Agenda item

James Andrews of Set Square Studio Ltd has made an application on behalf of Elina Kadir for a premises licence at Seafront Mini Market a small convenience store located at 18 Westover Road, Bournemouth, BH1 2BY.

The application seeks permission for the Off Sale of alcohol between 08:00 and 03:00 and the provision of Late-Night Refreshment between 23:00 and 03:00 every day.

The application attracted 5 Representations, 1 from Dorset Police, and 4 from Other Persons including a local Ward Councillor and the Leader of the Council, on the grounds that to grant the application would undermine the prevention of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance, public safety and protection of children from harm licensing objectives.

Present: 

From BCP Council: 

Ellie King – Licensing Officer 

Andy McDiarmid – 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 for the Off Sale of alcohol between 08:00-03:00 and the provision of Late-Night Refreshment between 23:00-03:00 every day for the premises known as Seafront Mini Market. Applications attracted 5 Representations – 1 from Dorset Police, and 4 from Other Persons including a local Ward Councillor and the Leader of the Council, on the grounds that to grant the application would undermine the prevention of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance, public safety and protection of children from harm licensing objectives.

Following publication of the Officer’s report, Dorset Police and the Leader of the Council withdrew their representation.

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

·        Elina Kadir – Applicant

·        John Wallsgrove – Solicitor, representing applicant

·        Frankie Janes, representing Claire Seymour - BCP Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and Community Safety Accreditation Scheme (CSAS) Lead

·        Councillor Jamie Martin

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 for a Premises Licence at Seafront Mini Market, 18 Westover Road, Bournemouth BH1 2BY for the off-sale of alcohol between 08:00 and 23:00 every day in accordance with the details specified in the application and the Licensing Officer’s report, be GRANTED subject to conditions offered by the Applicant in Part 3 of the Operating Schedule, Paragraph M, and also to the amendments to the application and conditions agreed following mediation between the Applicant and Dorset Police and BCP Council Trading Standards, namely:-

Amend application as follows:

• Only apply for the sale of alcohol between 08:00 and 23:00.
• No late night refreshment.
• Opening hours for the shop would be 08:00 to 03:00.

The following conditions to be added to the licence:

• All spirits shall be displayed only behind the counter area.
• Alcohol shall only be displayed in areas visible from the sales counter or covered by CCTV.
• No sale of alcohol shall knowingly be permitted to anyone under the influence of illegal drugs.
• Appropriate signage advising customers of the condition relating to ‘no single cans above 5.3 % ABV’ shall be prominently displayed throughout the premises.
• The premises shall not stock, sell or supply bottles of any cider, beer or lager that has a strength over 5.3% ABV in a size greater than 1 litre. Further, the premises shall not sell single bottles or cans of any beer, cider or lager that has a strength of over 5.3% ABV.
• A notice reading “We do not sell single cans or bottles of beers, ciders or lagers that are stronger than 5.3% ABV” shall be displayed at or near the beer display area.
• The whole service area shall be visible to Management and staff who shall be trained and supervised by a DPS and their authorised staff.
• A CCTV system, shall be installed to cover all entry and exit points enabling frontal identification of every person entering in any light condition.
• There must be a member of staff on duty at all times that the premises are trading under this licence who is able to access the CCTV and produce images to the Police on request.
• The CCTV system shall continually record and cover areas where alcohol is kept for selection and purchase by the public, whilst the premises is open for licensable activities. It shall operate during all times when customers remain on the premises. All recordings shall be stored for a minimum period of 31 days with correct date and time stamping. Recordings shall be made available immediately upon the request of Police or an authorised officer of the council throughout the preceding 31 day period.
• The CCTV system shall be updated and maintained according to police recommendations. Challenge 25 Age Verification policy to be adopted and advertised with posters.
• An incident log shall be kept at the premises. The log shall include the date and time of the incident and the name of the member of staff who has been involved and made available on request to an authorised officer of the Councillor the Police, which shall record the following:

any complaints received

any incidents of disorder

any faults in the CCTV system / or searching equipment / or scanning equipment

any refusal of the sale of alcohol

any visit by a relevant authority or emergency service

all crimes reported to the venue

all ejections of patrons

all seizures of drugs or offensive weapons

• This log to be checked on a weekly basis by the DPS of the premises.
• Any staff employed under the age of 18 will be constantly supervised.
• Alcohol will not be sold to or delivered to any person who is challenged and fails to provide an acceptable form of ID
• The premises shall operate a Challenge 25 policy. All customers who appear to be under the age of 25 shall be asked to prove they are of legal age before being served alcohol.
• Appropriate signage advising customers of the Challenge 25 policy will be prominently displayed in the premises (next to alcohol and at the point of sale).
• Challenge 25 shall be operated at the premises where the only acceptable forms of identification are (recognised photographic identification cards, such as a driving licence or passport I Holographically marked PASS scheme identification cards). Appropriate signage advising customers of the policy shall be prominently displayed in the premises.
• All staff involved in the sale of alcohol shall receive training on the law relating to prohibited sales, the age verification policy adopted by the premises and the conditions attaching to the premises licence.
• All staff will be trained in the legality and procedure of alcohol sales using the Trading Standards South West No Proof of age No Sale (NPOANS) training resource (or any equivalent scheme approved by the government or trading standards) prior to undertaking the sale of alcohol. Refresher training will be given to all staff on 6 monthly basis.
• A record of this training will be kept at the premises and be available for inspection by an authorised officer (e.g. Police officer, licencing officer or other authorised officer of the council) on request.
• A Refusals Register shall be maintained at the premises and used to record any and all occasions upon which any person is refused the sale of alcohol (or delivery of the same) with a note of the reason for the refusal, the date and time and a brief description of the person(s) concerned. If the refusal relates to a delivery, the record shall also contain a note of the delivery address and the name of the customer concerned.
• The register will be signed off and dated by the Designated Premises Supervisor on a weekly basis as being an accurate record. This register will be maintained at the premises, and records of this will be kept for no less than twelve months and made available for inspection by an authorised officer on request.
• Any delivery will be provided by a reputable company operating in the area. Where the company directly employs a delivery driver they will provide a delivery policy and training to their employee.
• Delivery drivers where employed by the premises must request forms of identification (recognised photographic identification cards, such as a driving licence or passport I Holographically marked PASS scheme identification cards) evidencing the recipient to be at least 18 years of age before any alcohol is handed over.

The following conditions are also to be added to the licence following agreement between the applicant and BCP Council Environmental Health during mediation, as set out in Appendix 5 to the Licensing Officer’s report namely:-

·        No noise generated on the premises, or by its associated plant or equipment, shall emanate from the premises which gives rise to a nuisance.

·        The premises licence holder shall ensure that patrons do not congregate in or near doorways and are supervised by staff so as to ensure that there is no public nuisance.

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

·        All delivery drivers will be made aware that they must be considerate of neighbouring premises when parking, and/or when making deliveries to ensure there is no obstruction or noise nuisance.

·        Suitable provisions shall be put in place to ensure the regular collection of waste or recyclable materials from the premises and suitable provisions shall be made for patrons to dispose of waste generated from the premises.

Additionally, the Sub-Committee was encouraged by the applicant’s proposal to join the local Bournemouth Townwatch scheme and therefore conditioned the premises to be a member of the Bournemouth Townwatch scheme, to participate actively, to attend meetings, and to abide by group decisions regarding banned individuals. 

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 John Wallsgrove, solicitor representing Elina Kadir, applicant, Frankie Janes, representing Claire Seymour as ASB and CSAS Lead, and Cllr J Martin. In absence of the Other Persons, the Sub-Committee confirmed that they had read the remaining objections included in Appendix 3 of the report. 

The Licensing Officer presented the application to the Sub-Committee, noting that it was made within a half mile radius of 13 other licenced premises – six are on and off sale licenced, four on sale licenced, one off sale licenced, and one licenced was suspended. One of the licenced premises within this half mile radius is also held by the current applicant, which is near the YMCA on Westover Road granted in June 2024. In addition to the pre-existing licenced premise, it was noted that the applicant also owns Tony’s Café on Westover Road. The applicant stated that there had been no violence from customers towards shop keepers at these locations.

The Sub-Committee noted that no other Responsible Authorities had made an objection to the application and that the applicant had engaged in successful mediation with Dorset Police resulting in amendments to the application and additional conditions. One of the conditions was to restrict the sale of alcohol to 2300 instead of the initial application time of 0300 – it was noted that it mirrors the applicant’s other premises. The conditions are also agreed by the trading standards and Environmental Health. This agreement to conditions resulted in Dorset Police and the Leader of the Council withdrawing their representation.

The Sub-Committee noted the regulations that the applicant proposes in order to meet the concerns of the Dorset Police and YMCA. Additionally, there was an agreed condition of not selling alcohol to persons under the influence of drugs, which was acknowledged as the principal issue of residents at the YMCA rather than alcohol abuse. The solicitor reported that the applicant offered collaboration with the YMCA to identify the vulnerable individuals.

The solicitor made the Sub-Committee aware of the economic benefit in a convenience store as it would provide sustainability alongside selling other core products as it provides a one stop experience for customers. The solicitor argued that to refuse the license would go against the Section 182 guidance to protect a minority of individuals who may have issues with alcohol abuse as opposed to the significant benefits this premise could bring to local residents and tourists. It was emphasised by the solicitor that collaboration with the YMCA and local retailers and hospitality business would be the best solution.

Members noted the fears expressed that an additional licensed premises would lead to an increase in crime and disorder and public nuisance, have an adverse impact on public health and alcohol related harm and increase exposure and availability of alcohol to children. The Sub-Committee was informed by the ASB officer that there are concerns regarding an increase in ASB incidents especially during holiday seasons if there is increased access to alcohol, as Westover Road is already a dense area for ASB incidents. It was reported that the incident matrix shows trends of increased ASB around licensed premises, however when enquired by the Sub-Committee to relate it to Westover Road, no concrete evidence could be provided to the Sub-Committee.

The Sub-Committee was satisfied that if the premises operated in accordance with the conditions offered in the operating schedule of the application and the conditions agreed through mediation with Dorset Police, BCP Council Trading Standards and BCP Council Environmental Health, that the premises should not undermine the licensing objectives and as such the application should be granted.?  

It was noted however that a review of the premises licence may be sought at any time by a Responsible Authority or any other person should future issues arise that may 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 have the right to appeal against this decision to the Dorset Magistrates Court within 21 days of receiving written notification from the Licensing Authority.