Agenda Item No.
LICENSING
SUB-COMMITTEE
Minutes of a meeting held on 29th
August, 2008.
Present: Councillors C.P.J.
Elmore and J.W. Thomas.
Also present:
Responsible Authorities:
Licensing Officers, Trading Standards Officer and South Wales
Police.
A copy of the procedure for review hearings
was provided for those present at the meeting.
(a)
Appointment of Chairman -
Councillor J.W. Thomas was elected Chairman
for the duration of the meeting.
(b)
Apology for absence -
This was received from Councillor J.
Clifford.
The Chairman then announced that, given his
knowledge of the discussions which had taken place between the
parties prior to the commencement of the meeting, the hearing would
continue.
(c)
Declarations of interest -
No declarations were received.
(d)
Licensing Act 2003 - Application for the review of a Premises
Licence held at Barons Close Wine Shop, 17 Boverton Road, Llantwit
Major -
Also present: Mr. M. Jones
(respondents’ representative); Messrs. B. and S. Singh Sall; Ms. J.
Jones (trainee).
Mr. Jones explained that Mr. S. Singh Sall,
the Designated Premises Supervisor, was unable to attend due to a
prior commitment. He confirmed later in the meeting that Mr. Sall
would be available at a later date.
An application for a review of the premises
licence held at the above had been received from the Trading
Standards Department under Section 51 of the Licensing Act
2003. The review had been requested in relation to two of the
licensing objectives, namely the prevention of crime and disorder
and the protection of children from harm. Further
representation in support of the review application had been
received from South Wales Police.
As referred to above, discussions had taken
place prior to the commencement of the meeting between the parties.
At the request of the Chairman, the Licensing Officer read out a
letter from the respondents’ representative which indicated their
agreement to an adjournment should the Sub-Committee feel that was
an appropriate course of action in the circumstances. Both the
representatives from the Trading Standards Section and South Wales
Police considered an adjournment could be beneficial at this time;
and the Licensing Officer offered no objection.
Having taken into account the above and having
received confirmation that the DPS would be available to attend a
review hearing at a later date, the Sub-Committee RESOLVED – THAT
consideration of the application be deferred to a mutually
convenient date.
Reason for decision
Minutes of a reconvened meeting held on
22nd September 2008.
Present: Councillors Mrs. V.M.
Hartrey, K. Hatton and J.W. Thomas.
Also present:
Responsible Authorities:
Licensing Officers, Trading Standards Officer and South Wales
Police.
A copy of the procedure for review hearings
was provided for those present at the meeting.
(a)
Appointment of Chairman -
Councillor J.W. Thomas was elected Chairman
for the duration of the meeting.
(b)
Declarations of interest -
No declarations were received.
(c)
Licensing Act 2003 - Application for the Review of a Premises
Licence held at Barons Close Wine Shop, 17 Boverton Road, Llantwit
Major -
Also present: Mr. M. Jones
(respondent’s representative), Mr. S. Sall, holder of Premises
Licence and Mr. S. Sall (“Senior”).
An application for a review of the Premises
Licence held at the above address had been received from the
Trading Standards department at the Vale of Glamorgan Council under
Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003.
The review had been requested in relation to
two of the licensing objectives as detailed below:
(i)
Prevention of Crime and Disorder
By selling alcohol to underage children, Sall
is directly contributing to anti-social behaviour in the Llantwit
Major area. The location of the premises faces the “Precinct”
which is a designated no drinking zone. Youths are frequently
seen sitting in this area drinking alcohol. Much of this
alcohol can be traced back to Baron’s Close Wine Shop. The
result of youths drinking causes residents to feel intimidated and
threatened. This is also likely to result in increased
incidences of criminal damage and other low level crime.
Youths are also making their way to other areas of Llantwit Major,
such as the train station, Windmill playing fields and the sorting
office and consuming alcohol. Many adults now see alcohol
misuse by young people as being of more concern than drug use.
(ii)
Protection of Children from Harm
As it has been illustrated above that on at
least seven occasions, young people have been served alcohol by
various people employed at the store, including Sall, the licence
holder. Therefore, this licensing objective has been
undermined. There are also other reports to suggest that
sales of alcohol to minors happen frequently, other than the times
that Trading Standards or South Wales Police have been made aware
and acted upon the information.
The sale of alcohol to young people causes
very serious health concerns. Not only can it lead to health
risks from the ingestion (i.e. liver damage) but can also place
young people in a very vulnerable situation. Young people who
are binge drinking are likely to act in a reckless manner and will
take more risks than normal (i.e. sexual experimentation, assaults,
etc.). This is documented in the attached “Youth Alcohol
Action Plan”, recently published by the Home Office.
Further representations in support of the
review application had been received from the South Wales Police
and were attached at Appendix C to the report. Mr. S.
Wilkinson, in presenting Trading Standards’ application for review
outlined the background to the request for a review of the premises
licence, namely:
Barons Close Wine Shop is an established
business which is located on Boverton Road, Llantwit Major.
It directly faces “The Precinct”, which is an area of shops and is
on the main shopping street in Llantwit Major. This
“Precinct” is a designated no drinking zone.
Mr. Sukhsagar Singh Sall has been the licence
holder since the commencement of the Licensing Act 2003 at this
premises and was grated “grandfather rights” on conversion from the
Licensing Act 1964 to the Licensing Act 2003. He is also the
designated premises supervisor as defined by the Licensing Act
2003.
The premises is a very small shop and sells
predominantly only alcohol, with a small stock of soft drinks and
confectionary.
Both Trading Standards and South Wales Police
have received reports and intelligence for a number of years
stating that barons Close Wine Shop was selling alcohol to underage
children. As a result of this, traditional “test purchasing”
was carried out. Due to the nature of the premises and a very
localised trade, our underage volunteers were always identified and
refused sales.
Llantwit Major has a problem with youth
drinking and anti-social behaviour. Youths congregate in the
Precinct, Windmill Playing Fields, the train station and other
areas and are consuming large quantities of alcohol. This is
of great concern to residents of Llantwit Major, as outlined in a
statement made by Councillor Gwyn John.
Trading Standards had requested the review as
a result of this considerable evidence, and recommenced that the
licence to sell alcohol from the premises be revoked due to the
persistent selling of alcohol to those under eighteen, and the
undermining of the licensing objectives.
Mr. Jones, as a matter of clarification,
pointed out that an invitation to Mr. Sall (Senior) to attend a
training session in July 2008, had been taken up by Mr. Sall
although this was not mentioned in the bundle of papers before the
Sub-Committee. Mr. Sall’s attendance was confirmed by Mr.
Wilkinson.
Mr. Jones also sought confirmation that a
total of 6 test purchases had been satisfactorily attended at the
premises, and this was confirmed.
Mr. Jones contended that the test purchases
had failed because Mr. Sall (Senior) had carried out his job
properly.
P.C. Barrett, in support of the review, stated
that much of the evidence before the Sub-Committee had been shared
between the Police and Trading Standards.
With the permission of all present, P.C.
Barrett circulated further evidence in support of the application
for the review, in the form of a witness statement from Stanley
Treen, Police Community Support Officer which provided a “flavour”
of the anti-social behaviour being experienced in the vicinity of
Barons Close.
P.C. Barrett stated that the evidence
demonstrated that there was a frequent pattern of alcohol sales to
under-age purchasers.
Mr. Jones, on behalf of the respondents,
stated that the running of the premises had been a family
affair. Mr. S. Sall was the licence holder, but Mr. S.
Sall (Senior) had been running the business.
The present licence had been obtained 24 years
ago, but Mr. Sall (Senior) had run the shop for the past 20
years. The premises was a small, traditional off-licence.
Mr. Sall (Senior) was now past retirement age,
and since 2006 had been working a little less. Staff had been
employed.
Mr. R. Singh had been employed and was working
at the premises on 11th January 2007. He had
been given a verbal warning by the Police for selling alcohol to a
17 year old. He was no longer involved with the business.
A Mr. G. Alexandrov had subsequently been
employed, and it was he who had been issued with a fixed penalty
for selling alcohol to a youth on 22nd March
2008. Mr. Alexandrov had received training from Mr. Sall
(Senior). Training had been repeated since this incident.
Mr. Jones advised the Sub-Committee that the
premises was to be sold, and completion was to take place on
25th September 2008. The premises would have new
owners by the end of the week.
Mr. Jones agreed that Messrs Sall had not been
as diligent as perhaps they should have. However, due
diligence procedures had now been put in place. Mr. Jones
circulated photographs of the interior of the premises which showed
signs in place regarding the sale of age-related products.
The Salls were willing to introduce a
“Challenge 25” scheme, and had, since the application for review,
introduced a Refusals Register. Since that time, 8 recorded
instances had been recorded since July 2008.
No defence was offered to the evidence
submitted by Trading Standards, although mitigating pleas were
entered. What could be firmly stated, however, was that there
had never been an intention to provide alcohol to under-age
customers, and sales had always been refused in such
circumstances. To support this assertion, Mr. Morgan referred
to the six test purchases which had failed.
Mr. Morgan, in summary, stated:
- the premises
had been run by Mr. Sall for 24 years
- Mr. Sall would
accept the imposition of conditions on the Premises Licence, if the
Sub-Committee was minded to do so
- if required,
CCTV would be installed
- training has
been put in place for members of staff at the premises
- a Refusals
Register was not in place
- the premises
was to be sold.
Finally, Mr. Morgan stated that Messrs. Sall
were not familiar with the alleged problems facing Llantwit Major
Town Centre. Indeed, on occasions when problems had occurred,
it was often they who phoned the Police.
In summing up, P.C. Barrett stated that the
evidence spoke for itself. There was compelling evidence for
the licence to sell alcohol from the premises to be revoked.
Mr. Wilkinson spoke of the lack of confidence
felt by the Trading Standards Department in the management of the
premises, and the lack of diligence shown. Offers of training
from the Trading Standards Department had only recently been
accepted. In short, the record of the business was, at best,
bad.
Mr. Wilkinson alleged that the procedures that
had been put into place had been done so with today’s hearing in
mind, and added that in view of his concerns that the owner lacked
the will to run the premises properly, recommended to the
Sub-Committee that the licence to sell alcohol from the premises be
revoked.
In summing up, Mr. Morgan on behalf of the
respondents, stated:
- the
Sub-Committee must make its decision based on evidence, not
inference
- the owner of
the premises licence had not been taken to Court in the past 24
years
- changes to the
running of the premises had been made in 2006, involving the
employment of staff. Due diligence had been found to be
wanting, but this had now been corrected
- a Refusals
Register was now maintained, and CCTV had been installed
- Mr. Sall
(Senior) had attended a training session that had been
arranged by Trading Standards
- evidence
suggested that the premises was well run
- the premises
had now been sold
- were the
Sub-Committee to revoke the licence, the new owners would appeal
against the decision.
The Sub-Committee then retired to consider the
matter in private.
Sub-Committee Decision
Having considered the application and
representations from the Police and respondent and having
considered DCMS Guidance and objectives of the Licensing Act and
the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and, having considered
the options available to it, namely:
- leave the
Licence unaltered - this option was rejected by the Sub-Committee
as it was felt that action was needed to prevent future sales of
alcohol to children
- exclude a
licensable activity - it was felt that this option would have the
same affect as the revocation of the Licence.
It was also felt that to revoke the Licence
would be disproportionate in view of the sale of the premises.
Suspension of the Licence would not, it was
felt, achieve the desired result, and it was
RESOLVED - T H A T the Designated Premises
Supervisor be removed in view of the evidence presented to the
Sub-Committee that there had been insufficient involvement by Mr.
Sukhsagar Sall, the current Designated Premises Supervisor to
properly fulfil his role.
In addition, it was agreed that the following
conditions be added to the premises licence:
(i) CCTV should be
installed to cover the entrance and the interior of the premises
and this is to be installed to the satisfaction of the Police and
Trading Standards. Recordings should be kept for 28 days and
made available to Police and Trading Standards on request.
(ii)
A Refusals Register to be maintained and examined by Trading
Standards and Police on a regular basis and be cross referenced
with the CCTV footage.
(iii) A
documented training scheme should be introduced for all staff which
can be inspected by Police or Trading Standards at any time.
(iv) The
store to operate a Challenge 21 Scheme, to be agreed with Trading
Standards.
(v)
A personal licence holder should be present at the store during
licensable hours.
(vi) All
items of alcohol for sale shall be marked with a permanent mark
unique to Barons Close Wine Shop.
Reason for decision
To have regard to reasons for review and
representations made, and to address the same in a reasonable and
proportionate manner.