Agenda and minutes

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

Resolved:

That Councillor Hunter 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 would be allocated for all parties.

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

b. DETERMINATION OF THE APPLICATION FOR THE REVIEW OF A PREMISES LICENCE- BUCHAREST, TALBOT ROAD

c. ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE DECISION FOR THE APPLICATION FOR THE REVIEW OF A PREMISES LICENCE- BUCHAREST, TALBOT ROAD

The Licensing Panel considered an application to review the Licence in respect of Bucharest, Talbot Road, Blackpool.  The application had been submitted by Health and Safety Enforcement.

Mr Mark Marshall, accompanied by Lee Petrak, presented the application on behalf of Health and Safety Enforcement and Weights and Measures.  The licence holder, Ms Claudia Badea, represented herself but was supported by a friend.

Mr Marshall requested that the Panel consider the location of the shop, Bucharest, which was located in an area of sensitivity within a saturation area.  He suggested that all licence applicants should be high calibre, trusted operators and should consider their location and the premises’ effects on the wider area, especially when located in a saturation area.  He stated that the original licence had been granted due to the shop closing at 6pm.  He stated that, at the time, there had been no concerns suggesting the granting of the licence would require Panel approval.

Mr Marshall confirmed that the licence had been granted in mid-August 2016.  Less than one month later the first complaint was raised by Blackpool BID (Business Improvement District), who suggested that the shop had been selling single, distinctive cans with 9% alcoholic content lager to street drinkers who had been causing trouble in St John’s Square, Blackpool.  Further concerns were raised regarding street drinkers congregating in shop doorways close to Bucharest.  The distinctive cans were traced to Bucharest and the shop was confirmed as the only supplier of the cans.  Ms Badea acknowledged that single cans had been sold from the premises but confirmed that the cans had been located behind the point of sale.  A formal warning letter had been sent to the shop at that time.

A second complaint was raised in January 2017, that of Bucharest selling unlicensed cigarettes.  Mr Marshall and Mr Petrak attended the shop to investigate and Ms Badea confirmed she had purchased £800 of cigarettes from an Asian gentleman who was unknown to her.  Mr Petrak conducted a search of the property and found tobacco products, including foreign brands unlicensed for sale in the UK, along with potentially counterfeit branded products.  Ms Badea showed the officers further stock stored to the rear of the premises, which amounted to a significant supply.  Mr Petrak stated that the foreign brands failed to comply with the labelling requirements set out in Regulation 5 of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016, rendering their supply illegal in the UK.

Mr Petrak confirmed he had received some responses from legitimate tobacco companies confirming the stocks supplied by Ms Badea were counterfeit.  Mr Petrak outlined the process for producing unregulated cigarettes in unlicensed premises and stated that it was possible that such products included noxious chemicals and posed an increased risk of carcinogens, potentially increasing the risk to the general public.

Mr Marshall stated that Ms Badea had fully cooperated with the officers and that she had confirmed she had made a profit of £1 per pack of cigarettes.  She  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.