Meeting documents

There were no apologies for absence received.

Councillor N Smith sought advice from the Legal Advisor as he had been selected as the prospective candidate for his party, for the County Divison that the premises was located in. He informed all in attendance that he would consider the matter relative to the law.

It was confirmed that there was no objection to Councillor Smith hearing the application.

The Chairman introduced the parties and explained the procedure to be followed. The Hearing Regulations 2005 stated that the Authority must allow parties an equal period of time in which to present their evidence. It was agreed that the maximum time for each presentation be fifteen minutes.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the report to members, highlighting background information and the representations received.

Following questions from members, the Licensing Enforcement Officer advised the Committee that:-

- The area in which the Post Office was situated was a residential area and was situated at a crossroads junction.
- There were three businesses in area, two of which had licences.
- The Midlands Co-op was licensed from 7am - 10pm 7 days a week and Bargain Booze was licensed from 8am - 11pm weekdays.
- There had been no reported issues at the Post Office in the past.
- The premises was undergoing a refit.
- There were other Post Offices with in the district that held licences to sell alcohol.
- She was unaware of any other premises in the district that had different trading hours for different services.
There were no questions from the applicant.
Following a question from Councillor Wyatt, Ward Member, The Licensing Enforcement Officer advised the Committee that both the other two licensed premises were licensed seven days a week.

Mrs G Sherratt, on behalf of the applicant, addressed the Committee. She informed Members that the owners had brought the premises in August 2012 and that they had plenty of experience in running convenience stores. She advised Members that they planned to invest a great deal of money in to the business and carry out a complete refit of the building, with up to date tills and CCTV being installed.
Members were informed that the hours had been requested so that customers were able to buy whatever they needed at whatever time of day.
Mrs Sherratt highlighted to the Committee that all the responsible authorities had been consulted and no representations had been received. She advised Members that the owners were aware of residents concerns over anti social behaviour, however as there was a lack of evidence from the authorities to support the concerns that the licensing objectives would not be meet then the Committee would have to come up with very good reasons as to why the licence should not be granted.

Following questions from Members, Mrs Sherratt informed the Committee that:-

- Once the Licence was granted the layout of the store would have to be as the layout in the report.
- The owners would ensure that if they could not be on the premises, all staff would be trained to a high standard.
- They would not be able to start selling alcohol until the refurbishments had taken place.
- The car park would be ready to use, once the refurbishment had been completed and there would be clear signage at the front of the shop.

Following questions from interested parties, The Legal Advisor informed the Committee that car parking was not a matter for them to consider.

Councillor Wyatt, Ward Member addressed the Committee. He urged Members to reject the application as there were already two shops on the same road with licences and since 2003 there had been many alcohol related incidents that both the Council and the Police had dealt with.

Mrs M Bonser, Resident, addressed the Committee, She informed the Committee that many residents had put in objections to the application and the parking was not the only issue, but the Anti Social Behaviour that had been on the increase in the area. She advised the Committee that many residents in the area had to put up with drunken people outside their houses and litter being thrown in their gardens. She reminded the Committee that it was a residential area not a shopping precinct.

Councillor Clarke, Ward Member, addressed the Committee. He urged the Members to reject the application, by taking into consideration the number of objections to the application in relation to Anti Social Behaviour.

The applicant and the interested parties made brief closing speeches reiterating points made earlier in the hearing.

At 7.41pm the Sub Committee adjourned to consider its decision and reconvened at 8.05pm.