Agenda, decisions and minutes

There were no representatives present from North Wales Police.

None.

None were received.

The Chairman explained the procedure for hearing and determining the application and detailed the order in which speakers would be able to address the Panel.

That the Premises Licence be granted for Sai Food & Wines in respect of the sale of alcohol during the hours of 8am-9pm Monday to Sunday, together with the Operating Schedule conditions and the North Wales Police agreed conditions, namely:-

·         A digital, colour hard disc CCTV system to be installed and maintained in good working order.  Recordings are to be kept for a minimum of 28 days and made available for inspection by Police or Local Authority, upon request.

·         There must be a member of staff trained and available to download evidence at the request of the Police or Local Authority.

The Licensing Officer presented the report of the Chief Officer (Planning & Environment) to consider an application for a new Premises Licence at Sai Food & Wines, 4 Thornfield Avenue in Connah’s Quay for the sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises.  She confirmed that the application had been advertised in the correct manner and drew attention to the steps to be taken by the applicant to promote the four licensing objectives.

A number of representations made against the application from local residents were appended to the report relating to complaints which had been made against the premises when it had been previously occupied.  No interested parties were in attendance.

A letter from North Wales Police made no objections to the application but requested the provision of CCTV facilities and appropriate staff training to download evidence if required.

In response to some concerns raised, the applicants had notified the Licensing Section of their intention to reduce the licensing hours in the application from 8am-11pm to 8am-10pm.

4.1       Representations by the Applicants

Mr. Sanjeeva Reddy Malga Reddy and Miss Laxmi Aparna Konthalapally addressed the representations which had been made.  In response to questions from the Panel, they provided explanation on their previous licensing experience and interaction with local people, stating that no concerns had been directly raised with them by local residents.

The Chairman referred to the letters of objection appended to the report which raised concerns about previous incidents of litter and noise levels arising from the sale of alcohol when the premises was under a different licensee.

Mr. Reddy Malga Reddy circulated a written statement to the Panel indicating his willingness to help control any issues around noise and litter in the event of these types of incidents reoccurring at the premises.  He added that the premises to which the complaints were attributed had been closed for around two years prior to him applying for a premises licence and that the nearest off-licence was located approximately ¾ mile away.  He went on to refer to regular monitoring of the area by the Police and that it was his view that customers purchasing alcohol would not necessarily spend time in the area generating noise in the late hours.

When asked by the Chairman about the decision to reduce the licencing hours for the sale of alcohol as set out in the report, Mr. Reddy Malga Reddy said that he was willing to be flexible and would cease the sale of alcohol at an earlier time, such as 9pm in line with other shops in the area, if anti-social behaviour issues arose.  Miss Aparna Konthalapally indicated that she was in agreement with this.

In response to a question from the Solicitor, Mr. Reddy Malga Reddy confirmed his acceptance of the conditions requested by the Police and reiterated that he was willing to close the shop at 9pm if requested.

4.2       Determination of the Application

All those present, with the exception of the Chairman, Committee Members, Solicitor and Committee Officer, left the room.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.