Agenda and draft 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.

There were no declarations of interest on this occasion.

The Chairman of the Panel will summarise the procedure and announce the equal maximum amount of time for each party to speak for the hearing.

A.         Items 1 and 4 (b) will be undertaken in private session by the Panel and not in the Meeting Room.

B.         Items 2, 3, and 4(a) will be recommended to the Panel to be held in public.

C.         The Panel may decide to exclude the public from all or part of a hearing where it considers that the public interest in so doing outweighs the public interest in the hearing, or that part of the hearing, taking place in public. (This includes a party and any person assisting or representing a party)

The Chairman explained the procedure for the meeting, including the order in which the applicant and representations would be heard and that the decision of the Panel would be communicated the relevant parties within five working days.

To consider an application in respect of a new Premises Licence for Food Plus @ Polon, 47-53 Abingdon Street, Blackpool, FY1 1DH.

A. Application and representations submitted. To consider the attached report.

B. Determination of the application for a new Premises Licence – Food Plus @ Polon.

The Licensing Panel will indicate how the decision is to be communicated to interested parties.

The Licensing Panel considered an application from Mr Radoslaw Barwinski for a new Premises Licence to permit off sales of alcohol at Food Plus @ Polon, 47-53 Abingdon Street, Blackpool, FY1 1DH. Representations had been received from the Licensing Authority, Lancashire Constabulary, Public Health and the Child Protection Licensing Officer who was unable to attend the hearing but whose written comments were considered in her absence.

June Clarke of JMC Licensing Consultants presented the case to the Panel on behalf of the applicant. She described the proposed premises as a franchise of a high-end European food store chain which operated almost 200 outlets across the continent and would be similar in style and layout to Aldi and Lidl. The provision of alcohol was deemed to be crucial to the success of the operation and the Panel was assured that all staff would undergo rigorous training and records kept with regards to age restricted products and other compliance training.

Ms Clarke acknowledged that the premises fell within Blackpool Council’s Off Licence Cumulative Impact Assessment area and drew the Panel’s attention to the significant number of conditions volunteered by the applicant in the operating schedule. Members’ attentions were drawn to the proposed hours of 8am to 8pm for off sales of alcohol which she indicated were shorter than other similar shops in the area and highlighted that all alcohol would be stored behind the sales counter with no single cans of beer, lager or cider being sold. A minimum £5 spend on non-alcoholic products before alcohol could be purchased was also proposed. She believed the conditions offered and professional nature of the operation demonstrated that any concerns that the granting of the licence would add to cumulative impact had been properly addressed and invited Members to depart from the policy and grant the licence.

Mr Lee Petrak, Trading Standards and Licensing Manager, presented representations on behalf of the Licensing Authority. He reminded the Panel that the proposed premises was situated within Blackpool Council’s Cumulative Impact Assessment area which was considered to be already saturated with licensed premises. Mr Petrak acknowledged the detailed nature of the application and the number of conditions volunteered but argued that the application was not exceptional as it was similar in style and operation to a number of other off-licensed premises in the area and therefore recommended that the Panel did not depart from the policy and refuse the application.

Lancashire Constabulary’s representations were presented by PC Guy Harrison who expressed his concerns regarding existing issues of alcohol related disorder during the daytime in the vicinity of the proposed premises. He highlighted that the Cumulative Impact Assessment policy was brought in due to current problems with anti-social behaviour and suggested that adhering to the policy by refusing the application would limit any further negative impact on people frequenting the area.

Ms Kerry Burrow presented the objections on behalf of the Director of Public Health and referred the Panel to the evidence provided in the written representation. She explained  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.