Agenda and draft minutes

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

Resolved:

That Councillor Cox 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.

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 application and representations would be heard and that each party would be allocated 15 minutes to present their case.

To consider an application for a new Premises Licence for Vicky’s Afro Caribbean Superstore, 55-59 Dickson Road, Blackpool, FY1 2AP.

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

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

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

The Licensing Panel considered an application for a new Premises Licence for Vicky’s Afro Caribbean Superstore, 55-59 Dickson Road, Blackpool, FY1 2AP. The application sought the supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises from 09.30-20.00 Monday to Sunday. Representations had been received from the Child Protection Licensing Officer, Public Health, Lancashire Constabulary and the Licensing Authority whose representative, Mr Lee Petrak, who was unable to attend but whose comments were considered in his absence.

Mr Anthony Gregson of Hospitality Training Solutions was in attendance to present the case on behalf of the applicant, Vicky’s Afrocentric Services Limited. He acknowledged that the premises fell within the cumulative impact area but explained that the proposed business was a different style to that of a traditional off-licence, offering specialist products specific to the Afro-Caribbean community and that no spirits or fortified wines would be sold, only a selection of popular Nigerian beers.

Mr Gregson offered a number of proposed conditions for the Panel’s consideration should it be minded to grant the application:

·         Alcohol may only be sold with a grocery shop in excess of £10.00.

·         No single products of alcohol may be sold / alcohol may only be sold in multipacks of four items or more.

·         No spirits to be sold

·         No beers or lagers over 6% ABV to be sold with the exception of four specified brands: Orijin Beer (6% ABV), Star Beer (5.1% ABV), Gulder Extra Mature (5.2%) and Guinness Foreign Extra Stout (7.5% ABV) which, although having a higher alcohol content, was more expensive than standard beers.

In Mr Gregson’s opinion, the additional conditions offered demonstrated how the licensing objectives would be met and he believed that if the licence was granted it would not add to the cumulative impact already being experienced in the area. He therefore invited the Panel to depart from its policy and grant the application.

PC Guy Harrison presented the representations on behalf of Lancashire Constabulary and those on behalf of Mr Lee Petrak, Trading Standards and Licensing Manger, who was unable to attend the hearing in person. The premises was in Claremont ward and fell within the Cumulative Impact Assessment area which already had a large number of existing licensed premises and was one of the most deprived areas of the town with high levels of alcohol related anti-social behaviour and public order offences. Referring to the additional conditions volunteered by the applicant’s agent, PC Harrison expressed concern as to how they would be managed and enforced. In his opinion, the mitigations offered were not sufficient to alleviate his concerns in an area already deemed to be saturated with licensed premises and he therefore requested that the Panel did not depart from its policy and invited it to refuse the application.

Louise Scales, Child Protection Licensing Officer, presented her representations and referred to the existing high number of off-licences in the immediate vicinity of the proposed premises. She agreed with Lancashire Constabulary’s concerns that the proposed additional conditions would be difficult to manage  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.