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 situated at 25 Monkwood Road, Rotherham S62 7JN.

 

The applicant, Mr. Vasanthan Chelliah, was seeking authorisation to allow the sale of alcohol (for consumption off the premises) on every day of the week between 07:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. 

 

Mr. Chelliah was present at the hearing together with a friend (acting as an interpreter when needed), Mr. Nick Semper (Licensing Guys) and Jess Hall (trainee).

 

Consultation on the application had been carried out in accordance with all statutory requirements and the Council procedure.  During the consultation period one “Other Person” had made representations to the application  opposing the granting of the application.  The representations had been reviewed and found that points 1 and 2 were accepted as relevant to one or more of the licensing objectives; points 4, 5 and 6 were not relevant considerations for the licensing process and advice was given with regard to points 3 and 7.  The 2 points that were considered to be relevant considerations were:-

 

1.   Increased Risk of Noise, Disturbance and Anti-Social Behaviour

      Off-licence premises often attract groups who gather outside, particularly during evenings and weekends.  This can lead to raised noise levels, shouting and general disturbance late into the night.  Unfortunately anti-social behaviour is currently present on Monkwood Road and I fear the opening of another off-licence will increase this

 

2.   Potential for Crime and Disorder

      Alcohol-related anti-social behaviour is a recognised issue around off-licence premises.  There is a legitimate concern that the shop could attract loitering, public drinking and disorderly conduct, especially if alcohol is sold late into the evening.  This would compromise the safety and security of residents including children and elderly neighbours

 

Mr. Chelliah had been provided with the details of the above and had written to the objector to address their concerns including a further offered condition regarding the clearing of litter from the exterior of the premises.  Conciliation has failed to lead to the withdrawal of the representation.

 

The “Other Person” had been invited to the meeting and had been expected to attend.  The Sub-Committee considered the written submission.

 

There had been no representations received from the Responsible Authorities.

 

The applicant had engaged with the Licensing Service and had offered to put in place a number of management controls should the application be granted.  These management controls would be made a condition of Annex 2 of any licence granted i.e.:-

 

1.       CCTV will be provided at the premises in the form of a recordable system, capable of providing pictures of evidential quality in all lighting conditions, particularly facial recognition.

 

2.       Cameras shall encompass all ingress and egress to the premises, fire exits, outside areas, and all areas where the sale/ supply of alcohol occurs.

 

3.       A monitor shall be mounted on the wall at the premises where it is clearly visible to all members of the public. The monitor shall show the live CCTV footage being recorded.

 

4.       Equipment must be maintained in good working order, be correctly time and date stamped.

 

5.       Recordings must be kept in date order, numbered sequentially and kept for a period of 31 days and handed to Police on reasonable request.

 

6.       The Premises Licence Holder must ensure at all times a DPS or appointed member of staff is capable and competent at downloading CCTV footage in a recordable format to the Police/Local Authority on reasonable request

 

7.       The Recording equipment and tapes/discs shall be kept in a secure environment under the control of the DPS or other responsible named individual.

 

8.       A challenge 25 age verification scheme will operate at the premises whereby any person who appears to be under 25 years of age, and unknown to the staff member serving as a person over 18 years of age, shall not be served alcohol unless they provide identification to prove they are over 18 years of age. Acceptable forms of identification will be:

 

a.      a passport;

b.      a photo card driving licence;

c.       an EU/EEA national ID card or similar document;

d.      an HM Forces warrant card;

e.      a card bearing the PASS hologram; or

f.        any electronic or biometric age verification technology approved by the licensing authority.

 

9.       Appropriate signage advertising the operation of the Challenge 25 scheme must be displayed in the vicinity of all points of sale for alcohol.

 

10.   A Refusals Register (electronic or written) must be maintained and kept at the premises and retained for a period of 12 months on a rolling basis. The following information must be recorded in the Refusals Register:

 

a.      Any refusal of the sale of alcohol (e.g. suspected drunkenness, underage or proxy sale); and

b.      Any visit by a relevant authority or emergency services, noting the time, day, date and identify of any visitors by name.

 

11.   The Refusals Register must be inspected and endorsed by the DPS on a monthly basis and produced to the Police or an 'authorised person' (as defined by the LA'03) or an authorised Trading Standards Officer employed by the Council on demand.

 

12.   An incident log must be kept at the premises and made immediately available on request to an ‘authorised person’ (as defined by Section 13 of the Licensing Act 2003) or the Police. The following information shall be recorded in this log:

 

a.      all crimes reported to the venue;

b.      all ejections of patrons;

c.       any complaints received relevant to the Licensing Objectives;

d.      any incidents of disorder; and

e.      any visit by a relevant authority or emergency service.

 

13.   All people involved in the delivery of alcohol, be this the Premises Licence Holder/Designated Premises Supervisor, employees or third-party courier, shall at the point of delivery be satisfied that the person to whom the alcohol is being delivered is 18 years or over. Deliveries shall:

 

a.      only be made to the address indicated on the order;

b.      only to be made to bona fide business/commercial addresses or private residences and not to any public/open spaces (e.g. car parks, street corners, bus stops, public parks); and

c.       be refused to any person who is, or who appears to be under the influence of alcohol, or drugs and the alcohol shall be returned to the licensed premises.

 

14.   Delivery records shall be retained at the licensed premises for a period of 12 months and be produced on request for inspection by a Police Officer or an authorised person of the Licensing Authority.

 

15.   All staff engaged in the sale of alcohol shall be trained in Responsible Alcohol Retailing  prior to selling any alcoholic product.

 

16.   All staff shall undergo refresher training in Responsible Alcohol Retailing on a rolling annual basis.

 

17.   Staff training shall be recorded, and such records shall be kept on the premises and produced to the Police or an 'authorised person' (as defined by the LA'03) or an authorised Trading Standards Officer employed by the Council on demand.

.

18.   All requirements and responsibilities pertaining to the lawful and responsible operation of the premises covered by primary legislation, will be complied with – e.g. Building regs, health and safety, fire prevention.

 

19.   Noise or vibration shall not emanate from the premises so as to cause a nuisance to neighbours or residents.

 

20.   Prominent, clear and legible signage shall be displayed at all exits to the premises requesting the public to respect the needs of local residents and to leave the premises and the area quietly.

 

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

 

-     The premises were to open as a convenience store later in the year following a full refurbishment and refit

-     Mr. Chelliah was an experienced applicant having worked over 20 years in a family business convenience store offering a wide variety of products

-     He was seeking to sell alcohol within a general range of goods available during normal opening hours

-     There was no reported history of drunkenness, noise or anti-social behaviour concerns surrounding the applicant or any of his other family run businesses.  Also there had been no incidents reported within the vicinity of the Monkwood Road premises during the last 6 months

-     None of the Responsible Authorities had objected to the application

-     Mr. Chelliah was moving to the area and would be the Designated Premises Supervisor together with 2 other members of staff (family members)

 

Resolved:-  (1)  That the application for the grant of a Premises Licence in respect of premises situated at 25 Monkwood Road, Rotherham S62 7JN, be approved subject to the above offered conditions together with the following amendment/additional condition:-

 

Agreed amendment to Condition No. 5

“Recordings must be kept in date order, numbered sequentially and kept for a period of 31 days and handed to Police on reasonable request. within 24 hours of being requested.”

 

Additional offered Condition:-

“21.  That discarded flyers, cigarettes, food packaging and any other similar litter will be cleaned from the immediate vicinity of the shop and disposed of appropriately.”