures to enable the Premises Licence holder to comply with the
four licensing objectives.
- All bar staff to be
trained in the responsible sale of alcohol. This was agreed to be appropriate
for the same reasons as detailed above.
- No person under the age of 18 years old to be
permitted including members of staff. It had been accepted by the police
that it was not necessary to bar all under 18s and that properly managed events for under
18s should not be prevented. Again, the
Sub-committee felt that there should be clear procedures for the
operation of such events for the protection of
children.
- Polycarbonate glasses are to be used at all times
throughout the venue. The venue is to
operate a bottle decanting policy. This was felt to be appropriate as
it would reduce the likelihood of harm, in the event of incidents
at the club, thereby promoting public safety.
- The CCTV is to be reviewed and if necessary
upgraded to the standards required by Wiltshire Police Crime
Reduction Officer. This was also felt to be appropriate for the
promotion of the licensing objectives and it would help detect and
deter acts of crime and disorder and public nuisance.
- The venue will be active members of
Pubwatch. The
Sub-committee felt that, whilst active participation in Pubwatch
was to be encouraged, it was not appropriate to impose this as a
condition.
- The venue is to close to
the public for a period of three months to enable training, and to
reposition the venue within the market place. The Sub-committee felt that the required
improvements to the club were best addressed through management
training and the development of proper policies. It was not felt
necessary for there to be a period of closure to enable these
changes to be implemented.
In addition to the above, the
Sub-committee took account of the concerns about noise that had
been raised by Interested Parties. They noted that the current
conditions required noise observations to be carried out in the
vicinity of the premises. They felt that this needed strengthening
by a record of this monitoring to be maintained.
The Sub-committee also noted
that the Club had stated during the hearing that they either had
produced or were developing policies and procedures to address
the concerns that had been raised by the Police. The
Sub-committee therefore felt that the amended conditions should all
be fully implemented within two months.
DECISION NOTICE
Northern Area Licensing Sub-committee
Meeting held Monday 2 August 2010, in Respect of
Review of a Premises Licence: Karma,
17a Station Hill, Chippenham, Wiltshire
The Northern Area Licensing
Sub-committee has determined to amend the premises license for
Karma by the addition of the following conditions;
1.
All security staff to wear clothing that clearly
identifies them at all times (including outerwear).
2.
Door supervisors are to remain on duty outside the
venue for not less than 30 minutes after the last customer has left
the venue, to provide a visible presence and deter anti social
and/or criminal behaviour.
3.
The Designated Premises Supervisor or another
identified responsible person who holds a valid Personal Licence is
to be present at the venue during all key trading times.
4.
The Designated Premises Supervisor is to undertake
or to have undertaken training as approved by Wiltshire Police
within 2 months.
5.
The Premises Licence holder to develop,
maintain and implement a detailed Management Plan which must
include the chain of command and responsibilities, risk
assessments, policies, procedures to enable the Premises Licence
holder to comply with the four licensing objectives. Such
plan to be available for inspection upon request by the Police and
Licensing Authority and to be accessible to staff. To be fully
implemented by 31st October 2010.
6.
All bar staff to be trained in the responsible sale
of alcohol by a recognised training provider within 2
months.
7.
All staff (to include Management) to undertake
induction/fresher training to include roles and responsibilities
and the current Licensing Objectives within 2 months.
8.
Clear procedures to be in place for the operation of
private parties and under 18 events.
9.
An accurate and up to date incident log to be
maintained at all times.
10.
By 30th September 2010 only
Polycarbonate glasses are to be in use at all times
throughout the venue, the venue is to operate a bottle decanting
policy, no glass bottles are to be present in the public
areas.
11.
The CCTV is to be reviewed and if necessary upgraded
to standards required by Wiltshire Police Crime Reduction
Officer.
12.
For a period of 6 months, from this date, a record
is to be kept of noise monitoring activity to include date, time
and location.
Informative
1
The venue is encouraged to continue to be active
members of Pubwatch or any successor organisation that is
responsible or the promotion of the Licensing
Objectives.
In reaching their decision the
Sub-committee took into account the relevant provisions of the
Licensing Act 2003 (in particular Sections 4 and 52); the guidance
issued under Section 182 of the Act and the Wiltshire Council
Statement of Licensing Policy.