Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that Councillor Crookes be appointed as Chair for the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider an application to vary a premises licence in respect of Hillfields Service Station, Harnall Lane East, Coventry.

Note: The applicant and their representative have been invited to attend the

  hearing.

  Persons who have made representations have also been invited to

    attend.

The Sub-Committee considered an application to vary the premises licence in respect of Hillfields Service Station, Harnall Lane East, Coventry. The application sought to extend the hours of licensable activity, namely the supply of alcohol off the premises to 6.00am to 2.00am Monday to Saturday and 7.00am to 11.00pm on Sundays.

The Sub-Committee’s statutory duty was to consider the application and any representations and to take such steps as contained in the Licensing Act 2003 as it considered appropriate for the promotion of the licensing objectives.

Four objections had been received from two responsible authorities, one from a local resident and one from a Ward Councillor.

At the outset of the hearing, the Licensing officer alerted the Sub-Committee to a discrepancy that appeared on the plan contained within the application. The shaded area on the plan was referred to as the area for ‘consumption of alcohol’.  The Applicant’s Representative confirmed that this was an error and should have read ‘sale of alcohol’. The Sub Committee was satisfied that the application could be amended in this regard.

The Sub-Committee heard representations from the Applicant’s Representative, who advised that the Applicant wished to extend the opening hours at the premises to 24 hours, with late sale of alcohol off the premises.  The premises had been run by the Applicant and his wife since 1993 and that he had held the premises licence since 2004. The licence had never been reviewed in this time and the Applicant had never received any complaints regarding his management of the premises.

The Sub-Committee heard that the Applicant and his wife run the premises between them and work long hours. He would therefore need to hire more staff in the event that the opening hours were extended which, it was submitted, would benefit the economy in a working class area of the city.

The Applicant’s Representative submitted that anti-social behaviour within the general area could not be attributed to the premises. He disagreed that anti-social behaviour was likely to be exacerbated if the licensable hours were extended, submitting that people were unlikely to behave poorly in a well-lit forecourt.

The Applicant’s Representative expressed concern regarding the logs presented by West Midlands Police as part of their objection, stating that they were un-particularised events scattered across the local area and did not relate directly to the premises. The Applicant’s Representative confirmed that the Applicant had never been contacted by the Police to provide his CCTV, suggesting that anti-social behaviour was not prevalent near to the premises as suggested by West Midlands Police.

The Sub-Committee heard that the Applicant would offer a number of conditions to ensure that the licensing objectives would be upheld, including the use of a hatch for service between the hours of 11.00pm and 6.00am, recruitment of a Manager with a personal licence, implementation of a banning and age verification policy and introduction of a sign at the exit door encouraging customers to be quiet when leaving the premises.

The Applicant’s Representative asked the Sub-Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

To consider any other items of business which the Chair decides to take as a matter of urgency because of the special circumstances involved.

There were no other items of business.