Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED:  That Councillor Kairul Kareema Marikar be appointed Chair of the Licensing Panel Hearing.

There were no declarations of interest.

[Note:  Licensing Panel minutes are:-

(1)          approved following each meeting by the Members serving on that particular occasion and signed as a correct record by the Chair for that meeting;

(2)          not submitted to the next panel meeting for approval.

Reasons: The Licensing Panel is constituted from a pooled membership. Consequently, a subsequent Panel meeting is likely to comprise a different Chair and Members who took no part in the previous meeting’s proceedings. The process referred to at (1) above provides appropriate approval scrutiny].

Report of the Corporate Director Community

The Panel carefully considered all the relevant information including:

·                     Written and oral representations by all the parties

·                     The Licensing Act 2003

·                     The Guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003

·                     Harrow Council’s Licensing Policy

·                     Human Rights Act 1998

·                     The considerations in s.17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998

The Panel heard from the Police that they no longer sought revocation of the Licence. The Police explained that they have been working in partnership with the Licensee and that the Licensee had introduced a number of new measures that had resulted in a dramatic reduction in the number of calls the Police were receiving about the Premises.  The Police therefore sought that the new measures be imposed as conditions on the Licence as per paragraph 2.16 of the Licensing Officer’s report.

The Licensee’s representative confirmed the Licensee’s agreement to the conditions being added to the Licence and explained that, in the Licensee’s view, the problems at the Premises were being caused by wider problems of ASB perpetrated by gangs on Station Road.  The Licensee’s representative explained the proposed amendments to the Licence to the Panel in more detail and submitted that they had been in place for a number of weeks and seemed to be working well.

In reply to a number of pertinent questions they asked the Panel heard that the CCTV at the Premises had been upgraded and was now of much better quality.  All managers had been trained in its operation.  A simple guide to the operation of the CCTV is also kept at the Premises which should allow any staff member to download recordings.

The Panel also heard that the Police did not consider changes to the way the door to the premises operates to be necessary given the other changes that the Licensee had made.  The Panel heard that having two SIA door supervisors meant that customers were not trying to force their way into the Premises anymore.

The Panel also heard that a combination of the Premises’ wi-fi being turned off and food being served on a takeaway basis only after 02.30 meant that customers and other persons were not hanging around in the Premises, they were getting their food and leaving.

The Panel heard that an incident log is kept at the Premises. 

The Panel had some concerns about the self-service ordering screens in the premises remaining on during the licensed hours.  The Licensee explained that the screens reduced the potential for confrontation as customers were able to order their food quickly and leave without having to queue.  The Licensee explained that queues had proven to be contentious and challenging and this system reduced that risk.

The Panel resolved to amend the licence to implement the conditions agreed between the Police and the Licensee.  The Panel gave particular weight to the fact that the Licensee had acted quickly to change working practices and that these changes had quickly yielded positive improvements.  The Panel also gave weight to the fact that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 128.