Agenda item

Application for a Premises Licence

For Members to consider and determine an application for a Premises Licence

Decision:

That the application be granted.

Minutes:

The Licensing Officer presented the report which invited Members to consider and determine an application under the Licensing Act 2003 for a Premises Licence for Thrifty’s, 7 Broughton Hall Road, Broughton, Flintshire.

 

                        The applicant had applied for the supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises with the hours Monday to Sunday 07:00 to 22:00.

 

                        Representations had been made by Mr Mark Griffiths as owner of the local Post Office, together with a petition from members of the local community in support of his letter.  Representation had also been received from Mrs Marian Griffiths, Mr Griffths’ mother.

 

                        North Wales Police had confirmed that the Officer responsible for the area had no objections to make to the application.  North Wales Fire and Rescue Service had confirmed that they would not be making any representations on the application.

 

                        The steps that the applicant intended to take to promote the four licensing objectives were set out in Appendix E to the report and the application had been advertised in the correct manner.

 

            Representation by the Applicant

 

                        Mr Soni referred to the petition that had been submitted citing that many names on the list were not from the local area.  He felt that Mr Griffiths had a conflict of interest as he was the owner of the local Post Office and if approved, this application would result in healthy competition in the area which was the case with all of the other Thrifty stores.

 

                        He commented on the Police having no objections to the application and added that CCTV recordings would take place inside and outside the store at all times which could help to alleviate Mr Griffiths’ worries about anti-social behaviour.  The CCTV equipment was of high standard, provided good quality images and the store would have trained CCTV operatives.  He provided details of Challenge 25 and examples of where this had been enforced in other Thrifty stores.   Thrifty’s held 9 licences in different counties and none of those stores had a problem with customers under age trying to purchase alcohol.  The aim of the company was to make their customers feel safe and welcome.

 

                        In addition, he said the premises was previously a co-op store which had a premises licence and he felt that by bringing the long standing vacant property back into use would help to detract any youths away from the area.  He expressed his desire to work with the community to keep anti-social behaviour as a thing of the past.

 

            Representation by the Interested Party

 

                        Councillor Mullin thanked the Chair for allowing him to speak on behalf of Mr Griffiths.  His main concern was the proximity of other premises in the area also selling alcohol which he felt created problems with youths.

 

                        The applicant explained that they were a responsible retailer and alcohol was ancillary to the other goods sold in store.

 

            Questions

 

                        Councillor Sharps asked Mrs Jones if she had anything to add about anti-social behaviour in the area and she reiterated the points about current anti-social behaviour outlined in the submission letter from Marian Griffiths. 

 

                        Councillor Sharps asked if the interested parties felt that additional CCTV in the area would be of benefit.  Councillor Mullin responded that CCTV was in operation at the Community Centre where youths also gathered.  Despite the investment in the equipment and the scheme, the Police did not act on intelligence provided.  The applicant explained that if one of their other shops was to phone the Police then they attended the premises, which he believed would be the case in this area too.

 

                        Councillor Reece sought clarification on other retailers in the area which had a premises licence which was provided. 

 

Councillor Cox said he appreciated the concerns about the close proximity of the places that sold alcohol but he could not see any evidence that it was currently creating problems.  He added that shops worked well when close by as it encouraged additional trade.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Sharps, the applicant provided details of training that would be undertaken by staff which would be undertaken by the Designated Premises Supervisor.  Following a question from the Solicitor, the applicant explained that staff appraisals had recently been introduced at the company and these would be undertaken by the manager at each store. 

 

He provided an example of an instance in the early days of the company when alcohol had been sold to somebody underage.  From that lessons had been learned and there would always be two members of staff on site with CCTV playing a big role in their business.  CCTV footage could be retained for up to 4 weeks but if any data needed to be kept it would be transferred onto a suitable device and kept indefinitely. 

 

Councillor Sharps asked for details of the hours that applied to the premises in the nearby location for them to sell alcohol.  The Licensing Officer explained that the Post Office had a licence for Monday – Saturday 06:00 – 23:00, Sunday 07:00 – 22:30; Simply Drinks had a licence for Monday – Saturday 08:00 – 23:00, Sunday 10:00 – 22:30; and the Co-op had a licence for Monday – Sunday 06:00 – 23:00.  Each of these had a longer licence than what was being applied for today.

 

            Decision

 

The applicant, interested parties and the Licensing Officer left the room during consideration of the application by the Sub-Committee.  The Sub-Committee considered all representations made and concluded that there was no specific evidence that suggested any of the licensing objectives of the Licensing Act 2003 had been undermined.  The Sub-Committee noted the applicant’s representations concerning the licensing objectives and were satisfied that the said objectives would not be undermined.  The application was granted as applied for including all of the steps to meet the licensing objectives.  All parties were invited back into the room and were informed of the decision.

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the application be granted.

Supporting documents: