Agenda item

An application has been received for a variation of the premises licence for the premise known as ‘Noisy Lobster’, Avon Beach, Mudeford, Christchurch, BH23 LAN.

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

From BCP Council:

Sarah Rogers, Senior Licensing Officer

Tanya Coulter, Legal Advisor to the Sub Committee

Michelle Cutler, Clerk to the Sub Committee

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

The Senior 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 consideran application to vary the current premises licence to include the supply of alcohol for off sales from a hatch attached to the current premises. The hours for the off sales from this hatch would be 11:00hrs to 21:00hrs daily.

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

Peter Hayward, Applicant

Cllr Paul Hilliard, Objecting

Joanne Rimmer , Objecting

Cllr Paul Hilliard also read out a statement on behalf of Mr Pollard (objector), as Mr Pollard was unable to attend the Hearing.

The Sub Committee asked various questions of all parties present and were 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 Legal Advisor advised all parties of the right of appeal.

It was RESOLVED that the application to vary the premises licence of the premises known as ‘Noisy Lobster’, Avon Beach, Christchurch, dated 18 March 2021, to include the off sale of alcohol Monday to Sunday from 11:00 hrs to 21:00hrs from a takeaway food hatch at the premises, be GRANTED. The off sales of alcohol will be subject to the current licence conditions andsubject to the inclusion of the conditions proposed by Dorset Police and agreed with the Applicant, as set out in the papers published with the Sub-Committee Report and listed below:

• A CCTV system, shall be installed to cover all entry and exit points of the premises enabling frontal identification of every person entering in any light condition. 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.

• CCTV shall be installed above the bar in the take away outlet enabling frontal identification of customers when placing their order.

• A staff member from the premises who is conversant with the operation of the CCTV system shall be on the premises at all timeswhen the premises are 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.

• CCTV shall be downloaded on request of the Police or authorised officer of the council. Appropriate signage advising customers of CCTV being in operation, shall be prominently displayed in the premises.

•  A documented check of the CCTV shall be completed weekly to ensure all cameras remain operational and the 31 days storage for recordings is being maintained.

• All staff working at the premises concerned with the sale of alcohol shall be trained in accordance with an accredited training scheme from time to time 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.

•  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 Council or the Police, which shall record the following: (a) any complaints received (b) any incidents of disorder (c) any faults in the CCTV system / or searching equipment /or scanning equipment (d) any refusal of the sale of alcohol (e) any visit by a relevant authority or emergency service (f) all crimes reported to the venue (g) all ejections of patrons (h) all seizures of drugs or offensive weapons

This log to be checked on a weekly basis by the DPS of the premises.

• 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 at the premises.

• Staff will control the queues to ensure there is no congregation or anti-social behaviour in the vicinity of the takeaway area.

• Condition 22 to be varied to ensure it includes both on sales and off-sales – the condition provides that alcohol shall only be consumed by those persons that are consuming food purchased from the premises.

Reasons for the Decision

The Sub-Committee gave detailed consideration to all the information that had been submitted before the meeting and contained in Agenda Item 8’, in particular the 44 written representations made by ‘other persons’, who are local residents living close to the ‘Noisy Lobster’. The Sub-Committee also considered the verbal representations of Trudi Barlow, Licensing Officer, BCP Council; the Applicant, Peter Hayward and the ‘other persons’ who had made verbal representations, namely Joanne Rimmer, Chris Lake and Cllr Hilliard (also representing Robert Pollard).

The Sub-Committee noted that during the consultation period in response to the application, Dorset Police had undertaken mediation with  the Applicant and agreement had been reached that should the application to vary the premises licence be granted then 10 further conditions should be attached to the licence with the agreement of the Applicant. It further noted that as a result of this agreement in regard to conditions Dorset Police withdrew its representation in respect of the application.

The Sub-Committee noted and acknowledged the concerns raised in the written and verbal representations of the 44 ‘other persons’. It gave careful consideration to the concerns raised. It noted that some of the concerns related to matters which were outside of the control of the Applicant, for example the concerns raised about the dangers of swimming whilst intoxicated and some of the litter that affected the beach area and car park area. It noted that the Applicant employed staff to empty the bins it provided at the premises and to monitor and clear tables located outside. It also noted that there was no evidence of concerns raised by any of the responsible authorities during the periods the premises had operated as proposed in previous years utilising temporary event notices and considered the advantage of additional control provided by the proposed conditions attached to the licence as opposed to relying on temporary event notices. All in all, when considering the representations made by all parties and the conditions agreed with Dorset Police it did not consider that there were sufficient reasons to justify a refusal of the application. It was satisfied that if operated in accordance with the conditions both offered in the application and agreed with the Police, that the variation to the premises licence should not undermine the licensing objectives.

It was noted that a review of the premises licence could be applied for at any time by the Responsible Authorities, or any other person, should any problems associated with the licensing objectives in relation to the premises occur once the licence was granted.

Right of Appeal

All parties to the application have the right to Appeal to the Magistrates Court within the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which the Applicant is notified by the Licensing Authority of this decision in writing.

Decision: Unanimous

The Legal Advisor to the Sub-Committee and clerk were present during the decision making process but did not participate in the decision.

Note: At the start of the hearing the Chair set out the procedure to be followed at the hearing and obtained the agreement of all parties present.