Agenda and minutes

It was moved by Councillor J Clarke, seconded by Councillor V Richichi and

RESOLVED THAT:

Councillor A C Saffell take the chair for the remainder of the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence.

Under the Code of Conduct members are reminded that in declaring disclosable interests you should make clear the nature of that interest and whether it is pecuniary or non-pecuniary.

There were no declarations of interest.

PREMISES:   The Halfway House, 128 Belvoir Road, Coalville, Leicestershire

APPLICANT:Mr Mandeep Singh Bhella

To determine an application for a premises licence in respect of the above.

Representations have been received from Environmental Protection and nine interested parties.  A Notice of Hearing inviting them to attend has been sent to each of them.  If they fail to attend, the hearing can be held in their absence or adjourned.

The following documents are attached: -

a)    Report of the Licensing Enforcement Officer

At the beginning of the Hearing, the authority shall explain to the parties the procedure it is proposed to follow.  The Hearing shall take the form of a discussion led by the authority and cross-examination shall not be permitted unless it is required to consider the representations.

The Chairman introduced the parties and outlined 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 limit for each presentation be ten minutes.

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

At this point a number of questions were asked by the interested parties to the Licensing Enforcement Officer.  As the questions were aimed at the applicant, the procedure for the hearing was explained and they were advised to ask the questions again at the relevant time.

Mr R Patel, representative of the applicant, addressed the Sub Committee.  He explained that the building had been derelict for a number of years and the applicant had invested in the region of one million pounds to set up the business.  With regard to the objections on the grounds of noise and prevention of crime, he commented that the business was essentially a bed and breakfast, therefore the creation of noise would not be in the applicant’s best interest as it would disturb the guests.  Mr R Patel drew Members attention to the amended timings for all licensable activities following discussions with responsible authorities as detailed within the report.  Regarding the concerns of people loitering outside the premises and a risk of an increase in local crime, he assured Members that the business was a restaurant with drinking facilities in a family based setting, this behaviour was not expected.  He also reminded Members that there had been no objections from the police.  Regarding the parking concerns, Mr R Patel reported that there was a substantial amount of parking on site.

Councillor V Richichi commented that he did not believe it was necessary to include live music on the application as this would surely disrupt the guests, especially until 1.00am.  He also believed that serving food to take away until 1.00am would also cause similar disruption.  Mr R Patel responded that the hours applied for was to provide flexibility for the business, especially at the weekend when local people may want to visit the premises.  He confirmed that there would not be a takeaway service and the music within the premises was to provide background music for customers while dining only.

In response to a question from Councillor J Clarke, Mr M Bhella, the applicant, reported that there would be no live musicians playing in the premises, only low levels of recorded music.

Councillor J Geary, Ward Member, questioned the substantial parking at the premises as he believed that the conditions as part of the planning permission allowed spaces for the bed and breakfast guests, not the restaurant.  He advised the applicant to confirm this with the Planning Department.  The Legal Advisor stated that it was for the applicant to ensure that the proper permissions were in place and therefore agreed it was in his best interests to confirm the matter with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.