Agenda and draft minutes

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

Councillor Cotton took the Chair for the remainder of the meeting and round the table introductions were made.

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

Councillor Cotton declared a personal non-pecuniary interest in the following two items of the business on the grounds that he was a serving Magistrate, and such matters could be appealed through the Magistrates’ Court.  In the event that any appeals in connection with these two cases did arise, Councillor Cotton would not be permitted to consider the Appeals and would absent himself from the bench.

Lincolnshire Police had previously requested that the Review Hearing be held in closed session.  However, they indicated to the Committee that they were happy for the proceedings and all information to now be discussed in open session.

All parties indicated their agreement and it was therefore:-

RESOLVED that in accordance with Regulation 14 of the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005 – the public  and press not be excluded from the remainder of the hearing and as such this proceed in open session.

Licence Number:32UHB01701

Hearing Type: Review of a Premises Licence

Applicant: Lincolnshire Police

Premises: 102 Trinity Street, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 1HS

Premises Licence Holder: Mr ZydrunasGaubys

Licence Number: 32UHB01701

Hearing Type: Review of a Premises Licence

Applicant: Lincolnshire Police

Premises: 102 Trinity Street, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 1HS

Premises Licence Holder: Mr Zydrunas Gaudbys

The Chairman, through the Licensing Team Manager, confirmed that all parties had been given notice to attend the Hearing, and advised that the Hearing would proceed in their absence.

The Council’s Legal representative set out the procedure that would be followed, as detailed in Appendix A to the Agenda.

The Licensing Team Manager was requested to present the report which set out the background leading to the application for review, namely a failure to uphold the licensing objectives of “the prevention of crime and disorder” and “public safety” by exposingand keepingcontraband alcoholfor saleat thepremise, failingto producea premises licenceand failingto complywith conditions withinthe premiselicence.

Appended to the report were the application for review including further details of the grounds on which it was being made; premises licence; and witness statements from the police.

The options available for the Committee were set out in paragraph 6.2 of the report.

Lincolnshire Police, the Applicant, were invited to present their case, calling any witnesses in support of their case.

The circumstances leading to the application for review were presented to the Sub-Committee by Sgt Enderby.  In opening Sgt Enderby advised that whilst it was acknowledged the Hearing related to 102 Trinity Street he would be making reference to circumstances also witnessed at 128 Trinity Street (to be considered later in the meeting) as the premise license holder of 102, played a role in both premises and the events at each were intrinsically linked.

The review request had been submitted when a licence compliance check had revealed a number of issues of concern.  It was also noted that the licence compliance check had been prompted as a result of an earlier licence compliance check at 128 at which Mr Zydrunas Gaudbys was also responsible for day to day operations, but not the licence holder, and where a number of issues of concern had also been witnessed.

Officers had first attended 128 Trinity Street on 23 February 2017 as part of a routine compliance check.  The female assistant on duty did not appear to have any knowledge of what this was and indicated that the she had only worked in the shop a few weeks, the owner was Mr Zydrunas Gaudbys and she did not know the person named as the licence holder.

The licence itself was not on display, as was required by law.  It was not possible to view any CCTV footage as the female on attendance did not how to work the equipment; another condition of the licence.  The level of training undertaken by staff was therefore questioned.  A number of bottles, 40+, were seized as being of questionable origin, suspected smuggled contraband, due to them not having relevant duty stamps on, leading to the assumption that duty had not been paid.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Councillor Cotton re-stated his previous declaration.

Lincolnshire Police had previously requested that the Review Hearing be held in closed session.  However, they indicated to the Committee that they were happy for the proceedings and all information to now be discussed in open session.

All parties indicated their agreement and it was therefore:-

RESOLVED that in accordance with Regulation 14 of the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005 – the public  and press not be excluded from the remainder of the hearing and as such this proceed in open session.

Licence Number:32UHB15005

Hearing Type: Review of a Premises Licence

Applicant: Lincolnshire Police

Premises: “Polish Deli” 128 Trinity Street, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 1JD

Premises Licence Holder: Mrs Joanna Mielczarek

Licence Number: 32UHB15005

Hearing Type: Review of a Premises Licence

Applicant: Lincolnshire Police

Premises: “Polish Deli” 128 Trinity Street, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire DN21 1JD

Premises Licence Holder: Mrs Joanna Mielczarek

The Chairman, through the Licensing Team Manager, confirmed that all parties had been given notice to attend the Hearing, and advised that the Hearing would proceed in their absence.   It was noted that the License Holder had failed to acknowledge any recent correspondence however all previous known addresses had been used in an attempt to contact her.

The Council’s Legal representative set out the procedure that would be followed, as detailed in Appendix A to the Agenda.

The Licensing Team Manager was requested to present the report which set out the background leading to the application for review, namely a failure to uphold the licensing objectives of “the prevention of crime and disorder” and “public safety” by exposingand keepingcontraband alcoholfor saleat thepremise, failingto producea premises licenceand failingto complywith conditions withinthe premiselicence.

Appended to the report were the application for review including further details of the grounds on which it was being made; premises licence; and witness statements from the police.

The options available for the Sub-Committee were set out in paragraph 6.2 of the report.

The Licensing Manager at the request of the Sub-Committee confirmed that an application had been made to transfer the licence, however this had not been completed correctly, returned to Mrs Mielczarek and nothing further received.  Therefore she was still the responsible licence holder, although did not appear to have had any day to day dealings with the business since late 2016.

Lincolnshire Police, the Applicant, were invited to present their case, calling any witnesses in support of their case.

They indicated they had nothing further to add to their Case, which had been made during the earlier Hearing, other than despite attempts to contact Mrs Mielczarek regarding issues at the premises nothing had been forthcoming.

The Sub-Committee asked not questions

The Licensee was not present and therefore did not present her case or ask any questions of the Police.

In summary up, Lincolnshire Police expressed grave concerns that in light of the issues, despite Mrs Mielczarek having not being present, ultimately all the responsibility had sat with her as the Licence Holder and she had not acted in manner that could be regarded as fit and proper.

The Legal Advisor indicated that there were no matters which she needed to clarify.

The Sub-Committee then retired to consider their decision.  The meeting was therefore adjourned at 12.25 pm.

The meeting reconvened at 12.40 pm.

The Chairman then read out the sub-committee’s decision and the reasons for reaching said decision.

“We have considered everything put before us today.

The evidence from Lincolnshire Police shows that there was counterfeit goods stored on the premises in contravention of the licensing objectives.

The Licence holder and DPS was not present at the hearing but while the premises were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.