Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Bradshaw 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 Head of Highways and Public Protection

The Sub-Committee considered the report of the Head of Highways and Public Protection regarding an application by Q Coffee Ltd for the Grant of a Premises Licence in respect of the above premises.

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. Neither of the objectors were present at the meeting.

The Sub-Committee heard representations from Stewart Gibson of SG Licensing Limited, the applicant’s representative and the applicant in support of the application.

At the end of their representations, Mr Gibson confirmed that he was  satisfied that he  had said all that he  wished to say on behalf of the Applicant.

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 their decision in public.

Decision

RESOLVED: That

The Application for the Grant of a Premises Licence in respect of Q Coffee Ltd, 35 Queens Road, Formby L37 2HF, be granted subject to the hours set out in the operating schedule.

Reasons:

The Sub-Committee has heard representations from the Applicant and had considered the written representations of local residents objecting to the application.

The Sub-Committee notes that this application is for the grant of a new Premises Licence and they are bound to have regard to the appropriate legislation, Guidance and to Sefton Council’s own Statement of Licensing Policy.

Whilst the Sub-Committee has sympathy for the local resident’s concerns it has not heard or received any evidence that these concerns will occur as a result of the alcohol licence being granted and cannot impose purely aspirational conditions in the absence of any evidence. In addition, the Sub-Committee cannot address issues that are dealt with by other statutory regimes such as planning or highways legislation.

The Sub-Committee notes the applicant’s respect for local residents and the community in its attempts to engage with the interested parties prior to today’s meeting. The Sub-Committee is pleased to note this and hope that this will continue into the future.

The Sub-Committee concluded that should any concerns come to fruition, in respect of this premises, the interested parties would have the right to request a Review of the Premises Licence.