Agenda and minutes

The Licensing Panel considered the appointment of a Chairman for the meeting.

Resolved:

That Councillor Hutton be appointed Chairman for the meeting.

Members are asked to declare any interests in the items under consideration and in doing so state:-

(1) the type of interest concerned

(2) the nature of the interest concerned; and

(3) whether they have or have not sat on a Planning Committee which has previously considered a planning application in respect of a licensed premises which is also subject to consideration for a premises licence as part of the agenda for this meeting.

If any Member requires advice on declarations of interests, they are advised to contact the Head of Democratic Governance in advance of the meeting.

(Members are asked to also pay particular attention to the guidance sheet on interests supplied with the agenda).

There were no declarations of interest on this occasion.

The Chairman explained the procedure for the meeting including that an equal time limit of twenty minutes had been allocated for all parties.

a. APPLICATION AND REPRESENTATIONS SUBMITTED. To consider the attached report

b. DETERMINATION OF THE APPLICATION FOR THE VARIATION OF A PREMISES LICENCE- ALBERT ROAD STORES

c. ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DECISION FOR THE VARIATION OF A PREMISES LICENCE- ALBERT ROAD STORES

The Licensing Panel considered an application for the variation of the Premises Licence issued in respect of Albert Road Stores, Albert Road.

The applicant, Mr Amer Khan, was in attendance accompanied by his solicitor, Mr Malcolm Ireland who made representations to the Licensing Panel. Mr Ireland highlighted that Mr Khan was an experienced operator of licensed premises with over ten years experience in Blackpool and the surrounding area. The main focus of the variation had been to permit deliveries to be made away from the premises until midnight each day. Mr Ireland emphasised that the applicant had agreed conditions with Lancashire Constabulary to address potential crime and disorder arising from the delivery operation and this included no sales after 8pm in the FY1 postcode.

In response to questions from the panel Mr Ireland explained that a comprehensive assessments of risks had been undertaken and this balanced with the mode of operation including proof of age checks, credit card payments and an experienced operator. Mr Khan was confident that the business would be able to manage the risks associated with the business. Mr Ireland reminded members that the potential success or otherwise of the venture was not a consideration for the Licensing Panel.

In response to a query from the Panel, Mr Khan accepted that there could be a potential issue if the normal entry to the store was used for deliveries after 8pm which was when in store sales of alcohol would cease. Mr Khan agreed that deliveries would be loaded from the rear entry to the premises after 8pm to avoid  confusion and that he would accept a condition to that effect.

The Licensing Panel considered carefully the evidence submitted by all parties including the public objectors even though they were not in attendance.

The Panel concluded that the application as amended by the conditions agreed with Lancashire Constabulary and the additional condition would not undermine the Licensing Objectives.

Resolved:

To grant the application for the variation of the Premises Licence in respect of Albert Road Stores subject to the conditions agreed with Lancashire Constabulary and an additional condition that deliveries after 8pm be loaded from the rear entry of the shop.