Agenda item

Prior to the start of the hearing, Sarah Glover, an Interested Party produced further paperwork. The applicant agreed that this paperwork could be submitted, and all parties were given time to give this consideration. 

 

All parties introduced themselves.

 

The Service Manager (Licensing and Enforcement) presented his report and summarised the application. He drew attention to the table at 3.2 of the report and reiterated that as per the email sent to all parties on 9 April 2025, the start time shown for the sale of alcohol was incorrect following amendment by the applicant (post discussions with the Police) from 08:00 to 10:00.  

 

There were no questions from the Sub-Committee, the Applicant, or the interested parties.

 

The applicant gave his submission and answered questions from the Sub-Committee and the Interested Parties.

 

The Interested Parties gave their submissions and answered questions from the Sub-Committee and the Applicant.

 

In line with procedure, at the conclusion of closing statements, the Sub-Committee retired to consider the evidence presented to the hearing by the applicant and the interested parties. They were accompanied by the Committee Support Officer and the Legal Advisor. The Sub-Committee reconvened at 13:02 hours.

 

The Chair said that the Licensing Sub-Committee had listened to the comments of the Service Manager (Licensing and Enforcement), the applicant and the Interested Parties, both written and oral. He said that the Sub-Committee had decided to grant the premises licence sought for, with conditions to be attached. He said that the decision would be provided in writing, with the right of appeal within 21 days to the magistrate’s court.

 

DECISION OF THE LICENDING SUB-COMMITTEE

 

To grant the Premises Licence sought for;

 

(1) The provision of plays (indoors)

The provision of films (indoors)

Indoor sporting events

The provision of performance of dance (indoors)

Monday – Sunday 08:00 – 23:00

 

(2) The provision of live music (indoors)

The provision of recorded music (indoors)

Monday – Thursday 08:00 – 23:00

Friday – Saturday 08:00 – 23:30

Sunday 08:00 – 23:00

 

(3) The supply of alcohol (for consumption on and off the premises)

Sunday – Thursday 10:00 – 23:00

Friday – Saturday 10:00 – 23:30

 

(4) Hours open to the public

Monday – Thursday 08:00 – 23:00

Friday – Saturday 08:00 – 00:00

Sunday 08:00 – 23:00

 

In granting the licence, the Members had regard to the conditions agreed between the Applicant, Hertfordshire Constabulary and Environmental Health and had considered the representations made relating to these conditions and proposed the following conditions be attached to the Licence:

 

 

1. CCTV

a)                             The Premises shall install and maintain a high-definition CCTV system. All entry, exit (to include the designated smoking area) and all areas of the licensed premises will be covered by the cameras, and the images shall enable frontal identification of every person entering in any light condition.

b)                            The system shall continually record whilst the premises is open for licensable activities and during all times when staff and customers remain on the premises.
 

c)                              All recordings shall be stored for a minimum period of 31 days with date and time stamping. Recordings shall be made available within 24 hours, free of charge, to a Police officer or an authorised officer of the licensing authority upon request throughout the preceding 31-day period.

 

d)                            A staff member from the premises who is conversant with the operation of the CCTV system shall be on the premises at all times when the premises are open to the public. This staff member shall be able to show a Police officer or an authorised officer of the licensing authority data or footage upon request.

e)                             All faults/defects in the CCTV system must be reported to Hertfordshire Constabulary within one day of the fault being discovered. The notification must be made to Hertfordshire Constabulary and a log number obtained from the Police

f)                               Licensing Unit must also be notified as soon as reasonably practicable.

g)                              All faults with the CCTV system shall be repaired as soon as possible and in any case within two working days after which time, if the system is still inoperative no licensable activities shall take place without the agreement of the Police Licensing Unit and the licensing authority until the fault is rectified.

 

2.        An incident log shall be kept at the premises for at least 12 months, and made available on request to an authorised officer of the licensing authority or the Police Licensing Unit, which will record the following:

a.            All crimes reported to the venue, or by the venue to the Police.

b.           All ejections of patrons.

c.            Any complaints received.

d.           Any incidents of disorder.

e.            Seizures of drugs, offensive weapons, fraudulent ID or other items.

f.              Any faults in the CCTV system or searching equipment or scanning equipment.

g.            A refusals book shall be kept at the premises to record details of all refusals to sell alcohol. This book shall contain the date and time of the refusal, a description of the customer, the name of the staff member who refused the sale, and the reason the sale was refused.

h.           Any visits by a responsible authority or emergency service.

i.              The times on duty, and the licence number, of all licensed door supervisors employed by the premises.

j.              Assaults or other injuries whether or not the Police or medical assistance is required.

k.            All times when CCTV and electronic identification system records have been supplied to the Police and Licensing Authority officers.

l.              Records of reasonable requests from authorised officers.

m.        Ask for Angela, or any public safety equivalent   training to be given to all staff and recorded to detail the name of the person or company who has provided the training, the date the training is given and the name of the staff member who has been given the training.

 

3.        A written dispersal policy, approved by a Police Licensing Officer (prior to the premises trading), will be in place and a copy available at the premises. The Policy must cover actions to be taken to reduce the impact on the local community when customers are leaving the premises. The policy must be reviewed every 6, or sooner if required, and must be operated and adhered to by the staff at the premises.

 

4.        The premises licence holder will ensure that a soft closure procedure is followed at the end of the evening; 30 mins before the terminal hour for hours open to public, any music that is playing must be lowered and announcements must be made to inform the public at the premises of the approaching closing time.

 

5.        A written drugs and search policy, approved by a Police Licensing Officer (prior to the premises trading), shall detailing the actions to be undertaken to minimise the opportunity for weapons and illegal substances to enter the premises. The policy shall be available to the Police or an authorised officer of the Council on request.

 

6.        An individual who holds a personal licence must be present on the premises on Friday’s and Saturday’s when licensable activities are taking place.

 

7.        The Premises must implement a “Challenge 25” policy. All customers who appear to be under 25 must produce (in addition to requirements of the age verification policy under mandatory conditions (annex 1)) photographic identification in the form of a passport, driving licence or Proof of Age Scheme (P.A.S.S) approved identification before the sale of alcohol occurs.

8.        SIA registered door staff shall be employed at a ratio of one SIA door staff per fifty customers on the premises on Fridays, Saturdays and days leading into a bank holiday from 21:00 hours until no customers remain on the premises.

 

9.        Where SIA door supervisors are used at the premises, a record must be kept of their SIA registration number and the dates and times when they are on duty.

 

10.      All staff engaged outside the entrance to the premises, or supervising or controlling queues, shall wear high visibility arm bands or jackets.

 

11.      An entry control system to control the number of customers at the premises will be used to ensure safe capacity of customers at the premises at any one time. The system will be able to give a report the number of customers on the premises at any one time.

 

12.      The Premises Licence Holder and Designated Premise Supervisor must ensure that SIA door staff and any other member of staff authorised by them prevent the removal of open containers of alcohol from the premises.

 

13.      Whilst licensable activities are taking place, the toilets at the premises must be checked at least hourly for illegal drug use or supply. A written log of all checks must be kept at the premises for at least 31 days and made available for immediate inspection on the request of the Police Licensing Unit or an authorised officer of the licensing authority.

 

14.      During all licensable activities, levels of noise must be monitored and recorded in a log at the two locations every 15 minutes from 23:00hrs until the last customer have left the premises, as marked on the attached plan. Where it is found that the noise is audible at the boundary in these locations, action must be taken to reduce the level of noise to a level that will not cause a disturbance and will not affect the peaceful amenity residential properties that are located nearest to the boundary of the premises.

 

15.      The garden area must be closed for use to customers by 21:30 hours except for smokers using the designated smoking area.

 

16.      The designated smoking area must be defined in a plan and agreed with the Police and Environmental Health.

 

17.      Smokers in the designated smoking area shall be limited to 5 persons at any one time after 21:30 hours.

 

18.      No glasses or bottles are to be taken into the designated smoking area after 21:30. Drinks must be dispensed into plastic/polycarbonate containers.

 

19.      Notices shall be prominently displayed at any area used for smoking requesting patrons to respect the needs of local residents and use the area quietly.

 

20.      No children under the age of 14 years old to be in the premises after 20:00 hours unless for a pre booked event and accompanied by an adult.

 

21.      A noise management plan shall be submitted to and approved by Environmental Health prior to the premises trading. This shall be carried out in accordance with the guidance provided.

22.      The premises licence holder will ensure that all team members are trained in the implementation of the noise management plan. Refresher training shall be provided to all staff every six months. Training records shall be kept showing when training has been delivered, the date of the training, and the name of the staff member who has been trained.

 

23.      At the exit doors, prominent and clear notices are to be displayed requesting that patrons are considerate to local residents by leaving the premises and the area quietly.

 

REASONS FOR DECISION

 

1.                     The Licensing Sub-Committee considered all of the evidence before including the oral and written representations made by the interested parties, the applicant and the conditions agreed with Hertfordshire Constabulary and Environmental Health. Members had regard to the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy, the Licensing Act 2003 and the guidance promulgated pursuant to Section 182 of that Act.

 

2.                     The Licensing Sub-Committee is required to adopt a presumption in favour of granting an application to a licence unless there is clear evidence upon which to base a refusal or modification. There was insufficient evidence before the Sub Committee to rebut that presumption.

 

3.                     In reaching this decision the Licensing Sub-Committee had regard to the objections received and noted that whilst concerns have been raised relating to all four licensing objectives, this was a new premises licence application and the conditions attached to the licence would be appropriate to promote the licensing objectives which have given rise the representations.

 

4.                     The Licensing Sub-Committee was mindful that the applicant has taken measures to consult with various Responsible Authorities and will continue to do so to ensure that the operation of the business will not affect the neighbouring residential area.

 

RESOLVED – that the application for a premises licence in respect of Knight Street Vault Limited, 28 Knight Street, Sawbridgeworth, CM21 9AT, Application Reference 25/0115/PL, be granted subject to the addition of conditions 1 – 23 as detailed above.