Agenda item

The Licensing Authority has received an application to review the club premises certificate for the premises known as ‘Highcliffe Sports and Social Club’, 387 Lymington Road, Christchurch BH23 5EG.

 

This matter is brought before the Sub-Committee for consideration.

 

 

Attendance:

 

BCP Council:

 

Cllr Chapmanlaw – Observing for training purposes (attending remotely)

 

Sarah Rogers – Senior Licensing Officer

Tania Jardim – Licensing Officer

Johanne McNamara – Legal Advisor to the Sub-Committee

Michelle Cutler – Clerk to the Sub-Committee

 

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

 

The Senior Licensing Officer presented the 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 for a review of the club premises certificate for the premises known as ‘Highcliffe Sports and Social Club’, 387 Lymington Road, Christchurch, BH23 5EG. The application had been submitted by Dorset Police on the grounds that they believed the premises were not adhering to the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003 and not promoting the prevention of crime and disorder and public safety licensing objectives.

 

A supplementary pack of information had been submitted on behalf of the applicant after the report was published, a copy of which had been circulated and which appears as Appendix B to these minutes in the Minute Book.

 

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

 

Sargeant Gareth Gosling, Dorset Police, the applicant

Ms Louise Busfield – Dorset Police, the applicant

Mr Donne - Licensing Consultant, representing the premises

Jenny Share – Club Secretary

Mary White – Club Manager

 

The Sub-Committee asked various questions of all parties present and was grateful for the responses received. All parties had the opportunity to ask questions.

 

During the hearing the Sub-Committee went into an exempt session. The Sub-Committee passed the following resolution:

 

Resolved that under Section 14 (2) of the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005 and Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act and the public interest in withholding the information outweighs such interest in disclosing the information.

 

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).

 

The Sub-Committee went back into public session. 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 having considered the application to review the Club Premises Certificate for the premises known as ‘Highcliffe Sports and Social Club’, 387 Lymington Road, Christchurch, BH23 5EG, the Sub-Committee has decided to modify the conditions of the licence as proposed by the premises, following mediation with Dorset Police, as follows:

 

1.    LICENSING OBJECTIVES

1.1All members of staff working in the bar and restaurant area will be trained in how to promote the four licensing objectives.

 

2.    CCTV

2.1 The premises shall install and maintain a digital CCTV.

2.2 All entry and exit points will be covered enabling frontal identification of every person entering in any light condition.

2.3 The CCTV system shall continually record whilst the premises is open for licensable activities and during all times when customers remain on the premises.

2.4 All recordings shall be stored for a minimum period of 31 days with date and time stamping.

2.5 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.

2.6 Viewing of recordings shall be made available immediately upon the request of Police or authorised Council officer throughout the entire 31day period.

2.7 This staff member must be able to provide a Police or authorised Council officer copies of recent CCTV images or data within seventy-two hours of a request in writing.

 

 

3.    INCIDENT REPORTS

3.1 An incident log shall be kept at the premises and made available on request to an authorised officer of the Council or the Police.

3.2  Incident reports must be completed prior to a member of staff or responsible person completing their duty on that day and will record the following:

(a) all crimes reported to the venue.

(b) all ejections of patrons.

(c) any complaints received concerning crime and disorder.

(d) any incidents of disorder.

(e) all seizures of drugs or offensive weapons.

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

(g)any refusal of the sale of alcohol.

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

 

4.    STAFF TRAINING

4.1 Staff shall receive accredited training from BCP Council’s Trading Standards  

      Department through South West Trading Standards on:

     (a) The premises age verification policy.

     (b) The law relating to underage sales.

     (c) The procedure for validating documents produced as proof of age.

     (d) Proxy purchasing.

     (e) The Standard Operating Procedures for the seizures of drugs and      weapons.

     (f) Staff shall be trained in conflict management and refusals of sale.

     (g) Their training will be recorded and kept on record for a period of twelve months and will be available for inspection on request from a police officer constable or a proper officer from the Council. Training records must also be available for authorised persons, including Police Licensing Officers.

     (h) Refresher training for front of house staff will be provided every six months.

      (i) The Challenge 25 scheme must be promoted at the venue.

 

5.     RISK ASSESSMENTS

5.1  There shall be risk assessments for Health and Safety in place and reviewed annually or sooner if required.

5.2 There should be a First Aid nominated person present for any function outside the usual operating schedule.

5.3 A written risk assessment must be conducted as to the necessity for SIA Door Supervision for functions outside the usual operating schedule or for specific events, such as festivals, televised sporting events or similar such events that are likely to attract a large attendance.

5.4 All risk assessments must be available for a period of at least 6 months.

 

6.    NOISE PREVENTION

6.1 No noise generated on the premises, or by its associated plant or equipment, shall emanate from the premises nor vibration be transmitted through the structure of the premises which gives rise to a nuisance.

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

6.3 Notices shall be prominently displayed at any area used for smoking requesting patrons to respect the needs of local residents and use the area quietly.

 

7.    CHALLENGE 25

7.1 A Challenge 25 proof of age scheme shall be operated at the premises where the only acceptable forms of identification are recognised holographic photograph identification cards:

(a) driving licence

(b) passport

(c) proof of age card with the PASS Hologram

(d)Staff shall be trained in the five point and FLARE checklist to identify  

          fraudulent cards.

(e)Staff training on checking proof of age procedures will be recorded and kept on file.

 

8.    REFUSALS LOG

8.1 A record shall be kept detailing all refused sales of alcohol and shall include the date and time of the refused sale and the name of the staff member who refused the sale.

8.2 The record shall be available for inspection at the premises by the police or an authorised officer of the Council at all times whilst the premises is open.

 

In addition, the following conditions proposed by Dorset Police and accepted by the premises:

 

9.    There must be one dedicated member of staff for each room that is being used for licensable activities.

10. Maintenance of a secure and auditable signing method for members and bona fide guests to enter the premises.

11. There must be CCTV coverage for all areas that are licensed within the outline of the plan.

12. There must be a documented log to ensure that there is CCTV recorded for a continuous 31-day period.

13. All glass vessels remain inside the premises for the purpose of maintaining public safety.

 

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 6, in particular the application for review made by Dorset Police, the evidence submitted by Mr Bill Donne, licensing representative for Highcliffe Sports and Social Club and the verbal submissions made at the hearing by Ms Louise Busfield and Sergeant Gareth Gosling on behalf of Dorset Police and by Mr Donne, on behalf of the Club Secretary and the Club Manager of Highcliffe Sports and Social Club, and the responses to questions given at the hearing by all parties.

 

In determining the review, the Sub-Committee considered the options available as set out in the recommendations of the report and the Licensing Act 2003 and acknowledged that it was only able to take into account matters directly relevant to the licensing objectives in respect of the operation of the premises licence.

 

The Sub-Committee acknowledged that mediation had taken place between Mr Donne and Dorset Police and that several appropriate and proportionate conditions had been offered by Mr Donne and Dorset Police.

 

The Sub-Committee welcomed a specific condition proposed by Dorset Police requiring that the Challenge 25 scheme is promoted at the venue to ensure that all staff are protecting children from harm. The Sub-Committee also agreed with Dorset Police that the Club should have one dedicated member of staff for each room that is being used for licensable activities. This would act as an additional safeguard and would ensure that there is adequate supervision of all areas being utilised for licensable activities.

 

The Sub-Committee acknowledged the concerns raised by Dorset Police regarding the faulty door at the Club entrance but were assured by the Club Secretary that this had now been rectified and there was now a secure method of ensuring control over the attendance of the club in order for management to comply with the requirements of a Club Premises Certificate.

 

The Sub-Committee felt that if these conditions were applied to the licence and were abided by, that the licensing objectives would be upheld, particularly in relation to the prevention of crime and disorder and protection of children from harm licensing objectives.

 

The Sub-Committee was assured by Dorset Police that they would continue to support and engage with the Club to ensure compliance to uphold the licensing objectives and they strongly encouraged the Club to work with the Police to achieve this.

 

The Sub-Committee agreed none of the other available options would address the reasons for the review and that these options would not be appropriate in upholding the Licensing Objectives, as follows:

 

Leave the Certificate in its current state.

The Sub-Committee did not consider this to be a viable option as the current conditions were somewhat lax, as agreed by Mr Donne.

 

Exclusion of a licensable activity from the scope of the Certificate

The Sub-Committee noted that the exclusion of one or more licensable activities was not applicable in this case as it would not address the concerns raised in the review.

 

Suspension of the Certificate:

The Sub-Committee was not satisfied that suspending the Certificate would address concerns or promote the Licensing Objectives and the issues of crime and disorder associated with the premises. Any temporary suspension of this Club Premises Certificate was unlikely to result in any substantial improvement to the concerns highlighted in the review application.

 

Revoke the Certificate:

The Sub-Committee was satisfied that the Club Premises Certificate did not need to be revoked in light of the new conditions being attached to it, and would if adhered to, allow the premises to uphold the 4 licensing objectives.

 

It was noted that a further review of the Club Premises Certificate could be applied for at any time by a Responsible Authority or any other person should there be any issues associated with the premises that again 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.

 

Right of appeal

 

An appeal against the review decision may be made to a Magistrates Court within 21 days of the appellant being notified of the Licensing Authority’s determination on the review. An appeal may be made by the premises licence holder, the Chief Officer of Police and/or any interested person who made relevant representations.