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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED that the application for a new premises licence be GRANTED, subject to the conditions as set out below: · Supply of Alcohol (On and Off Sales) · Monday to Sunday 10.00hrs to 22.30hrs subject to the conditions set out within Appendix 26 of the Licensing Report, attached hereto (save for the removal of the proposed condition number 6 regarding the use of toughened glassware). In reaching this decision the Sub-Committee considered the promotion of the four licensing objectives, being the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm. The Sub-Committee had regard to the statutory guidance and the council’s licensing policy. The Sub-Committee gave significant weight that no Responsible Authority opposed the application. In this respect, there appeared to be little, if any, opposition to the application based on public safety, or the protection of children from harm. The objection to the application, made by the relevant members of the public, appeared to principally relate to the promotion of prevention of crime and disorder, and the prevention of public nuisance, though the Sub-Committee accepted that there can be some limited cross-over between such objective and the remaining three licensing objectives. All members of the public who had made representations objecting to the grant of the new premises licence failed to appear at the hearing. The Sub-Committee accepted the evidence from the Senior Licensing Officer that each individual had been sent a notification of the hearing. One objector responded to indicate that they would not be attending the hearing. It was confirmed at the hearing that no responses had been received from any resident that they intended to attend the hearing. The Sub-Committee were equally satisfied that no contact had been received by the licensing team or Committee Services from either resident that explained their respective absences or any requests for the hearing to be adjourned. The Sub-Committee decided pursuant to regulation 20(2)(b) of The Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005 to hear the application in the absence of the two residents who had objected to the application. The Sub-Committee did not consider that it was in the public interest to adjourn the hearing to a further date. The Sub-Committee, in reaching its decision, gave regard to the written objections provided by each respective resident comprising pages 51 to 71 of the Licencing Report. The Sub-Committee gave significant weight to the Applicant’s previous experience in operating a licenced premises of the same nature within Newport and weight was given to the two responses from members of the public supporting the Applicant’s application. The Sub-Committee accepted that there was no evidence that the Applicant had failed to promote the four licensing objectives within her former licensed premises. The Sub-Committee drew confidence from the combination of the contents of the Applicant’s initial operating schedule, her positive conduct in interacting with Responsible Authorities during the consultation period, and the Applicant’s demeanour at the hearing, that the Applicant took her licensing responsibilities with due seriousness and consideration. The Sub-Committee were persuaded that it could have confidence in the Applicant maintaining appropriate conditions of a premises licence and ensuring the promotion of the four licencing objectives. This was not an application for which the only way to promote the licensing objectives would be to refuse the licence outright. The Sub-Committee noted that the council does not have a cumulative policy in terms of premises licencing. Given this, the Sub-Committee did not give any significant weight to relevant residents’ objections that were based on there being an “influx” of off-licence premises within the Caerphilly town centre. There may or may not be an influx of such premises – but this element alone would be an insufficient basis on which to refuse the application under the terms of the council’s own licensing policy. The resident objections principally relied on a link between off-sale alcohol and anti-social behaviour (a form of disorder) within the town centre. In assessing the weight to give this evidence the Sub-Committee considered paragraph 9.12 of the Home Office – Revised Guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003. Each responsible authority are experts in their field and the Sub-Committee gave significant weight to Gwent Police not opposing the application. The evidence provided at the hearing by the Applicant, which the Sub-Committee fully accepted, was that her business model was fundamentally different to a small shop selling off-licence alcohol. The Applicant set out in detail within her written submissions within the licensing report, and verbally at the meeting, that she intends to operate a bistro/restaurant business – with the focus principally being on food rather than alcohol. The Applicant explained, and the Sub-Committee fully accepted, that the off-sales permission was sought to enable the Applicant to sell boutique or unusual spirits or wines as part of gift hampers and the like from a small deli counter within the premises. This was an aspect of the intended business which differed from her previous restaurant in Newport. The Sub-Committee, in its judgement, reached the view that there was a very remote risk of individuals buying such alcohol from this premises to consume in public and behave inappropriately within the locality of the premises – which may be more of a risk with a small store, for instance, selling high strength lager in multi-can packs. The Sub-Committee afforded little weight to the resident objections. The residents were appearing to, colloquially put, “compare apples with pears.” Whilst the Sub-Committee reached this view, it was not seeking to denigrate the residents’ concerns about aspects of the Caerphilly town centre and off-sales of alcohol – which it accepted was acutely felt by most, if not all, of the resident objectors. However, in the context of the Applicant’s business, there was a very low risk that the granting of the premises licence would add to the concerns raised by the residents, due to it being a restaurant/bistro. In reaching the above view, it was a factor for the Sub-Committee that the written objections from residents were mostly less than one respective page – often comprising 2-3 sentences. The representations expressed broad complaints and the Sub-Committee noted paragraph 9.9 of the above s.182 guidance and its application in this matter. The opportunity for the objecting residents to attend the hearing to amplify and or clarify their objections had not been taken. The Sub-Committee took the view that there may be ASB within Caerphilly town centre – but the determination of the application did not solely rest on whether this was the case. The critical link between the licensed activity (off-sales of alcohol) and any ASB was not borne out in the written objections. The residents had not made themselves available to the hearing to be questioned as to why they had concluded that the ASB they are alleged to have witnessed was caused by off-sales of alcohol as opposed, for instance, from on-sales of alcohol at nearby licenced premises. Nor had the residents made themselves available to answer questions from the Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee gave some weight within its decision to the location of the premises and its recent history of operating as a licensed premises with a former licence holder. The Licensing Authority confirmed that the premises had not been one causing any concern over recent years whilst licenced. The outdoor area to the front of the premises had been in place for several years. The area surrounding the premises is a mixture of commercial and residential premises. These factors combined with the lack of objection from Environmental Health in regard to noise nuisance issues, and appropriate licensing conditions having been in principle agreed to mitigate such risk – the Sub-Committee were confident that the promotion of the licensing objective to prevent public nuisance would be adequately protected should the licence be granted. In the Sub-Committee’s judgement, it was adequately satisfied that the licensing objectives, particularly in regard to the prevention of crime and disorder, and prevention of public nuisance, would be sufficiently promoted by the Applicant to justify the grant of the licence applied for. The Sub-Committee was equally satisfied that the licence conditions, as settled between the Responsible Authorities and the Applicant prior to the hearing, were all the current conditions necessary to promote the licencing objectives in this instance. The Sub-Committee acceded to the request to remove the condition regarding the use of toughened glassware within the premises on account of such use will not necessarily prevent sharp shards when broken. Any person aggrieved by this decision has 21 days from the date of written notification of the decision to appeal to the local Magistrates Court. Conditions of Licence 1. The premises licence holder shall require the designated premises supervisor, or in his / her absence other responsible person, to keep an ‘incident / refusals’ logbook in a bound book in which full details of all incidents are recorded. This shall include details of any refused sales and shall give details of the persons involved, incident description, time and date, actions taken and final outcome of the situation. This shall be completed as soon as possible and, in any case, no later than the close of business on the day of the incident. The time and date when the report was completed, and by whom, is to form part of the entry. The logbook is to be kept on the premises at all times and shall be produced to an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a constable when required. All records shall be kept for a period of 12 months. 2. All staff to be trained in the prevention of underage sales to a level commensurate with their duties. All such training to be updated as necessary, for instances when legislation changes, and should include training on how to deal with difficult customers. The training should be clearly documented and signed and dated by both the trainer and the member of staff receiving it. The documentation shall be available for inspection on request by an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a constable. The records shall be kept for a 12 month period. 3. An approved proof of age scheme shall be adopted, implemented, and advertised within the premise such as ‘Challenge 25’ whereby an accepted form of photographic identification shall be requested before any alcohol is sold to any person who appears to be under 25 years of age. Acceptable proof of age shall include identification bearing the customers photograph, date of birth and integral holographic mark or security measure. Suitable means of identification would include PASS approved proof of age card, photo-card driving licence and passport. 4. Publicity materials notifying customers of the operation of the Challenge 25 scheme shall be displayed at the premises, including a Challenge 25 sign of at least A5 size at the entrance to the premises and where practicable at each point of sale. 5. All staff with a responsibility for supplying or selling alcohol shall be vigilant in preventing adults buying alcohol on behalf of persons who are under 18 and will refuse such sales where they suspect that this may be about to occur, subject to the exemptions under Section 149 (5) of the Licensing Act 2003 which allows beer, cider or wine to be purchased for an individual aged 16 or 17, providing the beer, cider or wine is for consumption with a table meal and that a person aged 18 or over is accompanying the individual. 6. The contents of any bottled beverage shall be decanted into a plastic / PTE / glass before service to any customer that uses the outside area. No glass will be allowed outside. 7. The outside area will not be used after 22.00 hrs. 8. The outdoor area to the front of the premises must be closed and cleared of customers by 22.00hours. 9. There shall be no consumption of alcoholic beverages purchased from the premises in open containers outside at the front of the premises unless seated in dedicated area with table and chairs. 10. All off sales will be in sealed containers. 11. The premises supervisor, manager or other competent person shall manage any outdoor area to ensure that customers do not behave in a noisy, rowdy, or offensive manner. 12. The Outside area to be monitored periodically by staff through licensable times. 13. Should customers be outside the premises causing congestion, loitering and/or causing Anti-Social Behaviour they will be told move away from the vicinity of the premises by the premises supervisor, manager or other competent person 14. Amplified music shall not be played at a level that will cause unreasonable disturbance to the occupants of any properties in the vicinity. 15. Clear notices must be displayed at all points where customers leave the building instructing them to respect the needs of local residents and leave the premises and the area quietly. 16. Activities relating to the on-site disposal (including placing into external receptacles) and collection of refuse, bottles and recyclable materials shall only take place between 09:00 and 21:00 17. The licence holder shall ensure that adequate measures are in place to remove litter or waste arising from customers and to prevent such litter from accumulating in the immediate vicinity of their premises. In particular, where necessary the premises licence holder shall ensure that adequate measures are in place to provide customers with sufficient receptacles for the depositing of waste materials such as food wrappings, drinks and smoking related litter, etc. 18. All staff/members who serve alcohol to be trained in the prevention of underage sales to a level commensurate with their duties. 19. All such training to be updated as necessary, for instances when legislation changes, and should include training on how to deal with difficult customers. 20. The training should be clearly documented and signed and dated by both the trainer and member of staff receiving it. The document shall be available for inspection on request by an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a Constable. All records to be kept for a minimum of 12 months. 21. Children must be accompanied and supervised by a responsible adult at all times. 22. CCTV shall be in use at the premises. (i) Where a CCTV system is to be installed, extended, or replaced, it shall be to an appropriate standard as agreed with the Licensing Authority in consultation with the Police. Where a CCTV system is to be installed, it shall be fully operational by the grant of the licence. (ii) The CCTV equipment shall be maintained in good working order and continually record when licensable activity takes place and for a period of two hours afterwards; (iii)The premises licence holder shall ensure images from the CCTV are retained for a period of 30 days. This image retention period may be reviewed as appropriate by the Licensing Authority. (iv) The correct time and date will be generated onto both the recording and the real time image screen: (v) If the CCTV equipment (including any mobile units in use at the premises) breaks down the Premises Licence Holder shall ensure the designated premises supervisor, or in his/her absence other responsible person, verbally informs the Licensing Authority and the Police as soon as is reasonably practicable. This information shall be contemporaneously recorded in the incident report register and shall include the time, date and means this was done and to whom the information was reported: (vi) Equipment failures shall be repaired or replaced as soon as is reasonably practicable and without undue delay. The Licensing Authority and the Police shall be informed when faults are rectified; (vii) The premise licence holder shall ensure that there are trained members of staff available during licensable hours to be able to reproduce and download CCTV images into a removable format at the request of any authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a constable; (viii) The system shall also record clear images permitting the identification of individuals. (ix) There shall be clear signage indicating that CCTV equipment is in use and recording at the premises 23. CCTV camera’s shall monitor all area’s used by premises patrons including any external area to monitor numbers and prevent crime and disorder. 24. The licence holder or DPS shall risk assess the need for SIA door supervisors to be present in the premises when key sporting events are taking place or when a function of any kind is taking place. 25. If door supervisors are present then the premises licence holder shall ensure that the following details for each door supervisor, are contemporaneously entered into a bound register kept for that purpose: (i) Full name; (ii) SIA Certificate number and or badge number, or registration number of any accreditation scheme recognised by the Licensing Authority (including expiry date of that registration or accreditation); (iii) The time they began their duty; (iv) The time they completed their duty. This register is to be kept at the premises at all times and shall be so maintained as to enable an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a constable to establish the particulars of all door stewards engaged at the premises during the period of not less than 31 days prior to the request and shall be open to inspection by authorised officers of the Licensing Authority or a constable upon request. _______________________ CHAIR
Apologies for absence were received from Environmental Health - Pollution Team, Environmental Health - Health and Safety Team, Children Services as Responsible Authorities and Ms J. Thomas (Other Person).
There were no declarations of interest made at the beginning or during the course of the meeting.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED that the application for a new premises licence be GRANTED, subject to the conditions as set out below: · Supply of Alcohol (On and Off Sales) · Monday to Sunday 10.00hrs to 22.30hrs subject to the conditions set out within Appendix 26 of the Licensing Report, attached hereto (save for the removal of the proposed condition number 6 regarding the use of toughened glassware). In reaching this decision the Sub-Committee considered the promotion of the four licensing objectives, being the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm. The Sub-Committee had regard to the statutory guidance and the council’s licensing policy. The Sub-Committee gave significant weight that no Responsible Authority opposed the application. In this respect, there appeared to be little, if any, opposition to the application based on public safety, or the protection of children from harm. The objection to the application, made by the relevant members of the public, appeared to principally relate to the promotion of prevention of crime and disorder, and the prevention of public nuisance, though the Sub-Committee accepted that there can be some limited cross-over between such objective and the remaining three licensing objectives. All members of the public who had made representations objecting to the grant of the new premises licence failed to appear at the hearing. The Sub-Committee accepted the evidence from the Senior Licensing Officer that each individual had been sent a notification of the hearing. One objector responded to indicate that they would not be attending the hearing. It was confirmed at the hearing that no responses had been received from any resident that they intended to attend the hearing. The Sub-Committee were equally satisfied that no contact had been received by the licensing team or Committee Services from either resident that explained their respective absences or any requests for the hearing to be adjourned. The Sub-Committee decided pursuant to regulation 20(2)(b) of The Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005 to hear the application in the absence of the two residents who had objected to the application. The Sub-Committee did not consider that it was in the public interest to adjourn the hearing to a further date. The Sub-Committee, in reaching its decision, gave regard to the written objections provided by each respective resident comprising pages 51 to 71 of the Licencing Report. The Sub-Committee gave significant weight to the Applicant’s previous experience in operating a licenced premises of the same nature within Newport and weight was given to the two responses from members of the public supporting the Applicant’s application. The Sub-Committee accepted that there was no evidence that the Applicant had failed to promote the four licensing objectives within her former licensed premises. The Sub-Committee drew confidence from the combination of the contents of the Applicant’s initial operating schedule, her positive conduct in interacting with Responsible Authorities during the consultation period, and the Applicant’s demeanour at the hearing, that the Applicant took her licensing responsibilities with due seriousness and consideration. The Sub-Committee were persuaded that it could have confidence in the Applicant maintaining appropriate conditions of a premises licence and ensuring the promotion of the four licencing objectives. This was not an application for which the only way to promote the licensing objectives would be to refuse the licence outright. The Sub-Committee noted that the council does not have a cumulative policy in terms of premises licencing. Given this, the Sub-Committee did not give any significant weight to relevant residents’ objections that were based on there being an “influx” of off-licence premises within the Caerphilly town centre. There may or may not be an influx of such premises – but this element alone would be an insufficient basis on which to refuse the application under the terms of the council’s own licensing policy. The resident objections principally relied on a link between off-sale alcohol and anti-social behaviour (a form of disorder) within the town centre. In assessing the weight to give this evidence the Sub-Committee considered paragraph 9.12 of the Home Office – Revised Guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003. Each responsible authority are experts in their field and the Sub-Committee gave significant weight to Gwent Police not opposing the application. The evidence provided at the hearing by the Applicant, which the Sub-Committee fully accepted, was that her business model was fundamentally different to a small shop selling off-licence alcohol. The Applicant set out in detail within her written submissions within the licensing report, and verbally at the meeting, that she intends to operate a bistro/restaurant business – with the focus principally being on food rather than alcohol. The Applicant explained, and the Sub-Committee fully accepted, that the off-sales permission was sought to enable the Applicant to sell boutique or unusual spirits or wines as part of gift hampers and the like from a small deli counter within the premises. This was an aspect of the intended business which differed from her previous restaurant in Newport. The Sub-Committee, in its judgement, reached the view that there was a very remote risk of individuals buying such alcohol from this premises to consume in public and behave inappropriately within the locality of the premises – which may be more of a risk with a small store, for instance, selling high strength lager in multi-can packs. The Sub-Committee afforded little weight to the resident objections. The residents were appearing to, colloquially put, “compare apples with pears.” Whilst the Sub-Committee reached this view, it was not seeking to denigrate the residents’ concerns about aspects of the Caerphilly town centre and off-sales of alcohol – which it accepted was acutely felt by most, if not all, of the resident objectors. However, in the context of the Applicant’s business, there was a very low risk that the granting of the premises licence would add to the concerns raised by the residents, due to it being a restaurant/bistro. In reaching the above view, it was a factor for the Sub-Committee that the written objections from residents were mostly less than one respective page – often comprising 2-3 sentences. The representations expressed broad complaints and the Sub-Committee noted paragraph 9.9 of the above s.182 guidance and its application in this matter. The opportunity for the objecting residents to attend the hearing to amplify and or clarify their objections had not been taken. The Sub-Committee took the view that there may be ASB within Caerphilly town centre – but the determination of the application did not solely rest on whether this was the case. The critical link between the licensed activity (off-sales of alcohol) and any ASB was not borne out in the written objections. The residents had not made themselves available to the hearing to be questioned as to why they had concluded that the ASB they are alleged to have witnessed was caused by off-sales of alcohol as opposed, for instance, from on-sales of alcohol at nearby licenced premises. Nor had the residents made themselves available to answer questions from the Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee gave some weight within its decision to the location of the premises and its recent history of operating as a licensed premises with a former licence holder. The Licensing Authority confirmed that the premises had not been one causing any concern over recent years whilst licenced. The outdoor area to the front of the premises had been in place for several years. The area surrounding the premises is a mixture of commercial and residential premises. These factors combined with the lack of objection from Environmental Health in regard to noise nuisance issues, and appropriate licensing conditions having been in principle agreed to mitigate such risk – the Sub-Committee were confident that the promotion of the licensing objective to prevent public nuisance would be adequately protected should the licence be granted. In the Sub-Committee’s judgement, it was adequately satisfied that the licensing objectives, particularly in regard to the prevention of crime and disorder, and prevention of public nuisance, would be sufficiently promoted by the Applicant to justify the grant of the licence applied for. The Sub-Committee was equally satisfied that the licence conditions, as settled between the Responsible Authorities and the Applicant prior to the hearing, were all the current conditions necessary to promote the licencing objectives in this instance. The Sub-Committee acceded to the request to remove the condition regarding the use of toughened glassware within the premises on account of such use will not necessarily prevent sharp shards when broken. Any person aggrieved by this decision has 21 days from the date of written notification of the decision to appeal to the local Magistrates Court. Conditions of Licence 1. The premises licence holder shall require the designated premises supervisor, or in his / her absence other responsible person, to keep an ‘incident / refusals’ logbook in a bound book in which full details of all incidents are recorded. This shall include details of any refused sales and shall give details of the persons involved, incident description, time and date, actions taken and final outcome of the situation. This shall be completed as soon as possible and, in any case, no later than the close of business on the day of the incident. The time and date when the report was completed, and by whom, is to form part of the entry. The logbook is to be kept on the premises at all times and shall be produced to an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a constable when required. All records shall be kept for a period of 12 months. 2. All staff to be trained in the prevention of underage sales to a level commensurate with their duties. All such training to be updated as necessary, for instances when legislation changes, and should include training on how to deal with difficult customers. The training should be clearly documented and signed and dated by both the trainer and the member of staff receiving it. The documentation shall be available for inspection on request by an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a constable. The records shall be kept for a 12 month period. 3. An approved proof of age scheme shall be adopted, implemented, and advertised within the premise such as ‘Challenge 25’ whereby an accepted form of photographic identification shall be requested before any alcohol is sold to any person who appears to be under 25 years of age. Acceptable proof of age shall include identification bearing the customers photograph, date of birth and integral holographic mark or security measure. Suitable means of identification would include PASS approved proof of age card, photo-card driving licence and passport. 4. Publicity materials notifying customers of the operation of the Challenge 25 scheme shall be displayed at the premises, including a Challenge 25 sign of at least A5 size at the entrance to the premises and where practicable at each point of sale. 5. All staff with a responsibility for supplying or selling alcohol shall be vigilant in preventing adults buying alcohol on behalf of persons who are under 18 and will refuse such sales where they suspect that this may be about to occur, subject to the exemptions under Section 149 (5) of the Licensing Act 2003 which allows beer, cider or wine to be purchased for an individual aged 16 or 17, providing the beer, cider or wine is for consumption with a table meal and that a person aged 18 or over is accompanying the individual. 6. The contents of any bottled beverage shall be decanted into a plastic / PTE / glass before service to any customer that uses the outside area. No glass will be allowed outside. 7. The outside area will not be used after 22.00 hrs. 8. The outdoor area to the front of the premises must be closed and cleared of customers by 22.00hours. 9. There shall be no consumption of alcoholic beverages purchased from the premises in open containers outside at the front of the premises unless seated in dedicated area with table and chairs. 10. All off sales will be in sealed containers. 11. The premises supervisor, manager or other competent person shall manage any outdoor area to ensure that customers do not behave in a noisy, rowdy, or offensive manner. 12. The Outside area to be monitored periodically by staff through licensable times. 13. Should customers be outside the premises causing congestion, loitering and/or causing Anti-Social Behaviour they will be told move away from the vicinity of the premises by the premises supervisor, manager or other competent person 14. Amplified music shall not be played at a level that will cause unreasonable disturbance to the occupants of any properties in the vicinity. 15. Clear notices must be displayed at all points where customers leave the building instructing them to respect the needs of local residents and leave the premises and the area quietly. 16. Activities relating to the on-site disposal (including placing into external receptacles) and collection of refuse, bottles and recyclable materials shall only take place between 09:00 and 21:00 17. The licence holder shall ensure that adequate measures are in place to remove litter or waste arising from customers and to prevent such litter from accumulating in the immediate vicinity of their premises. In particular, where necessary the premises licence holder shall ensure that adequate measures are in place to provide customers with sufficient receptacles for the depositing of waste materials such as food wrappings, drinks and smoking related litter, etc. 18. All staff/members who serve alcohol to be trained in the prevention of underage sales to a level commensurate with their duties. 19. All such training to be updated as necessary, for instances when legislation changes, and should include training on how to deal with difficult customers. 20. The training should be clearly documented and signed and dated by both the trainer and member of staff receiving it. The document shall be available for inspection on request by an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a Constable. All records to be kept for a minimum of 12 months. 21. Children must be accompanied and supervised by a responsible adult at all times. 22. CCTV shall be in use at the premises. (i) Where a CCTV system is to be installed, extended, or replaced, it shall be to an appropriate standard as agreed with the Licensing Authority in consultation with the Police. Where a CCTV system is to be installed, it shall be fully operational by the grant of the licence. (ii) The CCTV equipment shall be maintained in good working order and continually record when licensable activity takes place and for a period of two hours afterwards; (iii)The premises licence holder shall ensure images from the CCTV are retained for a period of 30 days. This image retention period may be reviewed as appropriate by the Licensing Authority. (iv) The correct time and date will be generated onto both the recording and the real time image screen: (v) If the CCTV equipment (including any mobile units in use at the premises) breaks down the Premises Licence Holder shall ensure the designated premises supervisor, or in his/her absence other responsible person, verbally informs the Licensing Authority and the Police as soon as is reasonably practicable. This information shall be contemporaneously recorded in the incident report register and shall include the time, date and means this was done and to whom the information was reported: (vi) Equipment failures shall be repaired or replaced as soon as is reasonably practicable and without undue delay. The Licensing Authority and the Police shall be informed when faults are rectified; (vii) The premise licence holder shall ensure that there are trained members of staff available during licensable hours to be able to reproduce and download CCTV images into a removable format at the request of any authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a constable; (viii) The system shall also record clear images permitting the identification of individuals. (ix) There shall be clear signage indicating that CCTV equipment is in use and recording at the premises 23. CCTV camera’s shall monitor all area’s used by premises patrons including any external area to monitor numbers and prevent crime and disorder. 24. The licence holder or DPS shall risk assess the need for SIA door supervisors to be present in the premises when key sporting events are taking place or when a function of any kind is taking place. 25. If door supervisors are present then the premises licence holder shall ensure that the following details for each door supervisor, are contemporaneously entered into a bound register kept for that purpose: (i) Full name; (ii) SIA Certificate number and or badge number, or registration number of any accreditation scheme recognised by the Licensing Authority (including expiry date of that registration or accreditation); (iii) The time they began their duty; (iv) The time they completed their duty. This register is to be kept at the premises at all times and shall be so maintained as to enable an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a constable to establish the particulars of all door stewards engaged at the premises during the period of not less than 31 days prior to the request and shall be open to inspection by authorised officers of the Licensing Authority or a constable upon request. _______________________ CHAIR
The Chair opened the meeting and introductions were made. The Legal Advisor to the Sub Committee asked the Senior Licensing Officer to confirm that the residents had been given appropriate notice of the hearing in line with the statutory requirements within the Licensing Act 2003. The Officer confirmed the relevant notice had been given to the residents objecting to the premise licence application and only one resident had responded.to submit their apologies for the meeting The Sub Committee were given the opportunity to adjourn the meeting. However, the Legal Advisor stated that it was likely that the residents had chosen not to attend the meeting. The Sub Committee unanimously agreed to continue with the procedure. The Legal Advisor outlined the procedure for the meeting and reported that Members had previously familiarised themselves with the report of the Licensing Officer, the application and plan of the premises together with the written submissions from the Police as a Responsible Authority and Local Residents who were objecting to the application. The Senior Licensing Officer presented the Licensing Managers report which outlined the application submitted for a new premise licence at Geshmak Café, 6 Clive Street, Caerphilly CF83 1GE with the proposed operating hours for the supply of alcohol (on and off sales). Sale of Alcohol (on/off sales) · Supply of Alcohol (On and Off Sales) Monday to Sunday between 1000-2300 hours During the application process, the applicant subsequently amended her application to reflect the supply of alcohol (on and off sales) between the hours of 10.00 until 22.30 Monday to Sunday. The Senior Licensing Officer then referred to representations received in relation to the application from the Police as a Responsible Authority and Other Persons i.e. Local Residents that were set out within the report. Copies of which were circulated with the agenda. The Senior Licensing Officer drew Members attention to Appendix 26 of the report and advised the Members that condition number 6 ‘The premises licence holder shall ensure that all drinking glasses used within the premises are of toughened or safety glass to the appropriate safety standard, in that they shall not produce sharp shards when broken.’ should not have been included within the report as it had previously been agreed with the Health and Safety Team and Applicant that this condition would be replaced with condition number 7. ‘The contents of any bottled beverage shall be decanted into a plastic / PTE / glass before service to any customer that uses the outside area. No glass will be allowed outside.’ The Legal Advisor to the Sub Committee sought further information on the reasons behind the removal of this condition. The Officer advised that following discussion, it was identified that even toughened or safety glass, if broken could produce sharp shards. Therefore, through no fault of the Applicant they would not be able to comply with this condition. The Legal Advisor sought further clarification on whether this premises had been licensed previously, and if so, was it a similar type premises and had any complaints or reviews to this premises license been received. The Officer confirmed that the premises had previously been licensed and the license was a similar business to the proposed application and was licensed for both on and off sales, Monday to Sunday inclusive. To the Officers knowledge there had been no complaints or reviews received. Attention was then drawn to the local policy considerations as set out within the report and to the way in which the Sub Committee should deal with the application. It was explained that the Sub Committee must have regard to the report, the representations made and to the evidence heard. It must take such steps as is considered necessary for the promotion of the licensing objectives and could: - · Grant the application as requested to include, where appropriate, mandatory conditions · Modify the conditions specified in the operating schedule by altering, omitting, or adding to them. · Reject the whole or part of the application. The Chair invited the Applicant to make their submissions. The Applicant addressed the Sub Committee and outlined her application and gave the Members an in-depth description of her business plan for the premises. The Applicant advised the Members that she had held a licence with Newport City Council for two years in relation to a premises of the same business model that she was intending on bringing to Caerphilly and assured Members that she was a responsible licence holder and had never received any complaints. A Member sought clarification on whether there was an outside area in the previous premises in Newport and requested confirmation on how the outside area would be used in the new premises and dealing with incidents of people gathering or causing anti-social behaviour. The applicant confirmed that there was a large outdoor area at the previous premises, which was used as a promotion area for other businesses such as craft fairs and other events and no alcohol sales or consumption of alcohol in the outdoor area. In relation to the new premises, it was confirmed that the area outside would not be used at present and when it is used there will be CCTV cameras covering the area and tables and chairs would be taken away at the end of each night. The Sub Committee were also advised that there is a gully next to the premises and the lock was broken on the gate and there was evidence of drug use there, This has been cleared and the broken lock has been replaced and the CCTV area covers this area as well. Youths attempted to go down there since and were approached and told them that they could not enter, and that CCTV was in operation. A Member requested clarity on what happened in the previous premises and sought confirmation as to whether people would be able to enter the premises for drinks only. The applicant confirmed that at the previous premises and in this premises, people are encouraged to eat whilst having either a light snack or a meal with their drinks. It was confirmed that the premises is not really a bar it is primarily an eating establishment. The Member queried the opening time and asked if this was too early to be serving alcohol and asked if the applicant would be selling cans of alcohol to be taken away. The applicant confirmed that the idea behind the early start was for special occasions such as mother’s day or other events like a special brunch with a glass of prosecco. It was also confirmed that people would not be able to call in and pick up cans off a shelf to take away and that the off sales would be more of a gift idea where speciality wines or whiskey would be sold as part of a hamper gift. The aim is to link up with Welsh Vineyards and sell their products. A Member suggested that the applicant could work with the residents to give them reassures on what the plans were for the premises and that there would be no issues with any anti-social behaviour. The Applicant confirmed that she had already invited residents and local business into the premises, and some have come in and looked around and they have been provided with the business plan and what the applicant is looking to do with the premises and has reassured them that the business will listen to their concerns and would look after the resident’s interests too. Invites have been extended to other local business for the opening night. The Chair enquired about relevant smoking areas as there had been no mention of this. The Applicant confirmed that there would be a designated smoking/vaping area outside, signs would be on display to state that the area was for customers of the premises only to discourage others to use the area and there would be containers or small bins in place for the disposal of cigarette butts and vapes, these bins would be emptied by the business. The public would be discouraged from smoking or vaping around people who would be eating or consuming alcohol. The Member also sought clarity on the noise levels from the backing music and mic nights. The applicant confirmed that there would be no amplifiers being used. There would be an acoustic guitar and a Cajon, which is a wooden block that is sat on that is a drum and there is no amplified music associated with that. The Chair invited the Responsible Authorities to make their representations. PC. A. Jones addressed the Sub Committee outlining the representations in relation to Crime and Disorder included within the report and confirmed the applicant had agreed to the suggested additional conditions. Therefore, the Police had no objection to the application as it was felt that the conditions were robust enough to mitigate any antisocial behaviour. The Sub-Committee sought clarification on whether there had been any incidents logged in connection with the area the premises is located or the premises itself. The PC confirmed that between January 2023/24 there had been only two incidents logged, neither of which were connected to the premises. The Senior Trading Standards Officer, addressed the Sub Committee outlining the representation in relation to the Protection of Children from Harm objective, included within the report and confirmed that the Applicant had agreed to that the suggested condition be added to the operating schedule prior to the meeting. As such did not have any objection to the application. The Assistant Licensing Manager, addressed to the Sub Committee outlining the representation in relation to the Prevention of Crime and Disorder, Public Safety, and the Prevention of Public Nuisance objectives, which were included within the report, and confirmed that the suggested conditions had been accepted by the Applicant prior to the meeting. Therefore, there were no objections to the grant of the application. All parties were then afforded the opportunity to sum up before the Licensing and Gambling Sub Committee retired to make its decision. Before summing up the Senior Licensing Officer sought clarification from the Applicant as to whether she would be the Designated Premises Supervisor, should the licence be granted. The Applicant confirmed this to be the case. The Senior Licensing Officer confirmed that they had no further comments. The Police stated that they had no further comments and confirmed their position that they have no objection to the application. The Trading Standards Officer stated that they had no further comment and confirmed their position that there was no objection to this application. Licensing Authority stated that they had no further comment and confirmed that there was no objection to this application. The Applicant thanked the Sub Committee and Officers for listening and for their representations which will help her to robustly uphold the licensing objectives and to the run the business as it is intended as a safe haven and calm place for people to enjoy with excellent cuisine and a peaceful atmosphere. The Legal Advisor informed all parties present that the Sub Committee would retire to consider the representations made at the meeting and they would be informed in writing of the decision in the next 5 days. The Sub Committee retired at 10.14am to make its decision and all other parties left the meeting. Following consideration of the application for a new premises licence at 6 Clive Street, Caerphilly, CF83 1GE and having regard to the Licensing Manager’s report and all the representations made, the Licensing and Gambling Sub Committee unanimously RESOLVED that the application for a new premises licence be GRANTED, subject to the conditions as set out below: · Supply of Alcohol (On and Off Sales) · Monday to Sunday 10.00hrs to 22.30hrs subject to the conditions set out within Appendix 26 of the Licensing Report, attached hereto (save for the removal of the proposed condition number 6 regarding the use of toughened glassware). In reaching this decision the Sub-Committee considered the promotion of the four licensing objectives, being the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm. The Sub-Committee had regard to the statutory guidance and the council’s licensing policy. The Sub-Committee gave significant weight that no Responsible Authority opposed the application. In this respect, there appeared to be little, if any, opposition to the application based on public safety, or the protection of children from harm. The objection to the application, made by the relevant members of the public, appeared to principally relate to the promotion of prevention of crime and disorder, and the prevention of public nuisance, though the Sub-Committee accepted that there can be some limited cross-over between such objective and the remaining three licensing objectives. All members of the public who had made representations objecting to the grant of the new premises licence failed to appear at the hearing. The Sub-Committee accepted the evidence from the Senior Licensing Officer that each individual had been sent a notification of the hearing. One objector responded to indicate that they would not be attending the hearing. It was confirmed at the hearing that no responses had been received from any resident that they intended to attend the hearing. The Sub-Committee were equally satisfied that no contact had been received by the licensing team or Committee Services from either resident that explained their respective absences or any requests for the hearing to be adjourned. The Sub-Committee decided pursuant to regulation 20(2)(b) of The Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005 to hear the application in the absence of the two residents who had objected to the application. The Sub-Committee did not consider that it was in the public interest to adjourn the hearing to a further date. The Sub-Committee, in reaching its decision, gave regard to the written objections provided by each respective resident comprising pages 51 to 71 of the Licencing Report. The Sub-Committee gave significant weight to the Applicant’s previous experience in operating a licenced premises of the same nature within Newport and weight was given to the two responses from members of the public supporting the Applicant’s application. The Sub-Committee accepted that there was no evidence that the Applicant had failed to promote the four licensing objectives within her former licensed premises. The Sub-Committee drew confidence from the combination of the contents of the Applicant’s initial operating schedule, her positive conduct in interacting with Responsible Authorities during the consultation period, and the Applicant’s demeanour at the hearing, that the Applicant took her licensing responsibilities with due seriousness and consideration. The Sub-Committee were persuaded that it could have confidence in the Applicant maintaining appropriate conditions of a premises licence and ensuring the promotion of the four licencing objectives. This was not an application for which the only way to promote the licensing objectives would be to refuse the licence outright. The Sub-Committee noted that the council does not have a cumulative policy in terms of premises licencing. Given this, the Sub-Committee did not give any significant weight to relevant residents’ objections that were based on there being an “influx” of off-licence premises within the Caerphilly town centre. There may or may not be an influx of such premises – but this element alone would be an insufficient basis on which to refuse the application under the terms of the council’s own licensing policy. The resident objections principally relied on a link between off-sale alcohol and anti-social behaviour (a form of disorder) within the town centre. In assessing the weight to give this evidence the Sub-Committee considered paragraph 9.12 of the Home Office – Revised Guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003. Each responsible authority are experts in their field and the Sub-Committee gave significant weight to Gwent Police not opposing the application. The evidence provided at the hearing by the Applicant, which the Sub-Committee fully accepted, was that her business model was fundamentally different to a small shop selling off-licence alcohol. The Applicant set out in detail within her written submissions within the licensing report, and verbally at the meeting, that she intends to operate a bistro/restaurant business – with the focus principally being on food rather than alcohol. The Applicant explained, and the Sub-Committee fully accepted, that the off-sales permission was sought to enable the Applicant to sell boutique or unusual spirits or wines as part of gift hampers and the like from a small deli counter within the premises. This was an aspect of the intended business which differed from her previous restaurant in Newport. The Sub-Committee, in its judgement, reached the view that there was a very remote risk of individuals buying such alcohol from this premises to consume in public and behave inappropriately within the locality of the premises – which may be more of a risk with a small store, for instance, selling high strength lager in multi-can packs. The Sub-Committee afforded little weight to the resident objections. The residents were appearing to, colloquially put, “compare apples with pears.” Whilst the Sub-Committee reached this view, it was not seeking to denigrate the residents’ concerns about aspects of the Caerphilly town centre and off-sales of alcohol – which it accepted was acutely felt by most, if not all, of the resident objectors. However, in the context of the Applicant’s business, there was a very low risk that the granting of the premises licence would add to the concerns raised by the residents, due to it being a restaurant/bistro. In reaching the above view, it was a factor for the Sub-Committee that the written objections from residents were mostly less than one respective page – often comprising 2-3 sentences. The representations expressed broad complaints and the Sub-Committee noted paragraph 9.9 of the above s.182 guidance and its application in this matter. The opportunity for the objecting residents to attend the hearing to amplify and or clarify their objections had not been taken. The Sub-Committee took the view that there may be ASB within Caerphilly town centre – but the determination of the application did not solely rest on whether this was the case. The critical link between the licensed activity (off-sales of alcohol) and any ASB was not borne out in the written objections. The residents had not made themselves available to the hearing to be questioned as to why they had concluded that the ASB they are alleged to have witnessed was caused by off-sales of alcohol as opposed, for instance, from on-sales of alcohol at nearby licenced premises. Nor had the residents made themselves available to answer questions from the Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee gave some weight within its decision to the location of the premises and its recent history of operating as a licensed premises with a former licence holder. The Licensing Authority confirmed that the premises had not been one causing any concern over recent years whilst licenced. The outdoor area to the front of the premises had been in place for several years. The area surrounding the premises is a mixture of commercial and residential premises. These factors combined with the lack of objection from Environmental Health in regard to noise nuisance issues, and appropriate licensing conditions having been in principle agreed to mitigate such risk – the Sub-Committee were confident that the promotion of the licensing objective to prevent public nuisance would be adequately protected should the licence be granted. In the Sub-Committee’s judgement, it was adequately satisfied that the licensing objectives, particularly in regard to the prevention of crime and disorder, and prevention of public nuisance, would be sufficiently promoted by the Applicant to justify the grant of the licence applied for. The Sub-Committee was equally satisfied that the licence conditions, as settled between the Responsible Authorities and the Applicant prior to the hearing, were all the current conditions necessary to promote the licencing objectives in this instance. The Sub-Committee acceded to the request to remove the condition regarding the use of toughened glassware within the premises on account of such use will not necessarily prevent sharp shards when broken. Any person aggrieved by this decision has 21 days from the date of written notification of the decision to appeal to the local Magistrates Court. Conditions of Licence 1. The premises licence holder shall require the designated premises supervisor, or in his / her absence other responsible person, to keep an ‘incident / refusals’ logbook in a bound book in which full details of all incidents are recorded. This shall include details of any refused sales and shall give details of the persons involved, incident description, time and date, actions taken and final outcome of the situation. This shall be completed as soon as possible and, in any case, no later than the close of business on the day of the incident. The time and date when the report was completed, and by whom, is to form part of the entry. The logbook is to be kept on the premises at all times and shall be produced to an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a constable when required. All records shall be kept for a period of 12 months. 2. All staff to be trained in the prevention of underage sales to a level commensurate with their duties. All such training to be updated as necessary, for instances when legislation changes, and should include training on how to deal with difficult customers. The training should be clearly documented and signed and dated by both the trainer and the member of staff receiving it. The documentation shall be available for inspection on request by an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a constable. The records shall be kept for a 12 month period. 3. An approved proof of age scheme shall be adopted, implemented, and advertised within the premise such as ‘Challenge 25’ whereby an accepted form of photographic identification shall be requested before any alcohol is sold to any person who appears to be under 25 years of age. Acceptable proof of age shall include identification bearing the customers photograph, date of birth and integral holographic mark or security measure. Suitable means of identification would include PASS approved proof of age card, photo-card driving licence and passport. 4. Publicity materials notifying customers of the operation of the Challenge 25 scheme shall be displayed at the premises, including a Challenge 25 sign of at least A5 size at the entrance to the premises and where practicable at each point of sale. 5. All staff with a responsibility for supplying or selling alcohol shall be vigilant in preventing adults buying alcohol on behalf of persons who are under 18 and will refuse such sales where they suspect that this may be about to occur, subject to the exemptions under Section 149 (5) of the Licensing Act 2003 which allows beer, cider or wine to be purchased for an individual aged 16 or 17, providing the beer, cider or wine is for consumption with a table meal and that a person aged 18 or over is accompanying the individual. 6. The contents of any bottled beverage shall be decanted into a plastic / PTE / glass before service to any customer that uses the outside area. No glass will be allowed outside. 7. The outside area will not be used after 22.00 hrs. 8. The outdoor area to the front of the premises must be closed and cleared of customers by 22.00hours. 9. There shall be no consumption of alcoholic beverages purchased from the premises in open containers outside at the front of the premises unless seated in dedicated area with table and chairs. 10. All off sales will be in sealed containers. 11. The premises supervisor, manager or other competent person shall manage any outdoor area to ensure that customers do not behave in a noisy, rowdy, or offensive manner. 12. The Outside area to be monitored periodically by staff through licensable times. 13. Should customers be outside the premises causing congestion, loitering and/or causing Anti-Social Behaviour they will be told move away from the vicinity of the premises by the premises supervisor, manager or other competent person 14. Amplified music shall not be played at a level that will cause unreasonable disturbance to the occupants of any properties in the vicinity. 15. Clear notices must be displayed at all points where customers leave the building instructing them to respect the needs of local residents and leave the premises and the area quietly. 16. Activities relating to the on-site disposal (including placing into external receptacles) and collection of refuse, bottles and recyclable materials shall only take place between 09:00 and 21:00 17. The licence holder shall ensure that adequate measures are in place to remove litter or waste arising from customers and to prevent such litter from accumulating in the immediate vicinity of their premises. In particular, where necessary the premises licence holder shall ensure that adequate measures are in place to provide customers with sufficient receptacles for the depositing of waste materials such as food wrappings, drinks and smoking related litter, etc. 18. All staff/members who serve alcohol to be trained in the prevention of underage sales to a level commensurate with their duties. 19. All such training to be updated as necessary, for instances when legislation changes, and should include training on how to deal with difficult customers. 20. The training should be clearly documented and signed and dated by both the trainer and member of staff receiving it. The document shall be available for inspection on request by an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a Constable. All records to be kept for a minimum of 12 months. 21. Children must be accompanied and supervised by a responsible adult at all times. 22. CCTV shall be in use at the premises. (i) Where a CCTV system is to be installed, extended, or replaced, it shall be to an appropriate standard as agreed with the Licensing Authority in consultation with the Police. Where a CCTV system is to be installed, it shall be fully operational by the grant of the licence. (ii) The CCTV equipment shall be maintained in good working order and continually record when licensable activity takes place and for a period of two hours afterwards; (iii)The premises licence holder shall ensure images from the CCTV are retained for a period of 30 days. This image retention period may be reviewed as appropriate by the Licensing Authority. (iv) The correct time and date will be generated onto both the recording and the real time image screen: (v) If the CCTV equipment (including any mobile units in use at the premises) breaks down the Premises Licence Holder shall ensure the designated premises supervisor, or in his/her absence other responsible person, verbally informs the Licensing Authority and the Police as soon as is reasonably practicable. This information shall be contemporaneously recorded in the incident report register and shall include the time, date and means this was done and to whom the information was reported: (vi) Equipment failures shall be repaired or replaced as soon as is reasonably practicable and without undue delay. The Licensing Authority and the Police shall be informed when faults are rectified; (vii) The premise licence holder shall ensure that there are trained members of staff available during licensable hours to be able to reproduce and download CCTV images into a removable format at the request of any authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a constable; (viii) The system shall also record clear images permitting the identification of individuals. (ix) There shall be clear signage indicating that CCTV equipment is in use and recording at the premises 23. CCTV camera’s shall monitor all area’s used by premises patrons including any external area to monitor numbers and prevent crime and disorder. 24. The licence holder or DPS shall risk assess the need for SIA door supervisors to be present in the premises when key sporting events are taking place or when a function of any kind is taking place. 25. If door supervisors are present then the premises licence holder shall ensure that the following details for each door supervisor, are contemporaneously entered into a bound register kept for that purpose: (i) Full name; (ii) SIA Certificate number and or badge number, or registration number of any accreditation scheme recognised by the Licensing Authority (including expiry date of that registration or accreditation); (iii) The time they began their duty; (iv) The time they completed their duty. This register is to be kept at the premises at all times and shall be so maintained as to enable an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or a constable to establish the particulars of all door stewards engaged at the premises during the period of not less than 31 days prior to the request and shall be open to inspection by authorised officers of the Licensing Authority or a constable upon request. _______________________ CHAIR
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