The Committee having –

(a)        considered the report from the Director of Place;

(b)        considered all representations;

(c)        heard from the applicant that:

·         this application is only to extend the morning opening by one hour;

·         they are experienced retailers with over 100 years experience;

·         they are the 5th largest retailer in the country which employs 76,000 employees;

·         they want to be able to open and sell alcohol when it is convenient to customers;

·         there is a due diligence (risk manager) in all stores who liaise with statutory authorities;

·         there had been no representations from the responsible authorities;

·         there is a training process in place which includes a buddy system and six month refresher courses;

·         the anti-social behaviour referred to is in respect of late at night;

(d)        Considered representations under the licensing objectives as follows:

                        (i)         Prevention of Public Nuisance –

                                    Will be early morning noise generated by the delivery lorries;

                                    This was considered to be relevant however members heard from the applicant that delivery times would not change and they have added a condition 1 to address this.

Students from the block opposite buy special offer alcohol take it back to their accommodation to drink and there is high jinks and noise well into the night;

This was not considered to be relevant by members as there was no evidence to link this to these premises or evidence that an early opening hour for the sale of alcohol would add to these concerns.

Customers and delivery drivers constantly park on double yellow lines outside and opposite the shop;

This was not considered to be relevant as parking restrictions are monitored by other authorities.

                        (ii)        Prevention of Crime and Disorder –

                                    Will be further anti-social behaviour including damage to vehicles and property.  A resident says that since the co-op opened there has been an increase in crime and disorder and anti-social behaviour including a great deal of car crime and this is well documented by the police;

This was considered to be relevant however there was no representation from the police and no evidence to link this to these premises.

There have been incidents directly related to the store including it being held up by knife point, the glass doors and windows being smashed, a ram raid, begging outside the store from addicts and it is a meeting place for street drunks who also use a resident’s step to sit and drink;

This was considered to be relevant however there was no representation from the police and no evidence that the earlier opening hour would add to this.

                        (iii)       Protection of Children from Harm –

                                    No representation.

                        (iv)       Public Safety –

                                    The delivery lorries block the footpath with cage delivery trolleys resulting in the public having to walk in the road to get around them;

This was considered to be relevant however members heard from the applicant that delivery times were not changing and have added condition 1.

                        (v)        Other representations -

                                    There are already two large shops on Mutley Plain;

This representation did not relate to any of the licensing objectives and was therefore not considered to be relevant.

The committee agreed that having taken into account all of the above representations the variation application be granted subject to the mandatory conditions, consistent with the applicant’s operating schedule and the following condition.

                                    1.          No deliveries to take place Monday to Sunday before 8am.