Agenda item

Decision Notice

This is an application for a new premises licence made under section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003 in relation to Burnt Oak Off Licence, 140 Burnt Oak Broadway, Edgware HA8 0BB (the “Premises”) by Mr Nakularasan Sinnadurai (the “Applicant”).

 

The application seeks to allow:

 

1. The supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises only for the following hours:

Monday to Saturday 08:00hrs – 23:00hrs

Sunday                     10:00hrs -22:30hrs

 

2. To allow the premises to remain open to the Public for the following hours:

Monday – Saturday 08:00hrs – 23:00hrs

Sunday                     10:00hrs – 22:30hrs

 

 

The Licensing team received one valid representation from a member of the public. In addition to this, representations were received from PC Declan O’Sullivan and PC Vicky Wilcock, both of the Metropolitan Police. The representations relate to the licensing objectives of Prevention of Public Nuisance, Public Safety and Prevention of Crime and Disorder.

 

Representation made by the resident includes the following:

 

(1)  That the premises will be a source of disturbances to local residents. It may result in an increase in noise and nuisance level in the area;

(2)  The grant of the Licence may compromise the Licensing Objective of Public Safety. It may encourage drunken and disorderly behaviour in the area and may lead to an increase in crime rate.

(3)  That the Premises and Barnfield Road fall within an area which is covered by the Public Spaces Protection Order. Drinking in this area is therefore prohibited.

 

Representations made by the Metropolitan Police are similar and include the following:

 

(1)  The grant of the licence may restore historical problems relevant to the Licensing Act, which had reduced considerably within the vicinity of Burnt Oak Broadway and Watling Avenue HA8 following the revocation of two Premises Licences, one of which was in respect of this Premises.

(2)  The grant of the Licence may lead to an increase in criminal and disorderly behaviour in the area and render ineffective the many hours of pro-active enforcement work carried out by the Metropolitan Police to ensure that the Licensing Objectives are not compromised. 

(3)  The Sub-Committee did not take into consideration representations from the Metropolitan Police regarding the number of off-licences in the area because Barnet does not yet operate a cumulative impact policy.

 

The Sub-Committee heard from Mariesa Connolly on behalf of the local authority’s Licensing team who presented the licensing report. The Sub-Committee also heard from PC Kirby, PC Wilcox and PC Smith who raised objections to the application.

 

The Applicant attended in person together with a representative and Counsel who presented his case.

 

The Sub-Committee considered all oral and written representations as well as relevant statutory legislation, the statutory guidance and Barnet’s Licensing policy.

 

The Sub-Committee must also consider whether the Premises would cause a nuisance in the area either by the conduct of its customers or by noise and whether the Licensing Objectives of Prevention of Crime and Disorder, Public Safety and Prevention of Public Nuisance might be compromised.

 

The Sub-Committee considered steps proposed by the Applicant in the operating schedule to ensure compliance with all four licensing objectives which include monitoring the shop area by CCTV; liaising with the local authority, community and the Police; displaying of the Premises Licence; keeping a record of the refusal and incident book; keeping a record and registration numbers of alcohol suppliers; adequately training staff and maintaining alcohol sales at authorised times only.  The Sub-Committee also considered conditions proposed by the Police.

 

The guidance to the Licensing Act makes it clear that in respect of Crime and Disorder, the police are the main providers of information. It is noted that the Police have raised concerns regarding the historical and current situation in the area as it affects the Licensing Objectives. The Sub-Committee must consider what weight is to be given to concerns raised.

 

Having considered representations from all the parties, the Sub-Committee discussed the matter and made the following decision:

 

To approve the application subject to the following conditions proposed by the applicant and the Police to promote the licensing objectives:

 

Crime prevention/detection-CCTV

a)    A CCTV system comprising of a multi camera system will be installed at the premises capable of the following;

a)    The head unit (recorder) for storing the images will store such data on a hard drive or a similar quality medium (locally or accessible from a central location).

b)    If the head unit (recorder) is kept on the premises it must be located in a secure cabinet or other secure area, preferably out of the sight and reach of the public.

c)    A CD/DVD burner, USB type device or media storage database (.i.e. Cloud) will also form part of the system to facilitate making copies of the footage.

d)    The quality of the images must be of a sufficiently high standard to allow identification of the subject matter.

e)    Camera will cover key areas identified by the operator and Police. These will include clear headshots of persons entering the premises, any till area and area where alcohol are displayed for sale.

f)     Images must be retained for a minimum period of 31 days before overwriting.

g)    The images will be made available in reasonable time on demand by the Police and authorised officers of the London Borough of Barnet.

h)    At all times when the premises are open there shall be at least one person who is capable of operating the CCTV system if required to do so by the Police or authorised officers of the London Borough of Barnet.

i)      This system will be fully maintained at all times to ensure correct operation.

Staff training

b)    All staff involved in licensable activity shall receive training relating to age verification, the licensing objectives and laws relating to the sale of alcohol. This training shall be given at the start of employment (prior to carrying out any licensable activity) and be refreshed at least every 6 months. The training shall be documented and be made available for inspection at the request of police or other responsible authority. 

Refusals and Incident Log

• A refusals/incidents register shall be maintained at the premises recording

a)    All known incidents of crime and disorder occurring at the premises with dates and times

b)    Details of occasions when the emergency services are called to the premises

c)    All refusals of alcohol sales and ejections from the premises.

This register will be available for inspection by a police officer or other authorised officer on request

 

Challenge 25

• The premises shall operate a challenge 25 policy. Anyone attempting to purchase alcohol who appears under the age of 25 years shall be required to produce valid photo ID (such as a photo card driving licence, passport or PASS accredited age verification card) to prove they are 18 years or older. Failure to produce acceptable ID shall result in a refusal of the sale.

This refusal shall be documented in the refusals/incident log.

Tackling street drinking and alcohol related ASB issues

• Should the premises be open outside of the permitted for sale of alcohol, all alcohol must be covered and secure from being picked up by customers.
• There will be no drinking cups provided to customers unless they are specifically used for a hot drink dispenser installed at the premises.
• All spirits will be kept behind the till counter. This does not apply to ready to drink spirit with mixers available to buy in sealed cans.
• The premises license holder shall not sell super strength beer, lager or cider with an alcohol content of 6.5% ABV (alcohol by volume), or greater. This restriction shall not apply in respect of the specialist branded, premium priced, products-for example craft ales, local or micro-brewery specialist products, boxed  gifts or national celebratory/commemorative beer, lager or cider with an alcohol content of 6.5% ABV or greater.
• There will be no single unit sales of any tonic wine sold in 200ml bottles (i.e. Cherry B, Magnum Tonic) or miniature spirits of 5cl or less unless they are contained within a purpose made gift box (i.e. those that are sold with drinking glass).

In addition to this, the Committee decided to impose an additional condition that alcohol in cans must be sold in packs to discourage single purchases and thereby reduce Public Nuisance in the area.

 

There is a mechanism to seek a review of the premises licence in the future should the need arise.

 

Right of Appeal

Any party aggrieved with the decision of the Licensing Sub-Committee on one or more grounds set out in schedule 5 of the Licensing Act 2003, may appeal to the Magistrates Court within 21 days of notification of this decision.