LICENSING SUB COMMITTEE 20th OCTOBER, 2005 Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Sub Committee of Flintshire County Council held on Thursday, 20th October, 2005 in County Hall, Mold, Flintshire. PRESENT: Councillors S.R. Baker, A.G. Diskin and J.F. Jones. OFFICERS OF FLINTSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL: Assistant County Secretary, Principal Administration Officer and Licensing Officer. RESPONSIBLE AUTHORITIES - REPRESENTATIVES: Sgt. Andy Massey, North Wales Police. APPLICANT/AGENTS: Mr. Bilal Dilatmaz. INTERESTED PARTIES: Councillor P. MacFarlane, who had been nominated to speak on behalf of the interested parties. RESOLVED That Councillor S.R. Baker be appointed Chairman of the Sub-Committee for this meeting. 1. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest. 2. 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 Officer in respect of an application for a Premises License for “Billies”, 63 Church Street, Connah’s Quay. 3. THE APPLICATION – “Billies”, 63 Church Street, Connah’s Quay An application for a Premises Licence had been made by Mr. Bilal Dilatmaz for his hot food takeaway. The proposed hours for the provision of late night refreshment was as follows:- Monday to Sunday - 11.00 pm to 2.00 am the following morning Bank Holidays - 11.00 pm to 3.00 am the following morning New Year’s Eve - 11.00 pm to Midnight New Year’s Day - Midnight to 5.00 am the following morning Background The application was advertised in the required manner. Promotion of the Licensing Objectives The steps intended were:- (a) Prevention of crime and disorder – CCTV in the shop which operated during all opening hours. (b) Prevention of Public Nuisance – litter bins provided. 4. NOTICES AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION Representations had been made by North Wales Police and these were attached as Appendix 1 to the report. Representations had also been made by the Planning Services Division of Flintshire County Council and were shown as Appendix 2 to the report. Representations had been received from persons living in the vicinity and these were shown as Appendix 3 to the report. 5. SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE/REQUEST TO CROSS-EXAMINE The Chairman asked questions as determined in the procedure:- (a) The applicant confirmed that he had no additional information to submit. (b) The representative of the North Wales Police indicated that he had no additional information to submit. Both parties requested the opportunity to cross-examine if necessary. 6. HEARING AND DETERMINATION OF THE APPLICATION The Chair 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. 7. FURTHER INFORMATION The Chairman asked the Licensing Officer to confirm whether or not there was anything further to add to the papers in front of the Sub Committee. The Licensing Manager confirmed that there was not. 8. PRESENTATION BY THE APPLICANT The Chairman invited the applicant to present the application. Mr. Dilatmaz had some difficulty in communicating in English but had a prepared written statement which he presented and which the Chairman read in full to the Committee. The thrust of this statement was that he required the late hours sought to meet the demands of customers who would be leaving licensed premises which had been granted additional hours. He also referred to a similar take-away premises in the Shotton area which had been granted substantially longer hours and his customers had asked if he could have similar hours to save them travelling that distance. He also confirmed that CCTV was operational in the premises. 9. REPRESENTATIONS BY NORTH WALES POLICE Sgt. Massey in presenting the evidence advised that although the premises was situated on the main road there were a significant number of residential properties located nearby. He explained that a large number of persons visited the premises, the majority of which were in vehicles. He was concerned at the public nuisance caused to residents with people parking in a side street and on a narrow stretch of the main highway. It was for those reasons he indicated that the North Wales Police had recommended a reduction in the hours requested by the applicant. He explained that he understood the thrust of the Licensing Act 2003, in relation to extended hours but this had to be balanced with the needs of local residents. 10. QUESTIONS The Chairman enquired of Mr. Dilatmaz if he was aware that planning permission in relation to opening hours was only until 11.30 p.m. He confirmed that he was. The Chairman also enquired how many bins were in place and the applicant confirmed that there were two, one in the premises and one outside and they were both emptied by him. The Assistant County Secretary enquired from Sgt. Massey if there was any record of incidents at the premises and he confirmed that he had no record of any. The applicant confirmed that he had no problems with his customers. 11. REPRESENTATIONS BY INTERESTED PARTIES Councillor P. MacFarlane indicated that he had been nominated to speak on behalf of the local residents who had concerns about the proposed extension of the hours. It was confirmed that written confirmation of the residents’ wishes for Councillor MacFarlane to act on their behalf had been received. Councillor MacFarlane explained that the premises were situated on a narrow stretch of Church Street at its junction with Hamilton Road. He indicated it was significant that most of the trade arrived by car and in the later part of the evening. As a result of this traffic there was a resultant noise nuisance to nearby residents. He felt that any variation to extend the licence would exacerbate this problem and the variation was strongly opposed by the residents. He felt there was a risk of anti-social behaviour emanating as a result of the late night trading and residents had complained about sleep disturbance and wrapping paper being discarded in their gardens. In summary he felt that the local residents’ view was opposition to any variation to the licence. 12. FINAL PRESENTATIONS The applicant confirmed that he had no further comments, as did Sgt. Massey and Councillor MacFarlane. 13. 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. 14. DECISION Provision of Late Night Refreshment Sunday to Thursday 11.00 pm to midnight Friday and Saturday 11.00 pm to 12.30 am the following morning Bank Holidays 11.00 pm to 1.30 am the following morning New Year’s Eve 11.00 pm to 1.30 am the following morning Notices Prominent clear and legible notices shall be displayed requesting the public to use the litter bins provided and to respect the needs of the local residents and to leave the premises and area quietly. 15. REASONS (i) In the light of the comments of North Wales Wales Police relating to the risk of public nuisance as a result of extended hours. (ii) The location of the premises relative to the closeness of residential properties as opposed to other premises who had longer hours granted but were not near residential properties. Approved Date - 1107 -
