Licensing Sub Committee

24 May 2023

Variation of premises licence – Chic Bar and Club

For Decision

Portfolio Holder: Cllr L Beddow, Culture and Communities

Local Councillor(s):	Cllr J Orrell

Executive Director:	J Sellgren, Executive Director of Place

Report Author: Kathryn Miller

Job Title: Senior Licensing Officer

Tel: 01305 252214

Email: Kathryn.miller@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk

Report Status: Public

Brief Summary: An application has been made for a variation to the premises licence for Chic Bar and Club, Weymouth to extend the opening hours and amendment to some conditions under Appendix 2 of the premises licence. The application has been out to public consultation and has attracted relevant representations. A Licensing Sub Committee must consider the application and representations at a public hearing.

Recommendation: The Sub-Committee determines the application in the light of written and oral evidence and resolves to take such steps as it considers appropriate and proportionate for the promotion of the licensing objectives of;

The prevention of crime and disorder

The prevention of public nuisance

Public safety

The protection of children from harm

The steps that the Sub-Committee may take are:

to modify the conditions of the licence;

to reject the whole or part of the application.

Reason for Recommendation: The Sub-Committee must consider the oral representations and information given at the hearing before reaching a decision.

Background

1.1	Section 4 of the Licensing Act 2003 sets out the duties of the Licensing Authority, it sets out that a Council’s licensing functions must be carried out with a view to promoting the four licensing objectives of:

(a) the prevention of crime and disorder;
(b) public safety;
(c) the prevention of public nuisance; and
(d) the protection of children from harm.

1.2	All applicants and decision are made with due regard to the Licensing
Act 2003 (the Act), the Revised Guidance issued under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 (the Guidance) and the Dorset Council Statement of Licensing Policy (the Policy).

Details of the application

A variation of the premises licence for Chic Bar and Club has been submitted to the Licensing Authority by Mr Parviz Panjalizadeh-Marseh for Chic Bar and Club at 3-5 Maiden Street, Weymouth. The application can be found at Appendix 1.

The application is to amend the following on the current licence:

Venue closing time to 0330 hours.

Licensable activities to cease at 0300 hours.

80% of patrons to have their identification to be scanned and searched.

Two Security Industry Authority (SIA) registered security during Sunday to Thursday, three SIA registered security Friday to Saturday when one floor is open, another SIA registered security when both floors are open.

Last entry of 0230 hours for patrons

Omit female SIA registered security to be present at all times.

Security risk assessment to be provided when special events are operated.

Responsible Authorities

Section 13 of the Licensing Act contains the list of Responsible Authorities who must be consulted on each application. Dorset Police, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire Service, Public Health Dorset, the Immigration Authority, Dorset Council Trading Standards, Dorset Council Children’s Services, Dorset Council Planning, Dorset Council Licensing, Dorset Council Environmental Protection and Dorset Council Health and Safety have all been consulted.

History of the premises

The premises was formally known as Actors and had its licence revoked after a summary review hearing that had been brought by the police in December 2021.

Mr Panjalizadeh-Marseh appealed that decision, and this was settled by way of a consent order on the 6 June that reduced the times on the licence and added a suite of conditions to allow the premises to trade again.

The premises re-opened for business on 28 July 2022. A copy of the current licence is at Appendix 2.

Since the premises re-opened in July 2022 Mr Panjalizadeh-Marseh has submitted four temporary event notices (TENs) to extend the hours of Chic Bar and Club.

Two of these TENs were objected to by Dorset Police under the Licensing Objectives of the Prevention of Crime and Disorder and Public Safety on the basis that this would act against the agreed position at Court.

The Licensing Sub Committees who heard these two TENs decided to allow these Notices to go ahead by issuing a Notice (Statement of Conditions) which allowed the events to go ahead with the conditions of the premises licence attached to the TEN.

There were two TENs that the applicant submitted, which were not objected to by Dorset Police. This was to give the applicant an opportunity to prove that they could manage these events under a TEN, without conditions being applied via a Committee Hearing and also being able demonstrate that they could operate a safe environment for their customers and staff. Following these two TENs, Dorset Police received no complaints of any crime and disorder and public safety.

One representation to this application to vary the premises license was received from Dorset Police which can be found at Appendix 3.

There were two representations received from interested parties, including one from Weymouth Town Council. These can be found at Appendix 4.

The Licensing Act 2003 Section 182 Guidance (the Guidance) sets out at 8.13 the role of “other persons”:

“As well as responsible authorities, any other person can play a role in a number of licensing processes under the 2003 Act. This includes any individual, body or business entitled to make representations to licensing authorities in relation to applications for the grant, variation, minor variation or review of premises licences and club premises certificates, regardless of their geographic proximity to the premises. In addition, these persons may themselves seek a review of a premises licence. Any representations made by these persons must be ‘relevant’, in that the representation relates to one or more of the licensing objectives. It must also not be considered by the licensing authority to be frivolous or vexatious. In the case of applications for reviews, there is an additional requirement that the grounds for the review should not be considered by the licensing authority to be repetitious. Chapter 9 of this guidance (paragraphs 9.4 to 9.10) provides more detail on the definition of relevant, frivolous and vexatious representations.

The Guidance states at paragraph 9.4 what a “relevant” representation is;

“A representation is “relevant” if it relates to the likely effect of the grant of the licence on the promotion of at least one of the licensing objectives. For example, a representation from a local businessperson about the commercial damage caused by competition from new licensed premises would not be relevant. On the other hand, a representation by a businessperson that nuisance caused by new premises would deter customers from entering the local area, and the steps proposed by the applicant to prevent that nuisance were inadequate, would be relevant. In other words, representations should relate to the impact of licensable activities carried on from premises on the objectives.”

4.	Considerations

4.1	Paragraphs 9.42 to 9.44 of the Section 182 Guidance sets how the Licensing Authority should decide what actions are appropriate.

“9.42 Licensing authorities are best placed to determine what actions are appropriate for the promotion of the licensing objectives in their areas. All licensing determinations should be considered on a caseby-case basis. They should take into account any representations or objections that have been received from responsible authorities or other persons, and representations made by the applicant or premises user as the case may be.

9.43 The authority’s determination should be evidence-based, justified as being appropriate for the promotion of the licensing objectives and proportionate to what it is intended to achieve.

9.44 Determination of whether an action or step is appropriate for the promotion of the licensing objectives requires an assessment of what action or step would be suitable to achieve that end. While this does not therefore require a licensing authority to decide that no lesser step will achieve the aim, the authority should aim to consider the potential burden that the condition would impose on the premises licence holder (such as the financial burden due to restrictions on licensable activities) as well as the potential benefit in terms of the promotion of the licensing objectives. However, it is imperative that the authority ensures that the factors which form the basis of its determination are limited to consideration of the promotion of the objectives and nothing outside those parameters. As with the consideration of licence variations, the licensing authority should consider wider issues such as other conditions already in place to mitigate potential negative impact on the promotion of the licensing objectives and the track record of the business. Further advice on determining what is appropriate when imposing conditions on a licence or certificate is provided in Chapter 10. The licensing authority is expected to come to its determination based on an assessment of the evidence on both the risks and benefits either for or against making the determination.”

Financial Implications

Any decision of the Sub Committee could lead to an appeal by any of the parties involved that could incur costs.

Natural Environment, Climate & Ecology Implications

None.

Well-being and Health Implications

None.

Other Implications
None.

Risk Assessment

HAVING CONSIDERED: the risks associated with this decision; the level of risk has been identified as:

Current Risk: High

Residual Risk: High

Equalities Impact Assessment

Not applicable

Appendices

Appendix 1 – variation application

Appendix 2 – copy of current licence

Appendix 3 – representation from Dorset Police

Appendix 4 – representation from interested parties

Background Papers

Licensing Act 2003

Home Office Guidance issued under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003

Dorset Council Statement of Licensing Policy 2021