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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 License be granted subject to such conditions modified to such extent as the Authority considers necessary for the promotion of the Licensing Objectives. All parties then re-entered the Meeting and the Chair gave the decision of the Committee.
There were no apologies for absence as all Members were present.
No Declarations of Interest were made.
Decision as recorded
Resolved that: The License be granted subject to such conditions modified to such extent as the Authority considers necessary for the promotion of the Licensing Objectives. All parties then re-entered the Meeting and the Chair gave the decision of the Committee.
Application for a New Premises Licence – 1 Efail Shingrig, Trelewis The Chair welcomed Mr K Ponnuthurai the applicant, Ms G Sherratt Licensing Consultant and Mr T Dallimore local resident to the Meeting. Jo Baber then led the Committee in detail through the report and advised that since the preparation of the report the applicant had agreed conditions with South Wales Police a copy of which had been circulated to the Committee and local residents. PC Steven Moseley then led the Committee through the report of South Wales Police and advised that he had attended the premises and met with the applicant who was also the DPS for the premises. PC Moseley advised that he had concerns in relation to the hours for the supply of alcohol and had recommended that the time be amended from 06.00 hrs to 08.00 hrs and this amended time had been agreed with the applicant during the visit to the premises. PC Moseley further advised that a search of data systems for a five year period had shown one report of anti social behaviour in February 2022 where youths had damaged a bus stop. PC Moseley stated that he sympathised with the residents but he could not see any reasonable grounds to object. A Member then enquired as to the details of the redacted information in letters received from local residents and was advised by Jo Baber that the information redacted did not relate to the Licensing objectives and therefore had been taken out. Another Member then referred to the amendment of hours for supply of alcohol and PC Moseley responded that the amended time was in line with other Licenses premises and proportionate. A Member then referred to highway safety and would this be a matter for the Planning Department. Jo Baber advised that the Planning issues and Licensing were two separate issues and that information regarding this had been passed on to the applicant. A Member then referred to the Planning process and the access and residents parking and why had Planning consent not been sought yet. The Licensing Consultant then explained the process being undertaken by the applicant. Simon Jones then asked if all the conditions proposed by the Police had been accepted by the applicant and PC Moseley advised that the was liaising with Ms Sherratt regarding the wording but there was nothing different. Ms Sherratt on behalf of the applicant advised that the applicant was the Director of the Company and was an experienced and knowledgeable applicant who had worked for Tesco for five years and was trained in alcohol sales. The applicant had stores in Porth and Neath and would be moving to a house next to the premises to live with his family. There had been no problems with both stores and by living at the property next to the store there would be supervision at all times and that the sale of alcohol was a small part of the business. There had been an error on the application as the premises was a Convenience Store and not a Post Office and that due to a lack of other shops in the proximity it would be a valuable community resource. Parking was an issue for Planning and Highways. Staff training would be undertaken and that the applicant held a Personal License and his Brother in Law also held the same. Details were given of staffing levels and all staff would be trained through an e-learning package and training would be refreshed every six months / annually. This training would cover Challenge 25, Proxy Sales, Refusals Register and that there would be CCTV with 16 cameras. The CCTV would be very comprehensive with footage kept for 31 days. The applicant had a proven track record and the major issue of traffic and parking was not part of the Licensing decision. In response to a question on parking Jo Baber advised that some of the parking issues had been left in the letters as those specific parking representations had related to public safety and therefore they had been left in for the Committee to consider and attach appropriate weight. Ms Sherratt advised that the premises had two parking spaces and that the applicant had his own van for collection of goods and that parking was not relevant and that the purchase of alcohol could not be linked to parking outside. Ms Sherratt again stated that Mr Ponnuthurai was a good applicant with a good track record and that the Police were happy and had visited the premises and were content that the application upheld the licensing objectives as amended according to the Police requirements. A local resident then stated that the amending of the sale of alcohol from 06.00 am to 08.00 am solved nothing as there were sales until 11.00 pm and that there were school pupils in the area between 08.00 am and 09.00 am and at home time. The Police should have taken a look at parking issues and that there had been a number of incidents reported to the Police and gave an account of the incident with the bus stop. The Police had visited the site and referred to the close proximity to the junction and the bus stop and where were all the cars going to park and that it could cause a risk and a nuisance and that it failed in five of the Licensing points. Simon Jones advised that the store could open without alcohol sales and that the application would have to link alcohol with public safety. He also requested details on other incidents that had not been reported to the Police. A resident stated that this was a travel route through Nelson, Bedlinog and Trelewis and people passed after a night out and there was noise and people congregating in the bus shelter and that alcohol would be available from the shop and then congregate in the bus shelter. The Committee were advised that there were six cameras outside and a resident responded that if there was a disturbance the camera would not do anything at the time only record any disturbance and that it would affect wellbeing. In response to a question Simon Jones outlined the procedure for a Review if the premises was subsequently linked to anti-social behaviour. A resident advised that the building was originally a Blacksmith and there had been an issue with lorries. There were no parking spaces and vehicles parked in the bus layby or drove over the grass and the whole issue of parking was fundamental without it affecting the lives of local residents. With the applicant going to live in the house there would be no space outside for deliveries and customer parking. People could buy alcohol and sit in the car and that serving alcohol until 11.00 pm caused problems. The reality of the location was that it was a small area and not capable of having a business without problems to residents. There were shops 100 and 500 yards away with their own parking area and there was not even a need for this type of business, there was no requirement. Ms Sherrett referred to the Licensing Act and that the applicant ran two businesses with no problem and was a responsible operator and that the applicant could be an asset as a deterrent and the cameras to anti social behaviour as he would be an extra set of eyes and ears. Simon Jones then explained the process that would now be undertaken. All parties then left the Meeting. Considerable debate then ensued on the hearing and after consideration by the Members it was Resolved that: The License be granted subject to such conditions modified to such extent as the Authority considers necessary for the promotion of the Licensing Objectives. All parties then re-entered the Meeting and the Chair gave the decision of the Committee.
The Chair advised that there was no other business deemed urgent.
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