Agenda and draft minutes

To elect a Chair of this meeting of the Licensing Sub-Committee.

RESOLVED that Councillor D Flagg be elected Chairman of the Sub-Committee for the duration of the meeting.

Voting: Unanimous

To receive any apologies for absence from Members.

There were no apologies received.

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

The protocol for public speaking at Licensing Sub-Committee hearings is included with the agenda sheet for noting.

The protocol for public speaking was noted.

White Tiger Europe Limited have applied for the renewal of the Sex Establishment Licence to permit the premises to trade as a sex shop for a further twelve-month period.

The sub-committee agreed to defer this application following licensing officer’s recommendation.

Barr Invest Limited have made an application to vary the premises licence for Nikita Bar & Restaurant, 182-184 Alma Road.

The current premises licence permits the Supply of Alcohol for consumption on the premises 12:00 to 15:00 and 17:30 to 22:00 Tuesday to Saturday.

The applicant is seeking permission to extend the hours for the Sale of Alcohol 11:00 to 00:00 and Opening Hours 09:00 to 00:00 Monday to Sunday and to add Non-Standard timings on Bank Holiday Weekends, Christmas Eve and New Year’s eve to terminate activities at 01:00. Additionally, the applicant seeks to remove condition 2.1 requiring alcohol to be ancillary to food.

Present:

From BCP Council:

Ellie King – Licensing Officer

Linda Cole – Legal Advisor to the Sub-Committee

Christiane Tan – Clerk to the Sub-Committee

Michelle Cutler – Democratic Services Support

The Chair made introductions and explained the procedure for the hearing which was agreed by all parties.  

The Licensing Officer presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated and a copy of which appears as Appendix ‘A’ to these minutes in the Minute Book.

The sub-committee was asked to consider an application the premises known as Nikita Bar & Restaurant, 182-184 Alma Road, to permit the varying of the premise licence to extend the hours for the Sale of Alcohol 11:00 to 00:00 and Opening Hours 09:00 to 00:00 Monday to Sunday and to add Non-Standard timings on Bank Holiday Weekends, Christmas Eve and New Year’s eve to terminate activities at 01:00. Additionally, the applicant seeks to remove condition 2.1 requiring alcohol to be ancillary to food. In response to the application representation(s) had been received from three Other Persons on the grounds of the prevention of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance, public safety, and protection of children from harm licensing objectives.

The following persons attended the hearing and addressed the sub-committee to expand on the points made in written submissions:

Ellie King – Licensing Officer

Linda Cole – Legal Advisor to the sub-committee

Ricardo Barradas – Applicant

No objectors were present to make representations.

The sub-committee asked various questions of all parties present and were grateful for the responses received. All parties had the opportunity to ask questions. All parties were invited to sum up before the sub-committee retired to make its decision. Before concluding the hearing, the Legal Advisor advised all parties of the right of appeal.

RESOLVED that the application to vary the premises licence for Nikita Bar and Restaurant, 182-184 Alma Road, Bournemouth, BH9 1AJ be GRANTED subject to the amendments proposed and conditions offered by the applicant following consultation.

The following amendments were made:

·        Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 08:00 to 23:00 and Sunday 08:00 to 22:00.

·        Supply of Alcohol (On Sales only) Monday to Saturday 11:00 to 23:00 and Sunday 11:00 to 22.00.

·        Non-standard timings to 1am on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and 1 hour extension to 11 pm on Bank Holiday Sundays and one extra hour on New Year’s Day

The following conditions proposed by applicant shall be attached to the premises licence applied:

·        No live music, DJs or karaoke to be performed on the premises.

·        No external speakers or amplified music to be operated outside the premises.

·        Clear notices requesting customers to respect neighbouring residents and leave the area quietly shall be posted near the exit.

·        Doors and windows to remain closed after 21:00 except for access and egress.

·        The premises should continue to comply with Environmental Health requirements restricting deliveries and waste collections during late evening and early morning hours. This is outlined as no collection of waste or recycling materials (including bottles) shall take place  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

In relation to the items of business appearing below, the Committee is asked to consider the following resolution: -

‘That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 2 in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act and that the public interest in withholding the information outweighs such interest in disclosing the information.’

RESOLVED that under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 2 in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act and that the public interest in withholding the information outweighs such interest in disclosing the information.

The Taxi Licensing Authority received a New Driver Application on the 24/03/2026 via the online facility.  

The applicant’s Enhanced DBS Certificate disclosed three serious convictions all of which occurred whilst the applicant was licensed as a driver with Christchurch Borough Council. As a consequence of these matters Christchurch Borough Council revoked the applicant’s driver’s licence. The driver exercised the right of appeal; however, the Magistrates’ Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the Council’s decision.

These convictions occurred over 10 years ago. However, as the offences are of a serious nature it is felt that this application needs to be brought before the Licensing Committee to consider if applicant is a ‘fit and proper’ person to hold a licence. 

Upon the applicant’s application form he has declared these convictions as outlined on the Enhanced DBS Certificate.

The applicant wishes to attend the hearing and has given a full statement in support of his application which is included in Appendix 3.

This item was restricted by virtue of paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. 

Exempt information – Categories 1 (information relating to any individual) and 2 (information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual). 

Attendance: 

From BCP Council: 

Caroline Wateridge - Licensing Officer 

Wesley Freeman - Licensing Officer 

Linda Cole - Legal Advisor 

Christiane Tan - Clerk to the Sub Committee 

Michelle Cutler – Democratic Services Support

The applicant was also in attendance and brought a friend with him.

The Chair made introductions and explained the procedure to be followed in considering this item, which was agreed by all parties present. 

The Licensing Officer presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The Taxi Licensing Authority received a New Driver Application on the 24/03/2026 via the online facility.  

The applicant’s Enhanced DBS Certificate disclosed three serious convictions all of which occurred whilst the applicant was licensed as a driver with Christchurch Borough Council. As a consequence of these matters Christchurch Borough Council revoked the applicant’s driver’s licence. The driver exercised the right of appeal; however, the Magistrates’ Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the Council’s decision.

These convictions occurred over 10 years ago. However, as the offences are of a serious nature, the application needed to be brought before the sub-committee to consider whether the applicant was deemed to be a ‘fit and proper’ person to allow them to continue with the application process for a hackney carriage/private hire drivers licence. 

The applicant addressed the sub-committee to present their case.

The sub-committee asked various questions of all parties present and was grateful for the responses received. 

All parties were invited to sum up before the sub-committee retired to make its decision. Before concluding the Hearing, the Council’s Legal Advisor advised all parties of the right of appeal. 

RESOLVED that the applicant IS NOT considered to be a ‘fit and proper’ person to continue with the application process to become a licenced hackney carriage/private hire driver.

:

The sub-committee gave detailed consideration to all of the information which had been submitted before the hearing and contained in the licensing officer’s report for Agenda Item 8 and the verbal submissions made at the hearing by all parties, including the responses provided by the applicant and the licensing officer to questions from the sub-committee.

In considering the test of a ‘fit and proper’ person, the sub-committee had regard to the BCP Council Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver Policy 2021 - 2025, the provisions of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, the Institute of Licensing (IOL) Guidance on determining the suitability of applicants and licensees in the hackney and private hire trades (2018) and the guidance within the Department of Transport Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards (updated November 2022).

The sub-committee had regard to the following points:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.