LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE 17th AUGUST, 2005 Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Sub-Committee of Flintshire County Council held at County Hall, Mold on Wednesday, 17th August, 2005. PRESENT Councillor L.A. Sharps (Chairman) Councillors A.G. Diskin and M. Wright. OFFICERS OF FLINTSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL Assistant County Secretary, Licensing Manager and Democratic Services Manager. RESPONSIBLE AUTHORITIES - REPRESENTATIVES Sgt. Colin Jones - North Wales Police. APPLICANT/AGENT Mr. Bill Stephenson (Manager, The Gold Cape, Mold) and Mr. Nigel Connor (Solicitor for J.D. Wetherspoon). INTERESTED PARTIES - None present. 1. APOLOGIES - None. 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST - None were received. 3. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENT AND REGENERATION The Sub-Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment & Regeneration which was presented by the Licensing Manager in respect of an application for a premises licence for The Gold Cape, Mold. 4. THE APPLICATION – The Gold Cape, Mold An application for a premises licence had been submitted by Gosschalks Solicitors on behalf of J.D. Wetherspoon plc. The premises operated as a public house with alcohol and food available throughout the public areas. There was no restriction on the hours during which members of the public could be present on the premises. The premises also had an outside area where alcohol could be consumed. Children under fourteen could also be allowed in the bar area in accordance with the Children’s Certificate granted for the premises. Recorded music could be played throughout the premises. Alcohol could currently be sold between 10.00 a.m. and 11.00 p.m. Monday to Saturday and noon to 10.30 p.m. on Sunday. Food could be sold in line with alcohol sales plus an extra thirty minutes. 5. BACKGROUND The application had been advertised in the required manner. The proposed standard days and timings for supply of alcohol were:- Sunday to Thursday - 09.00 a.m. - 12.30 a.m. the following morning Friday and Saturday - 09.00 a.m. - 01.00 a.m. the following morning, plus Christmas Eve until 02.00 a.m. Boxing Day until 02.00 a.m. A further additional hour to the above timings was proposed on Burn’s Night, Australia Day, St. David’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, St. George’s Day and St. Andrew’s Day. An additional half hour to the above timings was proposed on Thursday immediately preceding Good Friday and the Sunday immediately preceding a Bank Holiday Monday, plus from 06.00 a.m. until the beginning of the standard hours or until 03.00 a.m. on no more than twelve occasions per calendar year. These extensions for the supply of alcohol could only take place if at least seven days notice was provided to the Police and the Licensing Authority and only if the Police gave them consent. The proposed hours the premises are open to the public are:- Sunday to Thursday - 07.00 a.m. - 01.30 a.m. the following morning Friday and Saturday - 07.00 a.m. - 02.00 a.m. the following morning, plus in line with the additional non standard hours mentioned previously Late night refreshment was proposed on Sunday to Thursday, 11.00 p.m. until 12.30 a.m. Friday and Saturday, 11.00 p.m. until 01.00 a.m. plus in line with the non standard hours for supply of alcohol mentioned earlier. Promotion of Licensing Objectives These were shown at Appendix 1 and the supporting information referred to therein was shown at Appendix 2. 6. RESPONSIBLE AUTHORITY REPRESENTATIONS Representations had been made by North Wales Police. These related to the Prevention of Crime and Disorder and Public Safety licensing objectives and were set out at Appendix 3 to the report. 7. INTERESTED PARTY REPRESENTATIONS The Chairman indicated that no representations had been received. 8. POLICY CONSIDERATIONS The Chairman confirmed that these related to Flintshire County Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy. 9. SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE/REQUEST TO CROSS EXAMINE The Chairman asked questions as determined in the procedure:- (a) The applicants confirmed that they had no additional information to submit. (b) The representative of North Wales Police indicated that he had no additional information to submit. (c) All parties requested the opportunity to cross-examine, if necessary. 10. HEARING AND DETERMINATION OF THE APPLICATION The Chairman advised that the Sub-Committee would proceed to hear and determine the application by reference to the four licensing objectives and that each party would be granted up to twenty minutes to exercise their rights. 11. PRESENTATION BY APPLICANT The Chairman invited the applicant to present the application. Mr. Nigel Connor, Solicitor acting on behalf of J.D. Wetherspoon presented the case. In presenting the information he said that the issue was straight forward as to whether a condition requested by the Police should be imposed. He referred to the background and said that the premises had opened in July 2003 and in the main had been managed by Mr. Stephenson for that period. The premises were a standard Wetherspoon’s public house with no live music and were very much food orientated with 40% being food sales. The nature of the operation was that it was not solely a drinking premises and there were certain themed restaurant nights during the week and there was still a high emphasis on food purchasing on both Friday and Saturday nights. J.D. Wetherspoon premises operated a voluntary system of using door supervisors on Friday and Saturday nights from 7.30 p.m. to closing. Initially four supervisors had been used but this had been reduced to two. Generally there were no particular problems with crime/disorder and the door supervisors’ role was to assist with customer control and mainly as a greeter/welcome function. Their main role was to enforce people who were barred from the premises, under age drinkers and to carry out I.D. searches for under 21’s. In making the submission Mr. Connor questioned whether imposing such a condition on the licence was proportionate and necessary since there was no intention to remove door staff. He asked for the Sub-Committee to consider being more flexible on this issue and stressed that the need for the use of door supervisors emanated from continued risk assessments undertaken by J.D. Wetherspoon across its establishments. If a condition of licence was imposed this would remove flexibility and he outlined the difficulties that could be experienced. As an example, if a door supervisor was not available through an emergency situation it was possible that the public house would have to close or trade in breach of condition. The company were responsible operators and had 550 public houses in England and Wales. The current Manager, as with the majority of Managers, was a member of Pubwatch and had undertaken training and was able to deal with issues which were traditionally associated with door supervision. In conclusion, he said that such a condition was not contained within the current licence and asked the sub-committee to be flexible on this issue and said that if a problem arose in the future the Police and the responsible authorities would have the right to review the licence. 12. REPRESENTATIONS BY RESPONSIBLE AUTHORITIES North Wales Police Sgt. Colin Jones referred to his written representations and to the request that a condition, which was considered necessary under the licensing objectives of prevention of crime and disorder and of public safety, be attached to the licence. It was suggested that SIA registered door supervisors be employed from 8.00 p.m. until closing time on Friday and Saturday evenings and on all dates upon which non-standard times as detailed in the application, applied. It was also strongly recommended that the applicants give serious consideration to the employment of door supervisors on Thursday and Sunday evenings, in furtherance of the licensing objectives. Sgt. Jones, in making his recommendations, referred to the current arrangements in town centres such as Mold. He referred to the increasing demands on the Police with the increasing numbers of people on the street and this would also apply in some rural areas and was creating a resource demand for the Police. He explained the duty of the Police to the general public on other policing issues and said that each application for a licence had to be considered individually and take into account the local environment and circumstances. The condition being proposed was for Friday and Saturday nights only which were the busiest nights in the town centre with potential for crime and disorder and it was a matter for the company to give consideration to Thursday and Sunday evenings. Sgt. Jones referred to the area covered by the mobile Police Officers which included Mold, Buckley and Saltney and referred to the response times to deal with incidents in public houses in these areas. It was possible that the Police might not be able to provide an immediate response if they were dealing with an incident elsewhere. It was therefore important that the door supervisors, rather than the Manager, be able to deal with incidents prior to the Police attendance and this endorsed the reason for requesting a condition to be attached to the licence. The Gold Cape has probably the largest capacity in Mold Town Centre and the extension in hours sought for Fridays and Saturdays was considered substantial. 13. FINAL PRESENTATIONS (a) Applicants Mr. Connor stated that the premises were well run and managed and in view of their size there were only a limited number of occasions when the Police had been called out on a Friday and Saturday. In response to questions by Members these incidents were highlighted. During the final presentation both Mr. Connor, the Solicitor and Mr. Stephenson the Manager, answered a number of questions raised by Members. In conclusion, Mr. Connor referred to the guidance and emphasised that only necessary conditions should be applied and referred to the circumstances applicable to the premises. As these were well run premises he asked the Sub-Committee to consider an alternative condition that the Manager maintains the existing level of door supervisors and that this not be altered or changed without prior consideration by the North Wales Police. (b) Responsible Authorities North Wales Police Sgt. Colin Jones also answered specific questions by Members of the Sub-Committee and emphasised that a minimum of two door supervisors were required to be maintained on Friday and Saturday evenings and on non-standard days identified in the application. However, he emphasised the need to use common sense as there would be circumstances when it might not be possible for two door supervisors to be present at the same time. 14. DETERMINATION OF APPLICATION The Chairman adjourned the proceedings and asked all to leave with the exception of the Committee Members, Assistant County Secretary and the Clerk. 15. DECISION The Sub-Committee agreed that the application for the licence, as submitted, be granted subject to the following condition, which was agreed between the parties as an acceptable compromise condition:- That the existing level of two door supervisors at the premises be maintained on Friday and Saturday evenings and on all non-standard days identified in the application and should not be reduced without the prior approval in writing of the North Wales Police. 16. REASONS In the promotion of the licensing objective relating to the prevention of crime and disorder and public safety, it was considered that the compromise condition agreed between the parties should become a condition of the licence. 17. ANNOUNCEMENT All parties were invited to return and the Chairman gave the Sub-Committee’s decision and the reasons for it set out at nos.15 and 16 above. Approved DateLicensing Sub Committee - 507 -
