Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that Councillor A Lucas be appointed Chair for the hearing.

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider an application to vary a premises licence in respect of the Oak Inn, 119 Gosford Street, Coventry.

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

  hearing.

  Persons who have made representations have been invited to attend.

The City Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy is available on the Council’s website. Alternatively, please contact us if you require a hard copy.

The Sub-Committee considered an application to vary the premises licence in respect of The Oak Inn, 119 Gosford Street, Coventry, to amend the terminal hour for licensable activities to 06:00 every Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

One objection had been made against the grant of the application by a local resident. 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.

The Sub-Committee heard submissions from the Applicant in support of the application.

The Applicant’s Representative advised the Sub-Committee that the premises already holds a late licence, and that in line with statutory guidance and the Council’s policy, the Applicant liaised with the Responsible Authorities, in particular with the Police, before applying. It was reiterated to the Sub-Committee that there had been no representations made by the Responsible Authorities, which indicates that the conditions already in place are sufficient to uphold the Licensing Objectives.

The Applicant was described as exceptionally experienced, and is the current Designated Premises Supervisor at the premises. The Applicant sits on the pub Watch and employs an experienced manager who lives on site, as well as experienced bar staff and SIA door staff. Further the premises has 19 CCTV cameras and a high tech IT package which allows the Applicant and other members of staff to access the CCTV on their mobile phones at all times.

The Applicant’s Representative stated that the Applicant works closely with the Responsible Authorities and is willing to work with any local residents if they have concerns.

The premises is close to the university and there is an increasing demand from international students to stay out later in a more mainstream pub environment than other venues with late night licences in the city, such as Sexual Entertainment Venues.

With regard to the objections, the Applicant’s Representative correctly advised that the subject of air pollution is not within the remit of the meeting, however the concerns raised in respect of the Licensing Objective of Prevention of Crime and Disorder mostly related to incidents from 12 years ago. The most recent incident, in 2018, involved an assault in the ladies toilets. The Sub-Committee were assured that the Police worked closely with the premises subsequent to this incident and were satisfied that it was an isolated incident. Moreover, if the Police had concerns about the management of the premises at that time they had the Review mechanism available to them or they would at least have raised objections to this variation.

The Applicant addressed the Sub-Committee directly to explain that there is a diverse student body in Coventry and an increasing demand for mainstream premises that show international sport such as boxing, WWF Wrestling and the Super Bowl, most of which start at 4.00am or 5.00am due to the time differences. He explained that the premises was a traditional pub with wood fittings, a pool table etc. and quite often  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

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.