Agenda item

To consider the attached report.

The three Councillors that presided over this item were Councillors J Jennings (Chairman), A Lion and C P Pond. The Chairman welcomed the participants and requested that they introduce themselves to the Sub-Committee. In attendance on behalf of the application was the Applicant, Mr A K Balamir. There were no objectors in attendance. The Chairman then introduced the Members and Officers present and outlined the procedure that would be followed for the determination of the application.

The Application before the Sub-Committee

The Licensing Enforcement Officer informed the Sub-Committee that an application to vary the Premises Licence had been received in respect of Baylis Food & Wine at 159 High Road in Loughton.

The application had requested permission to vary the hours for the supply of alcohol and the hours the premises were open to the public as follows:

The application had been properly advertised and the Council had received six representations relating to the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm. Essex Police Licensing had also responded and offered a number of recommended conditions which had been agreed with the Applicant and would be added to the Licence if the application was approved.

Presentation of the Applicant’s Case

Mr Balamir informed the Sub-Committee that the extra hours requested were mainly for Friday and Saturday evenings, with a small increase on Sunday evenings. The extended hours were designed to give the shop’s customers a better service and generate additional revenue for the business. The Premises had a large number of regular customers who would like the additional hours at weekends to purchase not just alcohol but also household grocery items. The business had also just implemented an app-based delivery service, which it would like to be included in the additional hours requested.

The Applicant reminded the Sub-Committee that Essex Police had not objected to the application, and there would be no problems created for the public as the Premises was surrounded by other Shops and Offices; there were no residences nearby. The application would not generate excessive amounts of additional traffic, and there was always traffic on the High Road in Loughton at all times of the day and night. The deliveries were loaded and dispatched from the car parking area at the back of the Premises.

The Applicant acknowledged that there had been problems late at night during the weekends along the High Road, but these had been caused by The Luxe and the New Bar, when they were permitted to open late. There had been no problems within the Premises; the Challenge 25 initiative had been adopted by the Premises, which also had its own CCTV system, so it was not envisaged that any problems would be caused by the requested extension at the Premises. It was more likely that the Public Houses further down the High Road would be the cause of any problems in the area.

The Applicant concluded that the extension to the current licensed hours would not cause any problems in the locality. The Premises were stationed on a private road, and any customers visiting the Premises late at night would drive to the shop and then drive away.

Questions for the Applicant from the Sub-Committee

In response to a number of questions from the Sub-Committee, the Applicant provided the following information to clarify the points raised.

The CCTV system for the Premises had 16 cameras in total, and recorded for 24 hours each day which included the hours that the Premises were open. The Applicant reiterated that the previous problems in the area had been caused by the late-night bars in the High Road, but these had been closed and there were now no problems.

The Premises were quite small, so the lower-strength alcohol was stored in fridges in the shop with the higher strength alcohol on shelves behind the counter. Any refusals to serve alcohol to customers were recorded in a log book, and there were approximately 10 such refusals logged per month. There were currently 2 staff within the shop during the evenings, and it was intended to increase this to three if the Licence Variation was granted with the third person making deliveries to customers and helping in the shop.

The Applicant informed the Sub-Committee that the Premises had started to operate a delivery service. The customer would use an app on their phone to order products and pay by debit/credit card, with the delivery generally being made within 30 minutes of the order being made. The van itself was stored in the car park at the back of the Premises. The business had fulfilled approximately 230 deliveries in the last three months, and deliveries were also made to Theydon Bois and Chigwell as well as Loughton. The deliveries were mainly groceries, and it had been a surprise that the evening deliveries were more than just alcohol and cigarettes.

The Applicant reassured the Sub-Committee that the same rules for the sale of alcohol in the Premises would also apply to deliveries of alcohol; if the customer looked under the age of 25 then the driver would request proof of age identification when delivering. The Applicant was the only member of staff performing the deliveries at the current time, but it was intended to train other staff. The Premises would not use young people to deliver alcohol – it would be persons over the age of 30 who could be trusted – and there would be no deliveries made by motorcycle or moped. All payments for deliveries were card based so there was no cash carried within the delivery van.

The Applicant reminded the Sub-Committee that the new Licence conditions suggested by Essex Police had been agreed, and the Applicant could obtain statements and signatures from his customers supporting the requested extended licensed hours for the Premises.

The Sub-Committee retired to consider the application.

Consideration of the Application by the Sub-Committee

The Legal Officer advised the Sub-Committee that each case before it had to be considered on its own merits.

Members of the Sub-Committee expressed concerns about the potential problems that this proposed Licence variation could cause in the local area, but accepted that no evidence had been produced to indicate that these premises would cause such problems. However, the Sub-Committee acknowledged that if problems should be caused by the Premises in the future then the Licence could be reviewed.

The Sub-Committee agreed that the conditions suggested by Essex Police should be added to the existing Licence for the Premises.

The Sub-Committee returned to inform the Applicant of its decision, and to remind the Applicant that they had 21 days from the date of the written notification of the Sub-Committee’s decision to exercise their right of appeal to a Magistrates Court.

Resolved:

(1)        That the application to vary a Premises Licence for Baylis Food & Wine at 159 High Road in Loughton be granted as requested in the application, subject to the following conditions, which the Sub-Committee considered to be reasonable, proportionate and in the public interest for the promotion of the Licencing objectives:

            (a)        the modification of the existing conditions on the Licence as set out in             the application to vary the Licence; and

            (b)        the addition of the suggested conditions by Essex Police to the Licence             (page 110 of the agenda refers), as previously agreed by the Applicant.