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 public.

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 to the relevant parties within five working days.

The Panel received a request from the Child Protection Licensing Officer to hold the hearing in private due to the sensitive nature of information to be disclosed which was not deemed appropriate to be held in public. The Panel concluded it was in the interest of all parties to hold the hearing in private.

To consider an application in respect of a new Premises Licence for the Alexander Hotel, 29 Osborne Road, Blackpool, FY4 1HJ.

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

B. Determination of the application for a new Premises Licence – Alexander Hotel.

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

The Licensing Panel considered an application from Alexander Hotel Bpl Ltd for a new Premises Licence for the Alexander Hotel, 29 Osborne Road, Blackpool, FY4 1HJ. Representations had been received from the Licensing Authority, Child Protection Licensing Officer and a public representation from Mr and Mrs Freeman.

The start of the meeting was delayed due to technical difficulties of some participants when attempting to join remotely and the hearing therefore began later than scheduled at 10.30am.

Ms Anamaria Opinoc of Alexander Hotel Bpl Ltd appeared before the Panel accompanied by Mr Arjun Duggal, Licensing Consultant from City of Licensing Ltd. Mr Duggal explained that the premises was a small hotel consisting of ten letting bedrooms which would cater for families and couples. The hotel also had a contract with Social Services to provide emergency accommodation to families and they had a contract as a quarantine hotel. It was located close to Blackpool Pleasure Beach in an area which had a number of other licensed premises nearby. The Panel was advised that if a licence was granted the hotel would undergo a period of refurbishment and Mr Duggal drew Members’ attentions to the policies and procedures in place at the premises which he believed would meet the requirement to promote the licensing objectives.

Addressing the Panel directly Ms Opinoc added that she would personally manage the hotel herself and that it was equipped with a CCTV system which monitored the premises 24 hours a day. She believed that the granting of the licence would help to reduce nuisance and anti-social behaviour in the area as it was hoped guests would remain within the hotel’s bar to consume alcohol rather than visit other licensed premises in the vicinity and then return later in the evening which could cause a noise nuisance to nearby properties.

Mr and Mrs Freeman presented their representations to the Panel and expressed concerns over the activities and hours applied for. They believed that a 24 hour licence to sell alcohol together with noise from live entertainment and karaoke late into the evening would cause a nuisance to residents in the area, many of whom were elderly, should the application be granted. They also pointed to incidents of anti-social behaviour since the applicant had taken over the premises in May 2021 and advised Members that attempts to engage with the hotel’s management to resolve the issues had been unsuccessful and had been met with hostility, including from an aggressive male who they believed to be a lodger at the hotel. Mr and Mrs Freeman suggested that adding the availability of alcohol at the premises would increase the amount of anti-social behaviour being experienced and therefore requested that the Panel refused the application.

In response, Mr Duggal advised Mr and Mrs Freeman that entertainment facilities such as karaoke machines would be fitted with a sound limiter to cut off the device if the volume exceeded a certain level. Mrs Sharon Davies, Legal Advisor to the Panel, drew Members’ attentions to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.