Agenda and minutes

The Democratic and Civic Officer opened the meeting and introductions were made. She then asked for nominations for Chairman and it was

RESOLVED that Councillor Cotton be elected Chairman of the Licensing Sub-Committee for this meeting.

Members may make any declarations of interest at this point but may also make them at any time during the course of the meeting.

The Chairman declared a personal non-pecuniary interest on the grounds that he was a serving Magistrate and such matters, as being dealt with by the Sub Committee, could be appealed through the Magistrates’ Court. In the event that any appeal in connection with the case did arise, Councillor Cotton would not be permitted to consider the appeal and would absent himself from the bench.

Reference Number:  TBC

Application type:      Application for the Grant of Premises Licence

Premises:                   “Sudbrooke Village Store” 1-2 Holme Drive, Sudbrooke, Lincolnshire LN2 2SF

Applicant:                  Mr Arvindkumar Rambhai Bhutiya

Date of Hearing:        January 25 2018

Licence Number: TBC

Hearing Type: Grant of a Premises Licence

Applicant:  Mr Arvindkumar Rambhai Bhutiya

The Chairman set out the procedure that would be followed, as detailed in Appendix A to the agenda. The Licensing and Land Charges Team Manager was requested to present his report, which set out the circumstances leading to the application having being brought before the Sub-Committee, namely an objection having been received from Lincolnshire Police. Further information was set out in the documents appended to the report, namely the application form and the representation from Lincolnshire Police. The options available for the Sub-Committee were set out in section seven of the report.

The applicant was then invited to present their case, outlining why the licence was being applied for. The agent for the applicant gave a brief overview of the proposed business, explaining that his client was going to re-open the village store and provide a community shop for the neighbourhood. He explained that Lincolnshire Police had contacted him with suggested amendments to the conditions. These had been agreed and he had communicated his client’s agreement to the Police. He stated that the wording in the original application had not been as detailed as that provided by the Police but that his client had almost six years’ experience of working with his business partner in a similar premises and the conditions as set out by the Police were as his client would be running the business but the more detailed wording made this clearer. The applicant added that the premises was not yet open, but would be re-furbished and all requirements would be in place prior to opening.

The Chairman confirmed with the applicant and his agent that they had communicated with Lincolnshire Police, that the conditions provided by the Police had been agreed with and they were happy to comply. The applicant confirmed this to be the case.

There were no other questions.

Lincolnshire Police, as the objector, were then invited to present their case and reasoning for objecting to the application. In doing so Lincolnshire Police advised that the reason for having the hearing was that once an objection was lodged, it could not be withdrawn. They stated that they were happy with the application, happy with the named individual and with the business and location. It was explained that it was clear from the application that the applicant had good intentions of promoting all four Licensing Objectives however the wording had not been robust enough for their own protection or for the Police to enforce if necessary. The conditions requested by the Police provided clearer, more robust wording without being excessive or having any financial implications. It was explained that the applicant and his agent had already agreed to the conditions proposed by the Police. There were no questions to the Police from the Sub-Committee or the applicant.

The Chairman summarised the case before the Sub-Committee and asked the applicant to confirm that he was in agreement with the conditions proposed by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.