Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chair for the meeting and the Chair to present and explain the procedure for the meeting.

Proposed by Cllr Wheller and seconded by Cllr Monks.

Decision:

That Cllr Beer be elected as Chair for the meeting.

To receive any apologies for absence.

No apologies for absence were received at the meeting.

To disclose any pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interests as set out in the adopted Code of Conduct. In making their disclosure councillors are asked to state the agenda item, the nature of the interest and any action they propose to take as part of their declaration.

If required, further advice should be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests were made at the meeting.

An application has been made for a new premises licence for Chesil Beach Café, Bullers Way, Abbotsbury, Weymouth. The application has been out to public consultation.  A Licensing Sub-Committee must consider the application and representations at a public hearing.

The Licensing Officer presented a report setting out the application for a new premises licence for Chesil Beach Café, Bullers Way, Abbotsbury, Weymouth. It was explained that the licence was for the sale of alcohol on and off the premises and there had been an objection from Dorset Police because the applicant had not agreed to a condition that would ensure that CCTV be installed.

The applicant, Ms Allan, explained that she did not see it as necessary to install CCTV on site as there had been no incidences of crime or anti-social behaviour relating to the business in the past and the small scale and rural location of the kiosk would make it an unlikely target for crime. She also noted that past events held on the beach and catered by the kiosk, included the sale of alcohol and did not result in any issues with anti-social behaviour. She also felt that the new alarm system that had been installed was a sufficient measure to protect against potential crime. Ms Allan stated that she believed the installation of CCTV to be invasive on the staff working at the kiosk and it was an unnecessary measure.

The Dorset Police Licensing Officer, Ms Busfield, explained that the reason why CCTV was a necessary condition for the licence, was that the sale of alcohol was likely to increase the chances of crime and anti-social behaviour, so the CCTV would be both a deterrent and potentially useful should the police need to investigate any incidents that should occur.

Members questions and responses following detailed below:

·       Ms Busfield stated that she was not aware of any other premises that was licensed to store alcohol overnight that didn’t have any CCTV.

·       Ms Allan felt that she was well equipped to deal with customers who may cause issues without the need for CCTV, due to her extensive experience of working in the hospitality industry.

·       Members asked for clarification on why the applicant was opposed to CCTV. Ms Allan stated that she thought it unnecessary as there would not be a significant amount of alcohol stored in the kiosk and she believed it to be intrusive on the staff working at the kiosk.

·       Cllr Beer asked whether the applicant saw value in CCTV potentially protecting the business should any malicious allegations be made against them.

All parties were given the opportunity to sum up their case.

Decision:

The Licensing Sub-Committee decided to grant the application for a Premises Licence for Chesil Beach Café, Bullers Way, Abbotsbury, Weymouth, DT3 4LA with the following added conditions:

·       CCTV to be installed and record all areas where alcohol is served, stored and the outside seating area where customers are anticipated to consume alcohol.

·       All recordings must be stored for a minimum period of 31 days with correct date and time stamped on the footage.

·       The CCTV system must be updated and maintained according to reasonable Police recommendations.

·       A staff member from the premises who is conversant with the operation of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

To consider any items of business which the Chair has had prior notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) b) of the Local Government Act 1972. The reason for the urgency shall be recorded in the minutes.

There were no urgent items.

There are no exempt items scheduled for this meeting.  

There was no exempt business.