Agenda item

Application to Vary Premises Licence at Delice des Champs, 13 Gervis Place, Bournemouth, BH1 2AL

An application has been received to vary the premises licence for the premises known as ‘Delice des Champs, 13 Gervis Place, Bournemouth, BH1 2AL.

 

This matter is now brought before the Licensing Sub-Committee for determination.

 

Minutes:

Present:

 

From BCP Council:

Ellie King – Licensing Officer

Linda Cole – Legal Advisor to the Sub-Committee

Jill Holyoake – Clerk to the Sub-Committee

 

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 to vary the premises licence for the premises known as Delice des Champs, 13 Gervis Place, Bournemouth BH1 2AL, to extend the provision of late night refreshment from 23:20 to 05:00 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

 

In response to the application representations had been received from Dorset Police, on the grounds of the public safety and prevention of crime and disorder licensing objectives, and Environmental Health, on the grounds of prevention of public nuisance licensing objective. Following mediation between Environmental Health and the applicant the extended hours had been reduced from 05:00 to 03:00 and additional conditions agreed as set out in the report. 

 

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

 

  • Mr Cumali Ayhan and Mrs Donna Ahmed – the applicants
  • Sergeant Gareth Gosling, Dorset Police – objecting

 

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 Delice des Champs, 13 Gervis Place, Bournemouth BH1 2AL, to extend the provision of late night refreshment from 23:20 to 05:00 – amended to 03:00 following mediation – on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, be granted with the conditions offered in the applicants’ operating schedule and the following additional conditions suggested by Dorset Police:

 

Conditions agreed with Environmental Health through mediation prior to the hearing:

 

·       There shall be no public access to the premises after 23.00hrs, except to the front serving counter area, behind the sliding door

·       No live/recorded music will be played between the hours or 23.00hrs and 08.00hrs

·       All tables and chairs shall be rendered unusable by 23.00hrs each day

·       Notices shall be prominently displayed at all exits requesting patrons to respect the needs of local residents and businesses and leave the area quietly

·       No deliveries/collections to and from the premises shall take place between 23.00hrsand 07.00hrs

·       No waste or recyclable materials, including bottles, shall be moved, removed from or placed in outside areas between 23.00hrs and 07.00hrs

·       Takeaway deliveries from the premises shall not take place after 23.20hrs on anyday.

·       The terminal hour for late night refreshment shall be 03.00hrs Thursday to Saturday and 23.20hrs Monday to Wednesday.

 

Conditions put forward by Dorset Police and accepted by the applicant at the hearing:

·       The holder of the licence shall undertake a risk assessment with regard to the deployment of SIA Door Supervisors at different times of the day and on different days of the week to determine whether it is appropriate to deploy door staff on those days and/or at any other time(s) and to then implement the outcome of the risk assessment.  A copy of the risk assessment should be made available to an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or Dorset Police upon request and for a period of up to 6 months.

·       The premises shall install and maintain a comprehensive CCTV system, all entry and exit points will be covered enabling frontal identification of every person entering in any light condition. The CCTV system shall continually record whilst the premises is open for licensable activities and during all times when customers remain on the premises. All recordings shall be stored for a minimum period of 31 days with date and time stamping. Recordings shall be made available immediately upon the request of Police or authorised officer throughout the preceding 31 day period. The CCTV system should be updated and maintained according to police recommendations.

·       A staff member from the premises who is conversant with the operation of the CCTV system shall be on the premises at all times when the premises is open to the public. This staff member must be able to show a Police or authorised council officer recent data or footage with the absolute minimum of delay when requested.

·       An incident log shall be kept at the premises.  The log should include the date and time of the incident and the name of the member of staff involved. The log to be made available on request to an authorised officer of the Council or the Police, which will record the following:

(a) all crimes reported to the venue

(b) all ejections of patrons

(c) any complaints received

(d) any incidents of disorder

(e) all seizures of drugs or offensive weapons

(f)  any faults in the CCTV system or searching equipment or scanning equipment

(g) any refusal of the sale of alcohol

(h) any visit by a relevant authority or emergency service.

·       All staff working at the premises shall be trained in Conflict Management and shall receive refresher training at least every 6 months.  A record of all staff training shall be maintained and kept on the premises and made available on request to an authorised officer of the Council or the Police

·       The premises shall operate and maintain a text/radio/pager link system (whichever is used by Townwatch), to be activated, made available to and monitored by the PLH or his authorised agent.

·       A suitably trained First Aider or appointed person to deal with first aid issues will be provided at all times when the premises are open.

·       A procedure for dealing with unwell members of the public will be in place including those who appear to be affected by alcohol or drugs. Staff will be appropriately trained in such procedures.

Reasons for Decision

The Sub-Committee gave detailed consideration to all of the information which had been submitted before the hearing and contained in the report for Agenda Item 5 and the verbal submissions made at the hearing by Mr Cumali Ayhan and Mrs Donna Ahmed, the applicants, and Sergeant Gareth Gosling, Dorset Police.

The Sub Committee noted that the applicants had demonstrated a willingness to negotiate with Environmental Health prior the hearing to agree additional conditions, including a reduction in the terminal hour requested on Thursday to Saturday from 05:00 to 03:00. Dorset Police confirmed at the hearing that the amendment to the terminal hour was deemed to be a positive step in promoting the licensing objectives.

At the hearing Dorset Police explained their areas of concern which led them to making a representation against the application, particularly those around conflict management, the need for SIA doorman and awareness of the issues than can arise when customers have been consuming alcohol. Sgt Gosling agreed that his concerns could be mitigated by a series of conditions, to provide the assurance the Police required that the premises would actively promote the licensing objectives.

The Sub Committee noted that the applicants understood the reasons for the conditions being put forward by Dorset Police and that they had responded positively to these at the hearing and indicated a willingness to accept them. During discussions it was also noted that Mr Ayhan had 15 years’ experience of working in the night-time economy and dealing with its clientele.

The Sub Committee agreed that it shared the assurance provided to Dorset Police by the applicant’s willingness to accept the additional conditions, the reduction in the terminal hour to 03:00 and the previous experience of Mr Ayhan.

The Sub-Committee was satisfied that if the premises operated in accordance with the conditions offered in the operating schedule of the application, the conditions agreed through mediation with Environmental Health and the conditions put forward by Dorset Police and accepted by the applicant at the hearing, that the premises should not undermine the licensing objectives and as such the application to vary the premises licence should be allowed. 

It was noted that a review of the premises licence could be applied for at any time by a Responsible Authority or any other person should there be any issues associated with the premises in the future that undermine the licensing objectives.

In making this decision the Sub-Committee have had regard to the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council Licensing Policy, the revised guidance, as set out by the Secretary of State and the licensing objectives, as set out in the Licensing Act 2003.

All parties to the application have the right to appeal to the Magistrate’s Court within the period of twenty-one days beginning with the day on which the applicant is notified by the Licensing Authority of this decision in writing

 

Voting: Unanimous

 

Supporting documents: