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There is no summary of this meeting yet. One is written once the council publishes the minutes. The agenda and papers are below.
There were apologies for absence received from PC J. Taylor (Gwent Police), Mr and Mrs Burrows (Local Residents) and Mr and Mrs Owen (Local Residents).
There were no declarations of interest made at the beginning or during the course of the meeting.
The Legal Advisor to the Sub-Committee outlined the procedure for the meeting and reported that Members had previously familiarised themselves with the report of the Licensing Manager, the application and plan of the premises together with the written submissions from the responsible authorities and Residents objections to the application. The Licensing Manager presented the application and advised that Atlas UK Group Limited sought a variation of the existing licence to 1. Extend the licensed area following expansion of the shop floor. 2. Permit alcohol sales on a 24-hour basis and 3. Permit late night refreshment between 23:00 and 5:00am daily. The Committee were advised that the current licence authorised alcohol sales between 07:30 and 23:00 only. Representations had been received from Environmental Health, Licensing Authority and 3 residents. There had also been representations received from Gwent Police and Trading Standards who were seeking conditions. The Licensing Manager clarified that an error within the report regarding the police agreed conditions and confirmed that the report referred to night hatch 23:00 sales and that two staff members would be present. The correct agreement was that Sales would be via a night hatch and that one member of staff would be present. This had been circulated to all parties and sought confirmation from the Chair that this amended information had been received by Members. The Chair confirmed that this was received. Attention was drawn to the local policy considerations as set out in within the Licensing Officers report and to the way in which the Sub Committee should deal with the application. The Sub Committee were also referred to the recommendation set out in the report, which considered the position of the Responsible Authorities of the Applicant’s ability to promote the Licensing Objectives (particularly the promotion of the Prevention of Public Nuisance Licensing Objective). Members were advised that the Applicant had been appraised of the comments of the Responsible Authorities and responses to those comments were included within the report The Licensing Manager referred to the recommendations set out within the report which asked the committee to approve the amended premises plan, and to refuse the application for 24-hour alcohol sales and to refuse the application for late night refreshment The Applicants representative asked if the Licensing Manager could confirm the details of when the Licence Holder had taken over the premises. It was confirmed that the transfer application had been received on the 12th March 2026, and that the licence was issued to Atlas UK Group Ltd following that application. The Chair queried the absence of pre-application discussions and asked whether it was common practice for Applicants to engage with authorities before applying. The Licensing Manager explained that the Councils Licensing Policy strongly encourages engagement before submission. Such engagement can identify local issues and potentially resolve concerns before submission. Whilst the engagement was encouraged it was not mandatory. One Member asked whether the proposed night hatch would apply to hot food and other sales after 23:00. The Licensing Manager advised that his understanding was that all sales including late-night refreshments between 23:00 and 05:00 would be via the night hatch. The Chair thanked the Officer and invited representations from the Responsible Authorities. The Police Office present from Gwent Police confirmed that Gwent Police had no objections to the application and were satisfied with the agreed conditions. The Legal Adviser asked what had changed compared with previous applications involving the premises when the police had objected. The Police Officer explained that previous objections arose because the premises had been within a problem-orientated policing plan area, the premises no longer formed part of that policing initative and that the agreed conditions would help prevent recurrence of previous issues. A Member sought confirmation on the number of callouts since the new operator took over the premises. The Police Officer confirmed that there had been 19 police calls within the immediate area, 5 specifically linked to the garage. Most involved low-level anti-social behaviour, 1 incident involved a customer becoming aggressive after being refused alcohol at approximately 01:50am, the matter was reported and dealt with. Members sought clarification regarding the agreed conditions. The Police Officer confirmed the agreed conditions included no public access to the premises after 23:00, the premises doors were to be locked until 05:00, all sales would be made through the night hatch, no consumption of alcohol in open container outside the premises, staff would be required to move any persons causing a nuisance and notices to be displayed requesting customers to leave the premises quietly. The Chair asked if the application was to be refused would people still be able to enter the premises to purchase non-licensable products. It was confirmed that they could still enter the premises as there were no planning or licensing restrictions in place to prevent entry currently. With the introduction of the conditions for the night hatch there would be no entry to the premises after 23:00 and that if they allowed anyone in that would be a breach of the licensing arrangements. The Chair thanked The Police Officer and invited Environmental Health to present their representations. The Environmental Health Officer provided her representations and confirmed that Environmental Health objected to 24-hour alcohol sales and late-night refreshments. Concerns were raised on the prevention of public nuisance, proximity to residential properties, existing anti-social behaviour, youth gatherings, potential increase in alcohol-related disorder, lack of Applicant engagement before submission, insufficient evidence of management controls, risk of increased noise disturbance from customers and vehicles, there was also concerns that the premises would become the only local outlet selling alcohol beyond 23:00pm. The Applicant’s representative asked the Officer to quantify concerns. The Officer explained that anti-social behaviour had been witnessed by District Officers, Residents had reported issues, and Gwent Police had reported incidents, and the concern was preventing escalation of future nuisance rather than responding after the incident had occurred and protecting the public as well as staff through Health and Safety at work The Applicants representative questioned assertions regarding management failings. The Officer advised that no engagement had taken place, no evidence of procedures or policies had been provided, and the authority had therefore had insufficient confidence in the Applicant’s management arrangements. The Chair thanked the Officer and invited the Licensing Authority to present their representations. The Licensing Officer provided her representation and confirmed that the Licensing Authority objected to the extension of alcohol sales hour and late-night refreshment. Officers outline concerns arising from compliance visits and identified the main concerns were the CCTV operating with an incorrect time stamp, with the issue remaining unresolved during subsequent inspections which were carried out after the transfer of the licence. The designated premises supervisor (DPS) not being present during inspection visits, incorrect premises licence displayed and refusals log had not been updated since 2022. The Officer confirmed that the Licensing Authorities position was that they supported approval of the revised licensed area, however they did not support the extended hours or late-night refreshment and stated that if Members were minded to grant the licence, Gwent Police conditions should be imposed. A Member asked whether any complaints had been received. The Officer advised that there had been no complaints made directly to the Licensing Authority. Members sought clarification regarding CCTV issues. Officers confirmed that there were time discrepancies as the CCTV was one hour out during inspections, this could seriously affect investigations. Issues had previously been identified and remained unresolved during a later inspection. Officers stated that accurate timestamps were essential for crime investigation and licence enforcement when it comes to checking compliance. The Chair thanked the Officer and invited Trading Standards to present their representations. The Trading Standards Officer provided her representation and confirmed that Trading Standards did not formally object to the application, but had requested certain conditions be implemented, which related to the protection of children from harm licensing objectives and to demonstrate their commitment to underage sales prevention. Whilst it was acknowledged that the Applicant had not been directly linked to complaints or intelligence of alcohol underage sales, trading standards had been working within the community for the last two years. A Member asked if complaints had been received regarding underage alcohol sales under the current operator. The officer confirmed that no complaints had been received since March 2026 regarding underage alcohol sales. There had been a complaint in relation to underage fuel sales in October 2025 and this resulted in an officer visiting the garage to carry out a routine inspection. The visit could not be completed due to missing paperwork and poor communication due to a language barrier with the staff member. Advice was left with the staff member The Officer outlined and referred to historical underage fuel sales complaints, Community concerns regarding anti-social behaviour, community alcohol partnership activity, requests from Community Safey for test purchasing exercises and previous enforcement and advisory work within the area. There was concern that extended 24-hour alcohol sales could create further opportunities for underage access to alcohol in a high deprivation area. Concerns were expressed in relation to the refusal logs not being updated since 2022. Clarification was sought on what support Trading Standards provides to businesses. The Officer explained that premises would be risk assessed, Officers undertake routine visits and provide regulatory advice and training that supports retailers regarding underage sales prevention, educational materials and guidance would be supplied where appropriate and officers would work with the business owners and DPS to help in situations where any language barriers were identified to resolve and work around them to find a solution. The Chair thanked the Officer and invited the resident to present their representations. The Resident thanked the Chair and the committee for allowing her to speak at the meeting and confirmed that she was also speaking on behalf of herself, her parents and neighbours who had submitted objections but were not available to attend the meeting. The issues raised by the residents included noise from customers vehicles with doors be slammed, revving of engines, light pollution, littering, youths congregating nearby, anti-social behaviour, underage drinking concerns, noise from employees maintaining the forecourt after midnight and the cleaning of the industrial bins at 3am in the morning, obstruction of private driveways, residents having to move bedrooms to avoid the noise causing sleep disturbance and the fear of further disruption if extended alcohol sales were permitted. To protect themselves over these fears residents felt the need to have CCTV systems installed and that the police had contacted the residents for the CCTV footage during investigations into a recent armed robbery at the garage. Members asked for further details on the attempted robbery and requested further information from Gwent Police. The Police Officer advised that the incident occurred on the 19th April 2026 where a customer had been refused alcohol. The individual produced a pair of scissors and entered behind the counter and stole money from the till. The suspect was subsequently arrested and was reportedly serving a custodial sentence in prison. A Member queried whether the crime incidents affected the police position. The Police Officer stated that the premises should not be blamed for being a victim of crime, however the incident had occurred because the premises had been open. Gwent Police remained satisfied with the agreed conditions. A Member enquired as to how long the family had lived at their property and asked whether the problems had been there before the new owner took over, whether the problems were linked directly to the garage and whether all anti-social behaviour was alcohol related. Mrs Vaughan confirmed that her family had lived there for decades, some problems had existed for a number of years. It was confirmed that not all anti-social behaviour was related to alcohol and that the garage and surrounding area were regular gathering points for local youths. The Chair raised concerns about people driving to the garage and purchasing alcohol, then parking close by and consuming the alcohol and asked whether this had been witnessed. Gwent Police advised that the road traffic Act was very specific and this would need to be witnessed by a police officer. These concerns were noted and The Police Officer confirmed that he would request the area be monitored by road traffic specialists but emphasised that no action could be taken unless they were caught in the act by those specialists. The Chair thanked the Resident and invited the Applicant’s representative to present their representations. The Applicant’s representative stated that the premises was an established 24-hour business with a considerable amount of investment had been made. The business provided an important local service and that most customers were legitimate users of the premises. Conditions proposed by Gwent Police would mitigate concerns. It was argued that resident’s fears were not supported by sufficient objective evidence and that existing issues in the area were not necessarily attributable to the premises. Similarly with the responsible authorities with no evidence being provided from Environmental Health and Licensing, and confirmation from trading standards that they do not object to the licence subject to the inclusion of certain conditions being put in place.in line with the conditions set out by Gwent Police who were satisfied with the licence being approved subject to the approval of the Applicant agreeing to those conditions. It was stated that the Applicant’s willingness to accept conditions covering the night hatch operation, the CCTV requirements, quiet departure notices to be displayed, the restrictions on overnight deliveries and restrictions on late night waste collection, repairs and maintenance activity would also help to deal with any concerns. One Member questioned why the business required 24-hour alcohol sales when it had already operated successfully. The Applicant’s representative stated that customers expected convenience which included shift workers and passing trade sought alcohol alongside other purchases. Alcohol formed part of the overall retail offer. A Member asked how intoxicated customers would be managed. It was confirmed that staff would receive regular training on how to deal with those situations and intoxicated individuals would be refused service and the refusals would be recorded, and the police would be called where necessary. Members queried the apparent deficiencies in records. The Applicant’s representative confirmed that the training and refusals were recorded electronically and that the area managers reviewed compliance. It was confirmed that paper records could also be maintained. Members repeatedly sought evidence of overnight demand for alcohol, and it was stated that the premises relied on passing motorists, shift workers and travellers using the facility overnight. No specific market research or quantified evidence was presented during the hearing. The Environmental Health Officer asked what action had been taken following recent crime incidents. The Applicant’s representative referred to staff conflict management training, CCTV operation, incident recording procedures and compliance with licence conditions proposed by Gwent Police. The Chair thanked the Applicants representative and invited all parties to sum up. The Licensing Manager reminded Members to focus on the four licensing objectives, statutory guidance, The Councils Licensing Policy and the evidence heard during the hearing in making their decision. Gwent Police maintained no objection, subject to the conditions already proposed. Environmental Health maintained objection to both the extended alcohol hours and late-night refreshment. The Licensing Authority maintained objection to both elements of the application. Trading Standards requested inclusion of child-protection conditions should Members be minded to grant the application. The Resident maintained that the residents-maintained objection based on concerns regarding nuisance, anti-social behaviour, noise and community impact. The Applicant’s representative requested approval of the application, stating that the proposed conditions would adequately promote all four licensing objectives. The Chair thanked all parties and confirmed 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 12:44 pm to make its decision and all other parties left the meeting. The decision of the Licensing and Gambling Sub Committee (“Sub-Committee”) regarding the hearing held on 29th June 2026 in respect of the Determination of Premises Licence Variation Application. The application was for a variation of the existing premises in three areas. The Applicant sought to amend the licensing plan, extend the existing licence to supply alcohol (off-sales only) from the existing hours of 07:30 to 23:00 to 24 hours 7 days per week, and permit late night provision of the sale of hot food/drinks from 23:00 to 05:00 7 days per week. After considering all of the evidence before them, the Sub-Committee has decided to grant the variation to the licensing plan for the premises but to refuse both the increased hours sought for the supply of alcohol (off-sales only) and permission for the sale of hot food/drinks from 23:00 to 05:00 (7 days per week). The reasons for the Sub-Committee’s decision are set out below. The opposition to the application from Responsible Authorities (those who responded) and members of the public principally revolved around the licensing objectives of the prevention of crime and disorder and the prevention of public nuisance. The remaining licensing objectives were of much lesser significance and nothing of note turned on these for the Sub-Committee. Prevention of public nuisance In reaching its decision the Sub-Committee were cognisant that the Applicant had taken over the business on or around 1 March 2026 and that the premises has operated as a 24 hours petrol station for several years. The Sub-Committee also held into account that the employees responsible or involved in the daily operation of the business at the premises had largely remained the same before and after 1 March 2026. The Sub-Committee gave weight to the evidence in Appendix 2 and 3. Whilst it could accept the Applicant’s submission that the premises was on the main road through Rhymney, the Sub-Committee reached the view that the premises was in very close proximity to residential housing. Furthermore, the Sub-Committee took into account the relatively small size of Rhymney village itself. These factors were prescient in the members minds when considering paragraph 11.1 of the Licensing Policy and their focus on effect of the licensable activities at the specific premises and judging whether or not such effect(s) may be unreasonable or disproportionate. The Sub-Committee were satisfied that the impact and or potential impact of the licensable activities at the premises where sufficient in this case to satisfy the concept of the nuisance being public. Three local neighbours had opposed the application during the consultation period, and the majority of their respective complaints involved nuisance, such a noise that already arises or is likely to arise should the application be granted. Each complainant neighbour set out briefly the effect of the current noise on their enjoyment of their homes and general well-being. This included interruptions to their sleep, by being awoken at very late hours by noise from the premises, either from patrons or the operation of the existing business at the premises. The Sub-Committee took into account that should the variation be granted in full the premises would be the only current business in Rhymney where alcohol could be obtained after 23:00 hours and the only place were hot food/drinks would be available throughout the night and early morning. There was an appreciable risk that the footfall and or vehicles accessing the business was likely to increase between 23:00 and 05:00 than is currently being experienced by neighbours. The Sub-Committee accepted the submission that there would be an increased likelihood of patrons of the business loitering longer in the immediate area/forecourt to consume hot food and drink obtained from the premises at antisocial hours and excessive noise for such late hour was likely to result. The Sub-Committee were not persuaded by the Applicant’s submissions that motor vehicles are now quieter, and people do not play music in their vehicles much anymore. The Sub-Committee reached the view that the representations made by the Environmental Health Officer and the objecting neighbours were more akin to the likely reality. The increased patronage of the premises between 23:00 and 05:00 on account of the licensable activities is likely to bring with it a very real risk of vehicles pulling up to the premises with groups of people, perhaps at the tail end of a night out, playing music within the vehicle at volume, inadvertently slamming doors, naturally chatting and laughing amongst themselves and possibly parking on the forecourt or in the immediate area to consume hot food. Whilst the Sub-Committee accepted that there was an equivalent risk now in regard to the purchase of fuel – it reached the view that such risk would increase should the licensable activities be allowed during such periods applied for. Furthermore, the Sub-Committee was persuaded by the Environmental Health officers point that during such antisocial hours, when most residents would be sleeping, it would not take much noise to become problematic given the low levels of ambient noise. The Sub-Committee concluded that the combination of the specific location of the premises, in close proximity to residential properties, and the likely increase of footfall/vehicles accessing the premises if the further licensable activities were granted significantly increased the risk that that the prevention of public nuisance could not be adequately promoted. The Sub-Committee reached the view that such risk could not be adequately managed by conditions on the licence. The proposed use of the hatch only service would mean forecourt noise was very likely to increase but the use of the hatch would appear to promote the prevention of crime and disorder. The staff would have little to no control over the noise coming from vehicles whilst people make purchasers at the premises. The single staff member covering the shift(s) between the period between 23:00 to 05:00 will have little ability to minimise problematic noise when this arises from patrons. By way of contrast, were the premises located away from residentially dwellings, on a busy A road, then the same risks to the promotion of the prevention of public nuisance would be unlikely to arise. Prevention of crime and disorder The Sub-Committee took into account that there was some level of cross over between this licensing objective and the prevention of public nuisance where noise may arise from instances of antisocial behaviour. The Sub-Committee gave weight to the representations from Gwent Police and paragraph 9.12 of the National Guidance issued under s.182 of the Licensing Act 2003, and some deference was given to such representation by the Sub-Committee. Gwent Police indicated at the hearing that since March 2026 there had been 19 reported incidents of ASB in the surrounding area of the premises and 5 of those directly involving the premises. This information was not included in the Gwent Police representations – which supported the application subject to certain conditions of the licence being agreed by the Applicant. The Sub-Committee did not place any weight on this on account of the lack of detail in such information and the lack of opportunity for the Applicant to deal/respond to this information in a measured way. For instance, the Sub-Committee had no detail before them as to what geographical measure had been used by Gwent Police to determine what constitutes the surrounding area and whether or not this included parts of the High Street. There was no detailed information about the nature of the alleged incidents – such as who the alleged perpetrators were, the nature of the behaviour, the time of day such incidents were alleged to have taken place. The Sub-Committee felt that the above was unfortunate and makes their task harder – as whilst the above cited paragraph of the National Guidance does encourage a level of deference to the relevant Responsible Authority – the judgement of the same still rests with the Sub-Committee. Whilst Gwent Police may feel that 19 reports of possibly relevant ASB incidents may not be worth mentioning in its representations, the lack of a more comprehensive picture being given by Gwent Police as to the foundation or basis of its representations, whether supporting or objecting to an application before it, made the Sub-Committee’s ability to judge whether the conclusions drawn by Gwent Police were credible, reasonable and or rational, more difficult. The Sub-Committee were also cautious about the ASB evidence within the written representations of Environmental Health. It detailed personal observations of youths made in the surrounding area of the premises during the day and then appeared to extrapolate that such behaviour would also occur, impliedly between 23:00 and 05:00 in the morning. There was little in the way of reasoned explanation as to why this would be the case and the role the licensable activities applied for would play in causing the same. The written representations of the objecting neighbouring residents did expressly mention the premises being a focal point of youth ASB and vehicle based ASB. Mrs Vaughan explained that she personally has made numerous calls to 101 regarding alleged ASB in the immediate area of the premises and her home (but also included areas further away such as a car park across the road from the premises and a local park accessed via a lane outside her home. The residents raised the issue of vehicle based ASB such as the excessive revving of car engines by youths within the forecourt of the premises or immediate area. The residents fear being that the granting of the licensable activities applied for would serve to increase the premises being such a focal point and that this was likely to continue to be the case late at night into the early hours of the morning given hot food/hot drinks and alcohol would be available to purchase at such hours. They argued that this would provide an increased incentive to loiter and or congregate in the area and create noise such as loud shouting at a time when the ambient noise would be very low. The Sub-Committee did give this weight in reaching its decision and it tended to add to the similar conclusions reached under the prevention of public nuisance licensing objective. The Sub-Committee considered whether conditions on the licence could adequately promote the licensing objective to promote the prevention of crime and disorder in this instance but concluded that they would not. The Sub-Committee considered the risk of congregations and the Applicant’s staff’s ability to effectively encourage dispersal away from the forecourt and immediate area. The staff could encourage this verbally through the use of the Tanoy system, but this in itself risks the creation of further noise nuisance. It would not be expected that the staff member would leave the premises to attend onto the forecourt during the late hours of the evening/early hours of the morning to address the issue. There was scope for people to become argumentative, particularly if under the influence, which risks the escalation of further noise at a sensitive time of night. Whilst staff could contact Gwent Police, its ability to respond would inevitably be unpredictable and based on the competing demands of its presence elsewhere in the community during such hours of the night/morning and the assessment of urgency that the ASB may present. In short, if the problem did arise the Sub-Committee were not persuaded that the premises would have the ready ability to resolve it, nor would a timely intervention from Gwent Police always be possible. The risk of further sleep disturbance to local residents would arise. Confidence in the Applicant Given the elevated risks to the promotion of the above two licencing objectives, it was a factor in the Sub-Committee’s decision to consider the confidence it would currently have in the Applicant ensuring the adequate promotion of the same in the management of the premises. In considering this aspect the Sub-Committee were cognisant of the Applicant’s long prior history of managing similarly licensed premises and the relatively short period of time from taking over the current premises. Counterbalanced against this was the staff at the premises in day-to-day operation appearing to be largely continuing from the prior ownership. The Sub-Committee did draw adverse conclusions from the breaches of licence noted in the written representations of the Licensing Authority based on visits to the premises on 28 January 2026 (when not then owned by the Applicant) and 7 May 2026. This included continuing issues involved in the CCTV clock and the wrong premises licence being on display contrary to the obligation arising under the Licensing Act 2003. Training logs and documented refusal logs appeared to cease in 2022, which lead to the unnatural conclusion there has been no refusals for the sale of alcohol in around 4 years. The Sub-Committee was not adequately persuaded by the Applicant’s explanation as to recent electronic records being implemented and the employee at the time of the visit not knowing precisely what was being asked of them by the employee of the Licensing Authority. The Sub-Committee noted the Applicant’s submission regarding the provision of monthly training to employees regarding the obligations under the licence and conflict management, though the evidence was scant. The current lack of robust evidence of compliance with the relevant licence conditions coupled with the lack of proactive consideration of appropriate licence conditions within the operating schedule within the variation application, left the Sub-Committee with some doubt as to the Applicant’s current ability to manage the promotion of the licensing objectives within the relatively higher-than-normal risk permissions for 24 hour off-sales of alcohol and late night refreshment between 23:00 and 05:00, both 7 days per week, within a residential area where it would be the only such offering within the area. The Sub-Committee considered the Applicant’s submission regarding paragraph 1.18 of the National Guidance issued under s.182 of the Licensing Act 2003 and accepted that granting the variation application in full would promote growth and deliver economic benefits. However, the Sub-Committee were not persuaded that such considerations could effectively trump considerations of the licensing objectives, which are required under the Licensing Act 2003 for a lawful decision to be made. For the above reasons, the Sub-Committee, in exercising its judgement on the evidence before it, determined that the grant of the increased hours for alcohol off-sales and late-night refreshment form the premises would not sufficiently promote the 4 licensing objectives and as such this part of the application was refused. The grant of the variation to the premises plan appeared to present no relevant threat to the same and was accordingly granted. The Applicant has 21 days from receiving written notification of this decision to appeal to the Gwent Magistrates Court.
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