Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.

To note appointment of Substitute Members.

There were no substitute members appointed.

To receive any declarations of interest from Members in respect of business to be transacted on the agenda.

Where a Member has a new or registered Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (DPI) in a matter under consideration they must disclose that they have an interest and, unless the Monitoring Officer has agreed in advance that the DPI is a 'Sensitive Interest', explain the nature of that interest at the meeting.  The Member must withdraw from the meeting at the commencement of the consideration of any matter in which they have declared a DPI and must not participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter unless they have been granted a dispensation permitting them to do so.  If during the consideration of any item a Member becomes aware that they have a DPI in the matter they should declare the interest immediately and, subject to any dispensations, withdraw from the meeting.

Where a Member is declaring an Other Significant Interest (OSI) they must also disclose the interest and explain the nature of the interest at the meeting.  The Member must withdraw from the meeting at the commencement of the consideration of any matter in which they have declared a OSI and must not participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter unless they have been granted a dispensation to do so or the meeting is one at which members of the public are permitted to speak for the purpose of making representations, answering questions or giving evidence relating to the matter.  In the latter case, the Member may only participate on the same basis as a member of the public and cannot participate in any discussion of, or vote taken on, the matter and must withdraw from the meeting in accordance with the Council's procedure rules.

There were no declarations of interest from Members.

The Sub-Committee is requested to determine the application.

Applicant:   Mercini Jonathan Sathish

The following papers are attached.

(i)                  Licensing Team Leader’s report.

(ii)                Appendix A - Application to vary licence

(iii)               Appendix B – Current licence

(iv)              Appendix C – Notice of Determination NOD/007/2011

(v)               Appendix D – Location Plan

(vi)              Appendix E – Representations from Other Persons

The procedure to be followed by the Sub-Committee is attached to this agenda.

The Sub-Committee considered an application for a variation of an existing premises licence from Mrs M T J Sathish in respect of Dover Convenience Store, 24 Market Square, Dover, Kent CT16 1NG. The applicant was represented by Mr T Bartlett of AB Licensing Solutions.

The application was for a variation of the existing premises licence to:

(i)                  EXTEND the hours of licensable activities in respect of the supply of alcohol (for consumption on and off the premises) from:

To:

(ii)                EXTEND the Opening Hours from 07:00 to 22:00 (Every day) to 06:00 to 00:00 (midnight) to 06:00 to 00:00 (midnight) (All days) with an extra hour on the terminal hour for non-standard timings.

(iii)               GRANT the hours of licensable activity in respect of Late Night Refreshment (Indoors) from 23:00 to 00:00 (midnight) (Every day) with an extra hour on the terminal hour for non-standard timings.

On the basis of the representations of the applicant and her representative and other persons, the Sub-Committee found the following facts to be established:

(i)                  That despite the concerns raised by the applicant’s representative about whether Dover Town Council was able to act as an Other Person for the purposes of the Licensing Act 2003, the Sub-Committee considered that the representation from Dover Town Council had been accepted by the Licensing Authority and therefore it had no power to disregard it. 

(ii)                That there was no evidence to link alcohol related crime and disorder in Dover town directly to the premises.

In reaching its finding, the Sub-Committee took into account the following:

(i)                  The Licensing Act 2003 and in particular section 35 and the Guidance given under section 182 of the Act.

(ii)                The Dover District Council Licensing Policy.

(iii)               Article 6 of the Human Rights Act (Right to a Fair Trial).

(iv)              Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Duty to consider crime and disorder implications).

(v)               The judgement in the case of R. (on the application of Daniel Thwaites PLC) v Wirral Borough Magistrates Court [2008] in which it was held that speculative representations should be disregarded unless supported by previous facts as evidence.

RESOLVED:   That the application for a variation in the premises licence of Dover Convenience Store, 24 Market Square, Dover, Kent CT16 1NG:

(i)      GRANT a variation to extend the hours of licensable activities in respect of the supply of alcohol (for consumption on and off the premises) from:

(ii)    REFUSE to extend by an extra hour the terminal hour for non-standard timings in respect of the supply of alcohol (for consumption on and off the premises).

(iii)   GRANT the premises licence for the hours of licensable activity in respect of Late Night Refreshment (Indoors) from: