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 Mr Pawenthiran Rasaiya for the Variation of a Premises Licence in respect of the above premises.

Objections under all four of the Licensing Objectives had been received from Merseyside Police and this necessitated a hearing for which the Sub-Committee had been convened.

The Sub-Committee heard representations from Mr Naga Rajesh, representative of the Applicant, in support of the application.

The Sub-Committee also heard representations from Merseyside Police in objection to the application.

At the end of their representations, the representatives of the Applicant company, and the objectors from Merseyside Police, confirmed that they were satisfied 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 their decision in public.

Decision

RESOLVED: That

The Application for the Variation of the Premises Licence for PN Super Store, 160/162 Linacre Road, Litherland L21 8JU be granted subject to the hours set out below along with the additional conditions set out below:

Additional Conditions:

All sales taking place after midnight are to be made through the night hatch.

That the Designated Premises Supervisor liaises with the Police every quarter to make them aware of any local issues or particular concerns.

Reasons:

The Sub-Committee is satisfied that the Applicants have sufficient knowledge and experience of the licensing trade and have evidenced their respect for local residents and the local community.

The Sub-Committee has noted that this application is for the variation of an already established Premises Licence and they are bound to have regard to the appropriate legislation, guidance and to Sefton Council’s own Statement of Licensing Policy.

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. However, 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 must grant a variation unless to do so would undermine the licensing objectives. The Police objected to this variation on the basis of all four of the licensing objectives. The Sub-Committee did not read or hear any evidence from the Police demonstrating how the application for this variation specifically undermines the objectives of the protection  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.