Agenda item

An application has been made for a new premises licence for Beaucroft Beverages, 4 Stroud Close, Colehill, Dorset, BH21 2NX. The application has been out to public consultation.  Representations have been received. A Licensing Sub-Committee must therefore consider the application and representations at a public hearing.

The Senior Licensing Officer introduced the report. She said that the Police had made a representation requesting a number of conditions be added to the licence to which the applicant had agreed.  No other representations had been received from the responsible authorities.  Four relevant representations from members of the public had been received raising concerns about the prevention of nuisance, crime and disorder and public safety.  She explained that concerns due to the increase in traffic and the manufacture of alcohol were not relevant because this application was to deal with sales only.

 

In response to questions, the Senior Licencing Officer explained that the application was made under the Licencing Act 2003 for the selling of alcohol and that Act does not cover the manufacture of alcohol which she thought was controlled by HMRC.

 

The Sub-Committee was addressed by Mr Trimmer, the applicant.  He said that his position was set-out in the statement that he had submitted and he considered that all concerns would be mitigated by the proposed conditions.  He said that he had not intended to cause angst to his neighbours.  In response to questions, Mr Trimmer said that the hours in the application were to allow him to choose a time for him to deliver within, that the garage floor and ceiling were made of concrete and that a condition could be imposed to limit how the business could grow including to condition the number of bottles that could be stored.  He said he had obtained the necessary licences from HMRC and also that the petrol in his car and motorbike fuel tanks which could be kept in his garage were far more of a fire risk than his gin distilling.

 

In response to questions of the Licencing Officer, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service had not submitted any comments in response to the application but the applicant would still need to submit a fire risk assessment to the Fire and Rescue Service.

 

The Sub-Committee was addressed by Ann Harris but her concerns about manufacturing and storing gin in the applicant’s garage had not been allayed to date.  Her concerns were about safety, and she considered the premises to be inappropriate for the manufacture and selling of gin due to the proximity to neighbouring properties.  She considered that further evidence was required about how the garage would be protected for safety, for example explosion proof lighting switches and the applicant had not said how he intended to mitigate the ignition of alcohol vaper or any adaptations to the garage which were proposed.  In addition, she considered that no risk assessments had been carried out in relation to the proximity to neighbouring properties and fire risk.  She also considered that this was a quiet residential close which is not an appropriate location for sales of gin.

 

The Sub-Committee was addressed by Mark Westcott who was concerned about the risk of members of the public coming to the premises because the premises address is on the Applicant’s website and the risk of crime that would come with it.  He was also concerned about the fire risk and considered the applicant had only paid lip service to providing fire systems.  He considered that the Applicant should provide evidence that he has installed safety systems and undertaking training.

 

Decision

 

To GRANT a Premises Licence with the usual mandatory conditions, conditions consistent with the Operating Schedule and conditions agreed between the applicant and the Police to permit the following:

 

Sale of alcohol (off the premises):

Monday to Friday 0800 to 1800 hours

Saturday 0830 to 1230 hours

 

Conditions agreed between the Applicant and the Police

 

1. Age verification will take place at the point of ordering and also at the point of delivery. A Challenge 25 policy will be in operation and customers on receipt of a delivery will need to prove they are over the age of 18 by showing either a passport, driving licence or ID with the PASS hologram. When placing orders online or by phone, customers will need to confirm their date of birth to prove that they are over the age of eighteen.

 

2. A refusals log will be maintained recording any incidences of refused sales/deliveries. This will include the date, time, name of customer and address of the refused delivery. This log will be kept at the premises and will be made available to Police or responsible authorities on request.

 

3. All alcohol will be stored in a lockable room or container.

 

4. Staff to be trained in the Licensing Acts 2003 in the sections pertinent to the sale of alcohol. Refresher training will take place every 12 months. All training will be dated and signed by the person receiving the training and the person giving the training. A record of this training to be kept on the premises and made available to the Police or responsible authorities on request.

 

5. Deliveries will only be made to business and residential addresses.

 

6. Members of the public will not be allowed into the premises.

 

Conditions consistent with the Operating Schedule

 

7. Security cameras and lights will be fitted to the premises.

 

Mandatory conditions

 

8.Supply of Alcohol (s19(2)&(3))

No supply of alcohol may be made under the premises licence –

(a)  at a time when there is no designated premises supervisor, or

(b)  at a time when the designated premises supervisor does not hold a personal licence or his  personal licence has been suspended.

Every supply of alcohol under the premises licence must be made or authorised by a person who holds a personal licence.

 

9. (1) The premises licence holder or club premises certificate holder must ensure that an age verification policy is adopted in respect of the premises in relation to the sale or supply of alcohol.

(2) The designated premises supervisor in relation to the premises licence must ensure that the supply of alcohol at the premises is carried on in accordance with the age verification policy.

(3) The policy must require individuals who appear to the responsible person to be under 18 years of age (or such older age as may be specified in the policy) to produce on request, before being served alcohol, identification bearing their photograph, date of birth and either—

(a) a holographic mark, or

(b) an ultraviolet feature.

 

10.  A relevant person shall ensure that no alcohol is sold or supplied for consumption on or off the premises for a price which is less than the permitted price.

11. For the purposes of the condition set out in paragraph 3—

(a) “duty” is to be construed in accordance with the Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979;

(b) “permitted price” is the price found by applying the formula— P=D+(DxV)

where—

(i)             P is the permitted price,

(ii)            D is the amount of duty chargeable in relation to the alcohol as if the duty were charged on the date of the sale or supply of the alcohol, and

(iii)      V is the rate of value added tax chargeable in relation to the alcohol as if the value added tax were charged on the date of the sale or supply of the alcohol;

(c) “relevant person” means, in relation to premises in respect of which there is in force a premises licence—

(i) the holder of the premises licence,

(ii) the designated premises supervisor (if any) in respect of such a licence, or

(iii) the personal licence holder who makes or authorises a supply of alcohol under such a licence;

(d)“relevant person” means, in relation to premises in respect of which there is in force a club premises certificate, any member or officer of the club present on the premises in a capacity which enables the member or officer to prevent the supply in question; and

(e) “value added tax” means value added tax charged in accordance with the Value Added Tax Act 1994.

 

12. Where the permitted price given by Paragraph (b) of paragraph 4 would (apart from this paragraph) not be a whole number of pennies, the price given by that sub-paragraph shall be taken to be the price actually given by that sub-paragraph rounded up to the nearest penny.

13. (1)  Sub-paragraph (2) applies where the permitted price given by Paragraph (b) of paragraph 4 on a day (“the first day”) would be different from the permitted price on the next day (“the second day”) as a result of a change to the rate of duty or value added tax.

(2) The permitted price which would apply on the first day applies to sales or supplies of alcohol which take place before the expiry of the period of 14 days beginning on the second day.