Agenda item

Consideration was given to an application (made in accordance with Section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003) for the grant of a Premises Licence in respect of premises known as The  Longbar, Unit 2, Braithwell Road, Ravenfield, Rotherham.

 

The applicant, Mr. D. Marshall, himself to be the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS), was seeking authorisation to allow the:-

 

·              Sale of alcohol, for consumption on and off  the premises, commencing at 12:00 hours (12 Noon) until:-

 

o     22:30 hours (10.30 p.m.) on Monday to Friday;

o     23:30 (11.30 p.m.) on  Saturday;

o     17:30 hours (5.30 p.m.) on Sunday; and

o     01:30 hours (1.30 a.m.) on the day following New Year’s Eve.

 

·              Provision of late-night refreshment, for consumption on the premises, commencing at 23:00 hours (11.00 p.m.) until:-

 

o     23:30 (11.30 p.m.) on  Saturday; and

o     01:30 hours (1.30 a.m.) on the day following New Year’s Eve.

 

The proposed operation of the premises, as provided in the application, was as a café/coffee shop and deli during the daytime and a small wine bar in the evening, with seating for thirty-eight persons.

 

The applicant had engaged with the Licensing Service and had agreed a number of conditions that were considered appropriate for the promotion of the licensing objectives:-

 

a)           A Challenge 25 Policy shall be in operated. This Policy shall require that any person who appears to be under the age of 25 must provide ID prior to being served alcohol. Acceptable forms of ID are:

 

·              a passport;

·              a UK photo driving licence; or

·              a military ID card.

 

b)           All refusals made under the  Challenge 25 Policy shall be logged  in a bound book. This log must show:

 

·              date of refusal made;

·              member of staff who made the refusal; and

·              if refused, whether fake ID was seized.

 

c)           Signs shall be displayed inside the premises that advertise that the premises operates “Challenge 25”.

 

d)           A bound incident book shall be maintained, in which the following shall be recorded:

 

·              All incidents of crime and disorder occurring at the premises; and

·              Details of when the Police are called.

 

e)           The Challenge 25 log and the incident book shall be kept on the premises and shall be available for inspection upon request by the Police or an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority.

 

f)             The DPS, or their nominated deputy,  shall check the Challenge 25 log and the incident book at least once a  week, and sign and date each check.

 

g)           The DPS shall routinely attend meetings of the local Pubwatch.

 

h)           The premises shall operate in accordance with the “ask Angela scheme” and notices to this effect shall be displayed.

 

i)             The CCTV system installed at the premises, shall:-

 

·              be maintained fully at all times;

·              make and retain clear images; and

·              show an accurate date and time that the images were made.

·              be both internal and external.

 

j)             All CCTV images shall be retained for a period of not less than 31 days.

 

k)           CCTV images shall be immediately made available for review upon request of the Police or an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority.

 

l)             A copy of a CCTV image shall be provided within 24 hours upon request of the Police or an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority.

 

m)         A record of each member of staff who is authorised to sell alcohol shall be kept on the premises. This record shall include the staff members full name, address, and date of birth.

 

n)           There shall be a zero-drug tolerance policy in operation at the premises, which shall include the requirement that regular checks are carried out  by management to prevent the use of drugs by patrons; and that such checks are recorded. A copy of the premises drugs policy, and associated records, shall kept at the premises and made available to the Police or an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority upon request.

 

o)           No adult entertainment or services shall be provided at the premises. 

 

p)           Children must be accompanied by an adult(s) at all times.

 

q)           Children will not be permitted on the premises after 21.00 hours.

 

r)            There shall be no outdoor consumption of alcohol. Alcohol shall only be permitted to be taken off the premises in sealed containers.

 

s)           All staff shall receive training on induction and year thereafter, on:

 

·              operation of 'Challenge 25';

·              types of acceptable ID;

·              method of recording refusals;

·              refusing sales of alcohol to persons who appear to be drunk; 

·              preventing proxy sales:

·              incident recording and when to call the Police;

·              operation of the “ask Angela Scheme” ; and

·              how to review the CCTV system if requested.

 

t)             Staff training shall be recorded, records shall be kept of the premises and shall, on request, be made available for inspection by the Police or an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority.

 

Mr. Marshall and his supporter were in attendance at the hearing, along with a local resident objecting to the application.

 

Consultation on the application had been carried out in accordance with all statutory requirements and the Council procedure.   There was a prescribed period of twenty-eight days following the submission of an application during which time representations in relation to the application may be submitted.

 

At the end of the consultation period representations, opposed to the grant of the application, were received from five (5) “Other Persons”, four of which were from local residents, with the remaining representation being submitted on behalf of Ravenfield Parish Council.

 

No representation to the application have been received from the Responsible Authorities.

 

The applicant was provided with the detail of the representations and responded by way of a letter, providing more information on the proposed operation of the premises.  The information provided by the applicant led to the withdrawal of one of the representations made by a local resident.

 

Two of the remaining three local residents who made representations to the application have confirmed that they wished to continue with their representations. The third did not respond to the applicant’s letter, so it was assumed that they were continuing with their representations.  Concerns related to the premises being some fifty paces away from a resident’s property and whilst acknowledging New Year’s Eve was a special event, opening until 2.00 a.m. was excessive.

 

At the time of writing the representation made on behalf of Ravenfield Parish Council remained in place. However, a meeting of the Parish Council was scheduled for 14^th November 2024 and an invitation had been extended to the applicant to attend this meeting.  The applicant did attend, but no satisfactory conclusion was achieved.

 

The applicant addressed the meeting and provided details of his intention to run the premises as a café/coffee shop and deli during the daytime and a small more upmarket wine bar for couples in the evening.  The premises were intended to provide a community hub with food and drink with special rates for older people.  On an evening the premises would provide a relaxing atmosphere with background music and allow local people to walk to the premises.  A two-door entrance was in operation and only two people smoking would be encouraged at any one time.

 

In response to questions, the applicant provided the following information:-

 

-           Details of where he had managed licensed premises previously; none of which had ever been subject to revocation or concern.

-           Applicant’s intention to be a responsible landlord.

-           The intention for the wine bar to be seated room only.

-           Confidence in staff training.

-           Enquiries received for day time clientele including being dog friendly.

-           Intention for the food options to be very limited on an evening.

-           Limited demand for parking due to the applicant and staff living locally.

-           Location of neighbouring premises and their hours of opening.

 

A local resident objecting to the proposals addressed her concerns and in answering questions highlighted:-

 

-               Car parking and overspill into residential areas.

-               Night time noise disturbance from cars and people leaving the premises.

-               Location of the premises to her own bungalow/bedroom.

-               Mixed use of café/deli to wine bar and how this could be achieved.

 

Resolved:-  That the application for the grant of a Premises Licence in respect of premises to be known as The  Longbar, Unit 2, Braithwell Road, Ravenfield, Rotherham be approved.