Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Room - Hendon Town Hall. View directions

Contact: Governance Service Email: governanceservice@barnet.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

1.

Appointment of Chairman

Minutes:

RESOLVED that Councillor Wendy Prentice be appointed as Chairman.

2.

Declaration of Members' Disclosable Pecuniary interests and Non Pecuniary interests (If any)

Minutes:

None.

3.

Licensing Sub-Committee Hearing Procedure pdf icon PDF 77 KB

Minutes:

The Chairman explained the procedure that would be followed at the meeting.

4.

Report of the Trading Standards and Licensing Manager pdf icon PDF 11 MB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered an application for review of Premises Licence made under section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003 in relation to Mama Africa 25-27 Watford Way, London NW4 3JH (“the Premises”). The application was brought by PC Wilcock, Licensing Officer at South Harrow Police Station on behalf of The Metropolitan Police (“the Applicant”).

 

 

5.

Motion to exclude the Press and Public

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the parties be excluded from the meeting, together with the press and public, in accordance with Regulation 14(2) of the Licensing Act 2003. (Hearings and Regulations 2005).

6.

Deliberation by the Sub-Committee in Private Session

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee deliberated in private session, accompanied by the Officer from HB Public Law and the Governance Officer.

7.

Re-admission of the Press and Public: Announcement of the decision of the Sub-Committee

Minutes:

Decision on application for review of Premises Licence - Mama Africa

 

This is an application for review of Premises Licence made under section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003 in relation to Mama Africa 25-27 Watford Way, London NW4 3JH (“the Premises”). The application was brought by PC Wilcock, Licensing Officer at South Harrow Police Station on behalf of The Metropolitan Police (“the Applicant”).

 

Application to Adjourn

The Sub-Committee first dealt with the Licensee’s request for an adjournment of the hearing. The Licensee alleged that the Local Authority had failed to serve upon him a copy of the hearing notice and other relevant documentation.

 

Ms Hammond, the Local Authority’s Licensing Officer confirmed that a copy of the notice of hearing together with relevant documents was posted on 04 September 2019, to the address which the Licensee had supplied to the Local Authority as his residential address. Ms Hammond produced a copy of the letter sent to the Licensee and this was considered by the Licensee and his solicitor. Following this, the Licensee confirmed the address on the letter to be his previous address which he had vacated three and a half years ago. He admitted that he had not notified the Local Authority of his change of address but said he would do so as soon as possible.

 

The Sub-Committee considered the facts presented as well as representations made by both parties and came to a decision that it was not appropriate to adjourn the hearing on the grounds of public interest. A copy of the agenda was handed to the Licensee and the Sub-Committee made a decision to proceed with the hearing. 

 

The Review

Following receipt of the application for review of Premises Licence, from the Metropolitan Police, the Licensing team received a letter from the Licensee in objection to the application. Three valid representations were also received from members of the public in support of the Licensee.

 

The application relates to the licensing objectives of Prevention of Crime and Disorder and Public Safety. 

 

The Sub-Committee heard from Elisabeth Hammond who summarised the application.

 

The Sub-Committee also heard from PC Wilcock who presented the application on behalf of the Metropolitan Police.

 

PC Wilcock orally emphasised the written representations made in her report which included:

 

(1)  Repeated incidents of violence at the Premises, the most recent being that which took place on 21 Jul 2019 at 03:58. CCTV recording could not be obtained from the venue at the time as none of the staff had access to or could operate the system and the owner was out of the country for the weekend;

(2)  Historically, the Police have had numerous issues in carrying out any investigations where a crime has taken place on the premises;

(3)  The Premises had remained open beyond the permitted hours;

(4)  The Police have been unable to retrieve CCTV footage to assist in bringing offenders to justice;

(5)  The Police have met with the Licensee in the past to discuss issues raised and discussions seems  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

8.

Any other Item(s) the Chairman decides are urgent

Minutes:

None.