Apologies were received from Councillor PJ McCaull..

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

Councillor Brig. P Jones CBE attended the meeting as a substitute for Councillor PJ McCaull.

To consider an application for a new Premises Licence in respect of ‘Marmaris Kebab House, 21 Union Street, Hereford, HR1 2BT’, previously adjourned from the meeting of 24 April 2013.

The Sub-Committee considered an application for a new premises licence at 59 Commercial Road, Hereford.

The Chairman read out the guidance note and asked all parties to introduce themselves. He also heard any requests for an extension to the 10 minutes normally permitted for parties to make their representations. No requests were made.

The Licensing Manager presented her report and drew Members’ attention to two errors within it. Firstly she requested that the reference to a police review be removed and also advised that under paragraph 9.3 the terminal time for licensed activity should be amended from 2:00 am to 1:30 am. She also noted that the applicant had not made reference to the non-standard timings within his advertisement and that therefore this part of the application could not be granted.

James Mooney, representing West Mercia Police, addressed the Sub-Committee in objection to the application. He drew the Sub-Committee’s attention to a number of verbal and written warnings given to the applicant for opening past his licenced hours. He advised Members that the premises were very close to the Cumulative Impact Zone but was not inside it, as the Licensing Authority had stated. He gave Members detailed statistics regarding the high level of alcohol related crime and disorder in the area and requested that the application be refused.

Fred Spriggs, representing the Licensing Authority, also addressed the Sub-Committee in objection to the application. He stated that he believed that the premises were inside the Cumulative Impact Zone although there was a stated case which also advised Councils to consider premises near to a CIZ. He gave members details of the previous licence at the premises which had been surrendered in December 2012 after the current applicant had failed to transfer the licence despite repeated requests from the Licensing Authority. He gave the Sub-Committee details of the breaches that had occurred at the premises with the most recent being on 20 April 2013. He confirmed that there had been no further breaches since April. He requested that if the Committee were minded to approve the application they considered appropriate conditions in order to promote the licensing objectives.

Bilge Kupeli attended the hearing as a translator for Murat Polat, the applicant. She advised that Mr Polat accepted what he had done wrong but did not understand the letters that he had received and could not afford to take appropriate legal advice. She advised the Sub-Committee that she had now translated all correspondence and he had a clearer understanding of his responsibilities. She added that this was Mr Polat’s first licence application and that she had assisted him over the last 6 weeks, hence why there had been no further breaches at the premises.

Mr Mooney confirmed that the police had initially recommended conditions and that a letter had been received from Mr Polat on 11 March 2013 stating that he was happy to agree to these conditions.

In response to a question from the Senior Litigator, Ms Kupeli advised that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

To consider an application for the variation of a Premises Licence in respect of ’Bromyard Kebab and Burger Shop, 3 Cruxwell Street, Bromyard, HR7 4EB.

The Sub-Committee considered an application for a variation to a premises licence at Bromyard Kebab and Burger Shop, Bromyard..

The Chairman read out the guidance note and asked all parties to introduce themselves. He also heard any requests for an extension to the 10 minutes normally permitted for parties to make their representations. No requests were made.

The Licensing Manager presented her report.

Fred Spriggs, representing the Licensing Authority, addressed the Sub-Committee. He reminded Members of the circumstances that had led to the condition requiring SIA registered door staff if the premises was open after 11pm. He added that since the condition was imposed, the premises had not opened past 11pm so there was no evidence to suggest that it should be removed. He suggested that if the premises were to operate within their licence conditions for a period of six months there would be evidence to back up their application and the licensing authority may be more willing to support the variation.

Mrs Chui Chi Cheng, the applicant, also addressed the Sub-Committee. She advised that the condition was added to the licence after an incident at the premises prior to her family taking over the business. She also advised the Sub-Committee that disorder in the area had reduced and that the condition was no longer relevant and that this view was also shared with the local police licensing officer. She went on to explain the steps that had been put in place to make the takeaway more family friendly and the steps taken to promote a better image. Regarding security she advised that a monitor had been installed in the premises so patrons could see that CCTV was in operation. She added that the cost of SIA door staff for a short period of time over the weekend was not viable. In response to the public representation that had been received, she noted that the concerns related to people exiting the nearby public houses and it was therefore not relevant. Regarding the issue raised regarding car parking, she stated that this was more of an issue in the daytime and that it was difficult to stop people parking on the road.

In response to a question from the Licensing Officer, the applicant advised that she did not intend to open until 1:30 am every weekend but wanted the option of staying open later when there were events on in the town. She added that she would also employ SIA registered door staff on a risk assessed basis for these occasions. In response to a further question she noted that other premises in Bromyard closed at 12:30 am.

In response to a final question from the Licensing Officer she noted that the premises did have CCTV when the incident occurred which had led to the condition being added. However she noted that at this time there was not a monitor in the premises showing people that the CCTV was active. She considered this to be a useful visual deterrent.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.