Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:

That Councillor John Kelly be appointed as Chair for this meeting of the Sub-Committee.

Members and Officers are requested to give notice of any personal or prejudicial interest and the nature of that interest, relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the relevant Code of Conduct.

No declarations of any disclosable pecuniary interests or personal interests were received.

Report of the Assistant Director of Place (Highways and Public Protection)

The Sub-Committee considered the report of the Assistant Director of Place (Highways and Public Protection) regarding an application by Mr Thevappody Nithiyananthan for the Grant of a Premises Licence in respect of Waddicar Convenience Store and Off Licence, 88 Waddicar Lane, Melling, Liverpool, L31 1DY.

Two letters of objection to the application had been received from local residents and this necessitated a hearing for which the Sub-Committee had been convened.

The Sub-Committee heard representations from Mr Thevappody Nithiyananthan (Applicant and Designated Premises Supervisor) and Mr Ian Rushton (Applicant Representative) in support of the application.

All parties agreed the issues that were in contention and the procedure that was to be followed.

At the end of the representations, all parties confirmed they were satisfied that they had said all they wished to say.

The Sub-Committee retired under Regulation 14 (2) of the Licensing Act (Hearings) Regulations 2005 (as amended) and thereby excluded the press and public whilst they reached their decision on the application.

The Sub-Committee returned to give its decision in public.

Decision

RESOLVED: That

The Application for the Grant of a Premises Licence in respect of Waddicar Convenience Store and Off Licence, 88 Waddicar Lane, Melling, Liverpool, L31 1DY, be granted subject to the hours and conditions set out in the operating schedule, including one extra hour to the permitted hours for alcohol and opening on Bank Holidays, Christmas Eve, and New Year’s Eve:

Reasons:

The Sub-Committee considered written representations made on behalf of both the Applicant, and of local residents objecting to the application; and heard oral representations from the Applicant and his representative during the hearing.

The Sub-Committee noted that this application is for the grant of a new Premises Licence and is bound to have regard to the appropriate Legislation, Guidance and to Sefton Council’s own Statement of Licensing Policy. The Sub-Committee must grant the application unless it can be shown that to do so would be contrary to one of the Licensing objectives. Statutory guidance states that Licensing Authorities are best placed to make decisions about appropriate opening hours in their areas based on their local knowledge and in consultation with responsible authorities; no representations were received from any of the responsible authorities in response to this application. Licensing Authorities must always consider each application and must not impose predetermined licensed opening hours, without giving individual consideration to the merits of each application. Shops, stores, and supermarkets should normally be free to provide sales of alcohol for consumption off the premises at any times when the retail outlet is open for shopping unless there are good reasons, based on the licensing objectives, for restricting those hours.

The Sub-Committee cannot impose conditions that are, or could be considered disproportionate, overly burdensome, or purely aspirational.  In addition, the Sub-Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.