Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Leighton-Linslade Town Council, The White House, Hockliffe Street, Leighton Buzzard, LU7 1HD

Contact: Leslie Manning  0300 300 5132

Items
No. Item

35.

Licensing Sub-Committee Composition

Minutes:

 

Cllrs:   R D Berry (Chairman)

            D Bowater

            K Janes (substitute - in place of Mrs A Barker)

 

 

36.

Members' Interests

To receive from Members any declarations of interest.

Minutes:

 

There were no declarations of interest.

 

 

37.

Name of Applicant

Minutes:

 

Miss Alyssia Head.

 

 

38.

Premises Address

Minutes:

 

HQ Sports Bar, Units 5 & 6, Grove Park, Court Drive, Dunstable, LU5 4GP.

 

 

39.

Name of Parties (including the premises user, observers and persons who have made any relevant representations together with any persons representing each party)

Minutes:

 

Cllr R D Berry (Central Bedfordshire Council)

Cllr D Bowater (Central Bedfordshire Council)

Cllr K Janes (Central Bedfordshire Council)

 

Mrs M Bissett – Licensing Officer (Central Bedfordshire Council)

Ms S McIntyre – Senior Solicitor (Central Bedfordshire Council)

Mr L Manning – Committee Services Officer (Central Bedfordshire Council)

 

Mr J Seamarks – Community Safety Officer (Central Bedfordshire Council) (Observer)

 

Sgt C Gurr (Bedfordshire Police)

Mrs E Nee – Licensing Officer (Mid County) (Bedfordshire Police)

 

Miss A Head (Designated Premises Supervisor of HQ Sports Bar and the “premises user” who gave notice of the temporary event notice)

Mr J Head (Director of HQ Sports Bar)

 

 

40.

Names of Parties submitting representations and indications of their representations

Minutes:

 

Bedfordshire Police objected to the temporary event notice on the basis that allowing it would undermine the following Licensing Objectives:

 

·         Prevention of crime and disorder

·         Public safety

·         Prevention of public nuisance.

 

 

41.

Procedure for the Hearing of Applications under the Licensing Act 2003 pdf icon PDF 234 KB

To note the procedure for hearing applications under the Licensing Act 2003 (copy attached).

Minutes:

 

The procedure for the hearing of applications made under the Licensing Act 2003 was noted.

 

 

42.

The Four Licensing Objectives pdf icon PDF 4 KB

To note the four Licensing Objectives (copy attached).

Minutes:

 

The four Licensing Objectives were noted.

 

 

43.

Temporary Event Notice - Objection by the Police Licensing Officer pdf icon PDF 105 KB

 

To consider an objection by the Police Licensing Officer to a Temporary Event Notice for the HQ Sports Bar, Units 5 & 6 Grove Park, Court Drive, Dunstable, Beds.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

The Sub-Committee considered a report from the Head of Public Protection which asked Members to consider an objection from Bedfordshire Police to a temporary event notice (TEN) given by the premises user for the HQ Sports Bar, Units 5 & 6 Grove Park, Court Drive, Dunstable, Bedfordshire. 

 

The meeting also had before it the following documents which had been attached as Appendices A – E to the above report:

 

·         the premises user’s application form for a TEN, in the approved format

·         the Bedfordshire Police email setting out the reasons for its objection to the TEN

·         the action plan agreed between Bedfordshire Police and the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS), who was also the premises user, which had been introduced following violent incidents at the Bar and related police concerns

·         an extract from the guidance document issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 which dealt with the arrangements relating to TENs

·         Annex 2 to the premises licence.

 

Members noted that the HQ Sports Bar was currently licensed to serve alcohol through Saturday evening until 3.30 a.m. on a Sunday morning.  During this time televised sporting events were shown.  The TEN given to the Council by the premises user/DPS sought an extension to the Bar’s licensing hours until 08.00 a.m. on the morning of Sunday, 3 May for that morning only.  The extension was sought so that the Bar could show an American boxing match on television; the match having an estimated start time of approximately 04.00 a.m. (British Summer Time).

 

The Chairman introduced himself and the other Members present.  The officers, Bedfordshire Police representatives, the premises user/DPS and the Director of the Bar then introduced themselves.

 

The Chairman outlined the procedure to be followed.

 

The Bedfordshire Police Licensing Officer read from an Internal Memorandum dated 12 March 2015 which set out in full the reasons for the police objection to the TEN.  Reference was made in particular to the youth and inexperience of the premises user/DPS and her management team which was demonstrated by reports of underage drinking, a failure to have read the licence conditions and the poor behaviour of various members of staff as demonstrated by reports of staff preventing the police from entering the Bar, watching television on duty, not displaying their door staff registration and being generally uncooperative.  In addition, incidents of violence had taken place on 26 February, 1 March and 8 March 2015; the last two incidents following the signing of an action plan drawn up by the police and signed by the premises user as DPS on 26 February 2015, with effect from 27 February.  Patrons had been seen leaving the Club with glasses, families had been present when violence had taken place and an incident arising from an argument over snooker had resulted in four arrests and someone suffering from a broken eye socket.  The Police Licencing Officer added that the premises user/DPS had attempted to allocate some responsibility for the disorder on 1 March to the lack of a police response.  However,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.