To elect a Chairman for the hearing.

Councillor P Jones CBE was elected as Chairman for the Regulatory Sub-Committee hearing.

To receive apologies for absence.

No apologies for absence were received.

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

There were no substitutes present at the hearing.

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

GUIDANCE ON DECLARING PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS AT MEETINGS

The Council’s Members’ Code of Conduct requires Councillors to declare against an Agenda item(s) the nature of an interest and whether the interest is personal or prejudicial.  Councillors have to decide first whether or not they have a personal interest in the matter under discussion.  They will then have to decide whether that personal interest is also prejudicial.

A personal interest is an interest that affects the Councillor more than most other people in the area.  People in the area include those who live, work or have property in the area of the Council.  Councillors will also have a personal interest if their partner, relative or a close friend, or an organisation that they or the member works for, is affected more than other people in the area.  If they do have a personal interest, they must declare it but can stay and take part and vote in the meeting. 

Whether an interest is prejudicial is a matter of judgement for each Councillor.  What Councillors have to do is ask themselves whether a member of the public – if he or she knew all the facts – would think that the Councillor’s interest was so important that their decision would be affected by it.  If a Councillor has a prejudicial interest then they must declare what that interest is and leave the meeting room.

There were no declarations of interest made.

To consider an application for a review of a premises licence in respect of M & G County Wines, 60 Commercial Road, Hereford, HR1 2BP.

The Regulatory Sub-Committee was convened in order to determine an application for a review of a premise licence in accordance with Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003. The Review had been applied for by the Chief Constable of the West Mercia Constabulary after M & G County Wines failed in two test purchase operations on 16 December 2007 and 1 March 2008.

The Chairman introduced the Members and Officers and asked any interested parties to introduce themselves. He advised them of the hearing procedures and then asked the Licensing Officer to present his report.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, PC Steve Thomas, representing West Mercia Police Authority addressed the sub-committee. He advised them that the test purchase operations had initially been introduced as a Home Office sponsored initiative during the summer of 2007 but due to a high failure rate in Herefordshire the Police Authority and the Trading Standards department had taken the decision to undertake a further series of test purchase operations in December 07, March 08, and more recently in May 08. He confirmed that M & G County Wines had sold alcohol to a 16 year old female in December and a 15 year old female in March 2008 but had refused to sell alcohol in the most recent operation. In order to promote the licensing objectives of the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm and in accordance with Section 53 C (3)(a) of the Licensing Act 2003, he requested two further conditions be added to the licence:

• That all sales made on the premise are made by a personal licence holder.
• That the use of “Challenge 21” is made a condition of all sales made on the premise.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, Mr Thorne, the Principal Trading Standards Officer addressed the sub-committee. He felt that a Challenge 25 policy would be more beneficial as the Challenge 21 policy had already been in place when the test purchase sales were made.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, Mr Irving, the Premise Licence Holder, addressed the sub-committee. He advised the sub-committee that both of the staff members who had sold alcohol during the test purchase operations had been dismissed from his employment as a result of their actions. He felt that they had been given sufficient training on the matter and had therefore dismissed them due to gross misconduct. He confirmed that the shop was now being staffed solely by himself and his wife and that they had recently joined the Hereford HAND scheme.

The Sub-Committee retired to make their decision, the Legal Practice Manager and the Democratic Services Officer also retired to assist them with procedural matters.

The Chairman noted that the premise licence holder had taken strong action following the test purchases. He felt that the licence should be amended to include the conditions recommended by the police authority and amended by the trading standards department. He  ...  view the full minutes text for item 92.

To consider an application for a review of a premises licence in respect of Ashby Stores (Now trading as Nisa), 38 High Street, Kington, HR5 3BJ.

The Regulatory Sub-Committee was convened in order to determine an application for a review of a premise licence in accordance with Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003. The Review had been applied for by the Chief Constable of the West Mercia Constabulary after Nisa Kington, formally known as Ashby Stores, failed in two test purchase operations on 28 December 2007 and 1 March 2008.

The Chairman introduced the Members and Officers and asked any interested parties to introduce themselves. He advised them of the hearing procedures and then asked the Licensing Officer to present his report.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, PC Steve Thomas, representing West Mercia Police Authority addressed the sub-committee. He advised them that the test purchase operations had initially been introduced as a Home Office sponsored initiative but due to a high failure rate in Herefordshire the Police Authority and the Trading Standards department had taken the decision to undertake a further series of test purchase operations in December 07, March 08, and more recently in May 08. He confirmed that Nisa had sold alcohol to a 16 year old male in December and a 15 year old female in March 2008 but had refused to sell alcohol in the most recent operation. In order to promote the licensing objectives of the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm and in accordance with Section 53 C (3)(a) of the Licensing Act 2003, he requested three further conditions be added to the licence:

• That the use of “challenge 21” is made a condition of all sales made on the premise.
• That that the premise employs proven training method for all staff, in age restricted sales, and that written records of the training are kept and made available for inspection by the Licensing Authority and Police.
• That the premise has till prompts for all age restricted items to ensure staff enforce the “challenge 21” rule and requested identification when necessary.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, Mr Tim Thorne, the Principal Trading Standards Officer addressed the sub-committee. He felt that a challenge 25 policy would be more beneficial than the challenge 21 policy that had already been in place when the test purchase sales were made. He noted that the premise licence holder had voluntarily introduced a Challenge 25 policy. He advised members of the 10 conditions he had detailed in their background papers and asked them to consider the following three conditions in order to promote the licensing objective of protecting children from harm.

• Ensure a personal licence holder is on the premises at all times.
• Adopt a NO ID NO SALE policy.
• Adopt a Challenge 21 policy. Asking anyone who looks under 21 to provide suitable ID to prove that they are over 18 before you serve them.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, Mr Andrew Gold, the Premise Licence Holder’s legal advisor addressed the sub-committee. He referred to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 93.

To consider an application for a review of a premises licence in respect of Local, 28 High Street, Leominster, HR6 8LZ.

The Regulatory Sub-Committee was convened in order to determine an application for a review of a premise licence in accordance with Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003. The Review had been applied for by the Chief Constable of the West Mercia Constabulary after Local Leominster failed in two test purchase operations on 28 December 2007 and 1 March 2008.

The Chairman introduced the Members and Officers and asked any interested parties to introduce themselves. He advised them of the hearing procedures and then asked the Licensing Officer to present his report.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, PC Steve Thomas, representing West Mercia Police Authority addressed the sub-committee. He advised them that the test purchase operations had initially been introduced as a Home Office sponsored initiative but due to a high failure rate in Herefordshire the Police Authority and the Trading Standards department had taken the decision to undertake a further series of test purchase operations in December 07, March 08, and more recently in May 08. He confirmed that Local had sold alcohol to a 15 year old female in December and a 15 year old female in March 2008 but had refused to sell alcohol in the most recent operation. He confirmed that on both occasions the Designated Premises Supervisor had not been in the store. In order to promote the licensing objectives of the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm and in accordance with Section 53 C (3)(a) of the Licensing Act 2003, he requested four further conditions be added to the licence:

• The removal of the current DPS.
• That the use of “challenge 21” is made a condition of all sales made on the premise.
• The premises join the Leominster HAND scheme, including the provision of a pub watch radio in the store.
• The provision of CCTV which meets the requirements and expectations of the Licensing Authority and Police.

He also requested that the premise licence holder undertake the following actions:

• Review the store layout with a view to preventing or reducing incidents of theft.
• Endeavour to ensure that there are two members of staff on duty between 1800 and 2200 on Friday and Saturday evenings.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, Mr Tim Thorne, the Principal Trading Standards Officer addressed the sub-committee. He felt that a challenge 25 policy would be more beneficial than the challenge 21 policy that had already been in place when the test purchase sales were made. He advised members of the 10 conditions he had detailed in their background papers and asked them to consider imposing all of the conditions in order to promote the licensing objective of protecting children from harm.

• Ensure a personal licence holder is on the premises at all times.
• Ensure comprehensive training is given to staff. This training should be recorded and refreshed at least once every 6 months.
• Ensure staff are trained on how to spot underage purchasers and to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 94.

To consider an application for a review of a premises licence in respect of Spar, 3/5 Bargates, Leominster, HR6 8EX.

The Regulatory Sub-Committee was convened in order to determine an application for a review of a premise licence in accordance with Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003. The Review had been applied for by the Chief Constable of the West Mercia Constabulary after Spar failed in two test purchase operations on 28 December 2007 and 1 March 2008.

The Chairman introduced the Members and Officers and asked any interested parties to introduce themselves. He advised them of the hearing procedures and then asked the Licensing Officer to present his report.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, PC Steve Thomas, representing West Mercia Police Authority addressed the sub-committee. He advised them that the test purchase operations had initially been introduced as a Home Office sponsored initiative but due to a high failure rate in Herefordshire the Police Authority and the Trading Standards department had taken the decision to undertake a further series of test purchase operations in December 07, March 08, and more recently in May 08. He confirmed that Spar had sold alcohol to a 16 year old female in December and a 15 year old female in March 2008 but had refused to sell alcohol in the most recent operation. In order to promote the licensing objectives of the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm and in accordance with Section 53 C (3)(a) of the Licensing Act 2003, he requested that two further conditions be added to the licence:

• That the use of “challenge 21” is made a condition of all sales made on the premise.
• That the premise employs proven training methods for all staff, in age restricted sales, and that written records of the training are kept and made available for inspection by the Licensing Authority and Police.

PC Thomas advised members that Spar were already members of the Leominster HAND scheme as well as being members of the Leominster Retail Radio scheme. He added that the management and staff of the store had been extremely helpful and cooperative.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, Mr Tim Thorne, the Principal Trading Standards Officer addressed the sub-committee. He felt that a challenge 25 policy would be more beneficial than the challenge 21 policy that had already been in place when the test purchase sales were made. He advised members of the 10 conditions he had detailed in their background papers and asked them to consider imposing all of the conditions in order to promote the licensing objective of protecting children from harm.

• Ensure a personal licence holder is on the premises at all times.
• Ensure comprehensive training is given to staff. This training should be recorded and refreshed at least once every 6 months.
• Ensure staff are trained on how to spot underage purchasers and to handle refusals safely.
• Adopt a NO ID NO SALE policy.
• Adopt a Challenge 21 policy. Asking anyone who looks under 21 to provide suitable ID to prove that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 95.

To consider an application for a review of a premises licence in respect of Bromyard Kebab & Burger Shop, 3 Cruxwell Street, Bromyard, HR7 4EB.

The Regulatory Sub-Committee was convened in order to determine an application for a review of a premise licence in accordance with Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003. The Review had been applied for by the Chief Constable of the West Mercia Constabulary after an incident at Bromyard Kebab & Burger Shop.

The Chairman introduced the Members and Officers and asked any interested parties to introduce themselves. He advised them of the hearing procedures and then asked the Licensing Officer to present his report.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, PC Steve Thomas, representing West Mercia Police Authority addressed the sub-committee.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, Mr Tim Thorne, the Principal Trading Standards Officer addressed the sub-committee.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, Mr Graham representing Mr Sorguica, the Premise Licence Holder, addressed the sub-committee.

The Sub-Committee retired to make their decision, the Legal Practice Manager and the Democratic Services Officer also retired to assist them with procedural matters.

The Sub-Committee took the view that the licence should be amended as detailed in the attached decision notice.

RESOLVED

That;

• the premise licence in respect of Bromyard Kebab & Burger Shop be amended as detailed in the attached decision notice.

To consider an application for a premises licence in respect of the Big Chill, Eastnor Castle Deer Park, Eastnor, Ledbury, HR8 1RD.

The Licensing Officer requested that the determination of the application be deferred pending further information.

RESOLVED

That the determination of the application be deferred