Agenda item

An application has been made to vary the premises licence for Eats and Drinks in Weymouth. The application has been out to public consultation.  A Licensing Sub-Committee must consider the application and representations at a public hearing. 

Kathryn Miller, the Senior Licensing Officer presented a report setting out the application for a variation of a premises licence for ‘Eats and Drinks, Weymouth’. A request had been made for a variation of two conditions, these were set out in appendix 1 and 2 of the officer report. Dorset Police had objected to the variation, stating that demand had reduced, and a full variation would undermine the previous decision. Therefore, members were advised that a hearing had to be held to determine the application. All information had been distributed to members, applicants, agents as well as being published on the website. Further details were provided regarding the possible actions which could be undertaken by the Licensing Sub-Committee.

There were no questions at this time.

Mr Rajesh, the applicant’s agent, provided a comprehensive overview of the application. He highlighted that Eats and Drinks was a well-established family-run business with over 25 years of operational experience. The premises had been under the management of the applicant, who oversaw all staff and training, with documentation to ensure compliance and quality standards. Mr Rajesh emphasised that the business had adhered to the conditions of the current licence, demonstrating a commitment to ensuring responsible operation. The agent set out the variation to the conditions; first, the removal of the restriction preventing the sale of beer or lager with an alcohol content of 5.5% or lower; and second, the lifting of the constraint on selling spirit bottles below 20cl. To their knowledge, these had not been imposed on other local premises and their applicability to this business seemed unwarranted, particularly as there is no substantial evidence to support such restrictions. The existing conditions had resulted in a detrimental effect on customers, causing them to lose valued customers who incorporated alcohol purchases into their grocery shopping. Mr Rajesh believed that a variation would not undermine the licensing objectives and would urge the council to support a local business.

Kathryn Miller, Senior Licensing Officer, clarified that each application should be considered on its own merits. However, to her knowledge, a local store had also undergone a variation to their licence. 

Questions for the premises license holder and agent from other parties:

• Sergeant G Gosling asked the licence holder as to whether they accepted that the nearby Asda service station had the same existing conditions. It was also highlighted that the police and the licence holder had discussed the concerns raised and the advice that the police provided was based on what they felt was the most suitable solution. Mr Rajesh confirmed that they had responded to the police advice, however, did not feel as though it was successful and therefore sought a variation.
• Cllr Morgan sought clarification of the reasons as to why the current licence holder was seeking an amendment.
• Cllr Pothecary queried whether the licence holder had completed any customer research to seek assurance of the points put forward for requesting a variation.

Sergeant G Gosling highlighted his background of working with the alcohol licensing team for over 7 years. In this time, he had dealt with several premises, ensuring that they all promoted licensing objectives and understood that being a licence holder was a privilege. The police work hard to ensure that anti-social behaviour and crime was reduced wherever opportunities arose, therefore, work is done to address highlighted issues. This reasoning led to the review of the premises mid last year as concerns were raised. The decision of the previous Sub-Committee applied conditions which were put in place to support the licence holder to meet the required objectives. Sergeant G Gosling noted comments raised by a local sergeant, highlighting that the area had benefitted due to the added conditions. Officers were pleased to see the improvements due to the effective conditions and hoped members would support consistency by not approving a variation. 

Questions for Dorset Police from other parties:

• Cllr Pothecary felt that it was too soon to review the conditions and thought it may have been more suitable to wait a year to see the benefits.
• Cllr Monks asked the officers to provide further detail regarding local intelligence.

All parties were given the opportunity to sum up and have their say. 

Decision: To refuse the application to vary the premises licence.