The Committee will appoint a Chair and Vice-Chair for this particular meeting.

Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

No declarations of interest were made.  

To receive reports on business which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

There were no items of Chair’s urgent business.

The Committee having:

a)    Considered the report from the Director of Public Health, including the guidance and policy referred to therein;

b)    Heard from the applicant as follows:

i)             The area had a number of pubs and there was one other premises with a late-night refreshment licence for takeaway in the area. This other premises had a licence to serve food until 1am and had capacity for 7-8 customers at a time;

ii)            The Stoke Grill premises had capacity for 12-15 customers at a time. The applicant had not been contacted by the police raising concerns and no concerns had been raised by their customers;

iii)           If there were two late night food premises in the area, this would divide the crowd and speed up service, reducing waiting time and the potential for crime and disorder and/or public nuisance;

iv)           When requested, staff called taxis for customers whilst they deal with their orders to reduce the potential crowd outside the premises. Staff asked customers to leave the area quietly and to put rubbish in the bin;

v)            The premises had CCTV covering the exterior to the front and rear, and the interior;

vi)           The premises would have 2 members of staff on duty from 11pm onwards;

vii)          The peak time for food collections drivers was between 4pm and 8.30pm and the applicant did not believe their drivers were going the wrong way down the service lane. The working hours of the drivers had been adjusted and they had been told not to be on their phone during delivery times to reduce noise;

viii)         Only one driver would do deliveries after 11pm and delivery would be collected from the front of the premises to ensure the back lane is clear;

ix)           The rear door now included a plastic sheet so if it slammed it would not make a noise. The canopy had also been changed and sound insolation had been installed;

x)            The premises sign did not flash, the applicant had not added signage to the premises;

xi)           Previous complaints about rubbish had involved rubbish that was not connected to the premises. The premises were clear of rubbish to the front and rear. The bin to the read was locked to prevent issues with other parties’ rubbish and the applicant took responsibility for all of their rubbish during working hours, and a member of staff was picking up rubbish outside the front of the premises and putting out an extra bin.

c)    Considered the written representations from the objector, as they were not in attendance, and the appropriate licensing objectives:

Prevention of Public Nuisance:

i)             The noise of drivers on their phones in the service lane to the rear;
 

ii)            The constant door slamming to the rear of the property;

iii)           The constant coming and going from the premises;

Crime and Disorder:

iv)           The premises attracting ‘drunks falling out of the pubs in the early hours’, resulting in ‘noise, vomit and worse’;

v)            Serious violent acts and police being called.

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.