Agenda item

The licensing officer reported that additional evidence had been received from the premises licence holder which had been tabled and would be interleaved with the agenda papers.

The trading standards officer reported that there were three main issues of concern namely the presence of alcohol thought to be non-duty paid, a breach of licensing conditions and an unsatisfactory level of engagement by management.  He had asked the licensee to provide invoices and some had been provided.  There had been no explanation why other invoices had not been.  Alcohol had been displayed at a very cheap price and the officer was not convinced that this was because it was a loss leader as there was no prominent advertising and it was on shelving at the rear of the premises.  He could not say whether or not the alcohol had been purchased illegally or through a cash and carry.  There was a slowness of management to rectify the breaches in conditions. If the licensee had engaged at an earlier stage a review may not have been required.  Management should be proactive.  The officer was encouraged by the proposals for training and the additional condition that a personal licensee be present on the premises at all times that alcohol was sold.  He considered that there be a short suspension of the licence and considered the addition of a super strength condition would be appropriate.

The police stated that they were fully supportive of the trading standards review and had agreed a more robust CCTV condition with the licensee.

The licensing authority also agreed that a short suspension was appropriate and noted that the training that was to be undertaken was to be held shortly.

The licensee’s representative stated that they considered that a 14 day suspension, with the addition of two conditions regarding CCTV and super strength beer and an additional one regarding the presence of a personal licence when alcohol was sold would be an appropriate and proportionate response. The licensee had accepted the failings of five months before and had worked hard to put things right with real success.  A state of the art stock system had been purchased.  The licensee had not purchased the stock and the member of staff who had done had now left the business. A test purchase had taken place in September which had been passed and the licensing objectives would be promoted in the future.

In response to questions it was noted that all staff would be attending council training by the 23 February 2017. A short suspension of 14 days would allow this training to be completed.

RESOLVED

1)       That the premises licence, in respect of Lodos Food Centre, 87-91 Old Street, London, EC1V 9JJ be suspended for a period of 14 days.

2)       That the licence also be modified to add the following additional conditions:-

·        CCTV shall be installed, operated and maintained, at all times that the premises is open for licensable activities, so as to comply with the following criteria:

The licensee will ensure that the system is checked every two weeks to ensure that the system is working properly and that the date and time are correct.  A record of these checks, showing the date and name of the person checking, shall be kept and made available to Police or authorised Council officers on request.

One camera will show a close-up of the entrance to the premises to capture a clear full length image of anyone entering.

The system will provide full coverage of the interior of the premises and any exterior part of the premises accessible to the public.

The system shall record in real time and recordings will be date and time stamped.

Recordings will be kept for a minimum of 31 days and downloaded footage will be provided free of charge to Police or authorised Council officers on request (subject to the Data Protection Act 1998) within 24 hours of any request;

At all times, there will be a person on the premises who can operate the system sufficiently to allow Police or authorised Council officers to view footage on request and to supply a copy of footage immediately to Police to assist with the immediate investigation of an offence.

·         Super strength beer (ie that of a strength of 7.5% abv or greater) shall not be sold at less than the verifiable cost of the produce to the business.

·         A personal licence holder must be present at the premises at all times when alcohol is offered for sale.

REASONS FOR DECISION

The Sub-Committee listened to all the evidence and submissions and read all the material. The Sub-Committee reached the decision having given consideration to the Licensing Act 2003, as amended, and its regulations, the national guidance and the Council’s Licensing Policy.

The Sub-Committee heard evidence from Trading Standards that there were three areas of concern with the premises namely, non-duty paid alcohol, breaches of conditions and non-engagement from the licensee.  Trading standards stated that there were concerns regarding the provision of invoices. The licensee was slow to engage with trading standards.  The Sub-Committee heard evidence that the review could potentially have been avoided had the licensee been proactive. Trading standards stated that they were encouraged that the licensee was sending his staff to council run training and that they were encouraged by the licensee’s statement that there would always be a responsible individual on the premises and that he would accept a condition regarding this.

The Sub-Committee heard evidence from the licensee’s representative that the licensee had agreed new conditions with the police and trading standards and that they were proposing a 14 day suspension.  The licensee’s representative stated that the licensee accepted that there were failings that needed to be put right and that he had been working very hard for the last five months to remedy problems.  The licensee confirmed that his staff would attend the council training by the end of February.

The Sub-Committee concluded that a fourteen day suspension would allow time for all the staff at the premises to attend the training.  The Sub-Committee was satisfied that this suspension, the staff training and the agreed conditions would combine to promote the licensing objectives and that the measures wereproportionate and appropriate.

The Sub-Committee considered licensing policy 30 regarding review of licences.