Meeting documents

Licensing (Activities) Sub-Committee
Tuesday 28th July 2020

Chairman:  To be appointed
Venue:    Virtual Meeting Microsoft Teams
Time:  10 am
E-mail Address:  Dean.Gillon@northlincs.gov.uk

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AGENDA

1.  Appointment of Chairman.

2. Declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests, personal or personal and prejudicial interests, and significant contact with applicants, objectors or third parties (lobbying), if any.

3.  Licensing Act 2003 - Application for the review of a premises licence, Cottage Beck Corner Shop, 1 Cemetery Road, Scunthorpe.

4.  Any other items which the chairman decides are urgent by reason of special circumstances which must be specified.

NOTES:  Enclosed in these papers are –

(a)      Information to accompany the notice of hearings, including the procedure to be followed at meetings.

(b)      A counter-notice to be completed and returned to dean.gillon@northlincs.gov.uk by 21 July 2020.

(c)      All appropriate and available documentation required at the time of notice.

MINUTES

PRESENT: – Councillors Clark, Rayner and K Vickers.

The sub-committee met at Church Square House, Scunthorpe.

1705 CHAIRMAN – Resolved – That Councillor K Vickers be and he is hereby appointed chairman for the meeting.

Councillor K Vickers thereupon took the chair.

1706 DECLARATIONS OF DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTERESTS, PERSONAL OR PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS AND SIGNIFICANT CONTACT WITH APPLICANTS, OBJECTORS OR THIRD PARTIES (LOBBYING) - There were no declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, Personal or Personal and Prejudicial interest.

No lobbying was declared.

1707 LICENSING ACT 2003 – APPLICATION FOR A REVIEW OF A PREMISES LICENCE - COTTAGE BECK CORNER SHOP, 1 CEMETERY ROAD, SCUNTHORPE, NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE - The Director: Operations submitted a report advising members of an application for a review of a Premises Licence.

The Director: Operations submitted a report advising members of an application for the review of a premises licence at Cottage Beck Corner Shop, 1 Cemetery Road, Scunthorpe.

Details of the application were outlined in the report, together with the application for the review of the premises licence, three representations from Responsible Authorities and one representation received from Interested Parties.

There was an application to allow for cross-examination and an extension of time limits, which was agreed to.

The Director in his report reminded the sub-committee that the options available to it under the Licensing Act 2003 when considering such applications were:

  •  To modify the conditions of the licence
  •  To exclude a licensable activity from the scope of the licence
  •  To remove the Designated Premises Supervisor
  •  To suspend the licence for a period not exceeding three months
  •  To revoke the licence
  •  To take no further action

Humberside Police and their representatives, the licence holder’s representative, representatives from Trading Standards, and Interested Parties addressed the sub-committee and responded to questions.

Following the summary of the case, the meeting was adjourned for deliberation by members.

Resolved - The Licensing (Activities) Sub-Committee carefully listened to the verbal representation from the council’s Trading Standards officer, the applicant for the review, the interested parties and the Licence Holder’s legal representation. The members of the Sub-Committee also read the documentation contained within the agenda bundle, which included a number of witness statements, photographs and representations as to illegal activity taking place at the premises.

The Sub-Committee consider the licensing objectives to be its paramount concern when considering and determining any application. The councillors gave particular consideration to the submissions made by the applicant for the review and the uncontested convictions of the Licence Holder on the 31st January 2020 for the possession and supply of tobacco in breach of packaging regulations, the supply and possession of tobacco not carrying a combined health warning and the selling of goods bearing a false trade mark.

The submission made by applicant for the review emphasised that the licence holder had no regard for promoting the licensing objectives, in particular;

1. The prevention of crime and disorder and the protection of children from harm as they have willingly sold illicit tobacco products at a price which was cheaper than comparable branded products which could easily be targeted at children and young people under the legal age and those that are vulnerable;

2. The protection of public safety as the licence holder willingly sold illicit tobacco products which did not contain the correct health warnings.

The applicant for the review made strong recommendations that the licence be revoked as there was significant risk of further criminal activity at the premises.

The Sub-Committee also listened to the verbal representation made by the Trading Standards representative, giving particular consideration to:

1. The recent complaints that have been made, alleging that the sale of illicit tobacco by the Licence Holder at the premises has continued since their conviction on the 31st January 2020; and

2. That the Licence Holder was in 2014 associated with previous criminal activity at the premises which included the supply of illicit tobacco.

Therefore, after considering the information presented at the hearing, and taking into account the statutory guidance referred to at paragraphs 11.24 to 11.28 and paragraph 66(1) of the Council’s Licensing Policy, the Sub-Committee has decided to revoke the premises licence. There were serious concerns in relation to the potential for further criminal activity taking place at the premises, as the Licence Holder’s legal representation did not provide any assurance that the Licence Holder has understood the seriousness of their actions or provide any confidence that the Licence Holder would put sufficient measures in place to ensure that the possession, supply and sale of illicit tobacco will not take place at the premises again.

The supply and sale of this tobacco was something that the Sub-Committee considered to be a very serious matter, as demonstrated by the conviction at Grimsby Magistrates Court on 31 January 2020. The safety of the public was the Sub-Committee’s primary concern, therefore, the Sub-Committee do not consider that it was appropriate for the premises to retain its licence to sell alcohol as it was not satisfied that the licensing objectives “The Prevention of Crime and Disorder” and “Public Safety” could be adhered to.