To receive apologies for absence.

To receive any details of Members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a Member of the committee.

There were no substitutes present at the meeting.

To receive any declarations of interest by Members in respect of items on the agenda.

To consider an application for a new premises licence in of ‘Morrisons daily filling station, Barons Cross Road, Leominster, HR6 8RN’.

Members of the licensing subcommittee of the council’s planning and regulatory committee considered the above application, full details of which appeared before the Members in their agenda and the background papers.

Prior to making their decision the members heard from Emma Bowell, licensing technical officer and Fred Spriggs, Licensing Officer.  Members also heard from premises licence holder’s solicitor, Claire Johnson and premises licence holder’s licensing and compliance manager, Kelly Nichols.

The committee heard from Mr Spriggs representing the licensing authority as a responsible authority that the issue with the application was that the current premises were a filling station and that under S176 of the Licensing Act 2003 it is an excluded premises as its primary use is as a filling station.   Historically, the premises have only been open between 0700 hrs to 2200 hrs and during this period the premises did not hold a licence due to its primary use being a filling station.   The information which had been received from the premises licence holder’s solicitor is that the premises will be turned into a convenience store and filling station, with the primary use being a convenience store.    The premises licence holder solicitor had not supplied any data to support this application and could have provided data from other similar shops in the chain.    When Mr Spriggs had spoken to the premises licence holder’s solicitor, they did not know what control measures would be in place to ensure that the premises’ primary use would be a convenience store rather than a filling station.  

The committee then heard from Ms Claire Johnson, premises licence holder’s solicitor who explained that Morrisons owned in excess of 300 convenience stores, of which 180 were licensed.   The chain were currently in the process of rolling out further convenience stores which were usually licensed as from their experience this was what the customers wanted.    Ms Johnson pointed that the BP and Applegreen premises near Leominster were also licensed to sell alcohol and were also filling stations.  

Ms Johnson stated that the name Morrisons Daily related to the trading name of Morrisons for their convenience stores and in this instance was not relevant to the application.  In addition Morrisons owned in excess of 500 stores which were all licensed and to her knowledge none of the premises had been subject to a premises licence review in the last eight years which was a testimony to how seriously Morrisons took the licensing objectives.    Morrisons do operate a comprehensive training programme for all employees; operated to a challenge 25 policy and there were till prompts for employees.   

Ms Johnson informed the committee that all spirits and high value alcohol would be behind the counter.   There would a single refrigerated unit and a single unrefrigerated unit which would be stocked with alcohol.     The only objection outstanding was the licensing authority’s as conditions had been agreed with the police and none of the other responsible authorities had objected.    

With regard to the issue raised in connection with S176 of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.