notification of chairman and outline of procedure

The Chairman opened the meeting by introducing the Sub-Committee and the Officers present. He then outlined the procedure that would be followed.

declarations of interest

No interests were declared.

part b minutes for information

application for a new premises licence under the licensing act 2003 – milton regis service station, corner of st paul’s street and king street, milton regis, sittingbourne, kent

Mr David Hook, Solicitor for the applicant, outlined the application. He explained that his clients, Motor Fuel Ltd (MFL) intended to build a 24 hour service station, with late night refreshment (hot food and drinks) throughout the night, and the sale of alcohol 24 hours per day. Mr Hook advised that MFL had been operating 13 other licensed premises for the last ten years and never received any allegations of under-age sales.

Mr Hook reported that MFL accepted all conditions requested by the Police which they considered both sensible and practicable. Mr Hook drew attention to the two letters of objection received and stated that often the apprehension of such developments was disproportionate to the reality. He noted that in the letter received from Activeplay Nursery they mentioned that their building had been vandalised three times last year. Mr Hook considered the security his client proposed at their premises could help improve security for the whole area. In response to a query from a Member, Mr Hook advised that his client’s would be happy for their CCTV cameras to be linked to Swale Borough Council’s own CCTV unit.

A Member queried the operating hours of the proposed serving hatch. Mr Hook advised that it would only be used between the hours of 2300 hours to 0500-0600 hours and confirmed that the site would be manned during trading hours, the hatch would only be used when the front office was closed.

Discussions ensued in relation to the training of staff to ensure alcohol was not sold to underage persons. Mr Richard Baker (Licensing Consultant) explained that within their training manual their was a written test that all staff needed to gain a 100 per cent pass and there would also be signage throughout the store and till prompts. Mr Hook advised that it was the ethos of his clients’ company to ensure staff were suitably trained.

The Licensing Sub-Committee adjourned to make their decision at 2:35 pm. Members of the Sub-Committee, the Senior Assistant Solicitor and Democratic Services Officer left the meeting and returned at 3:00 pm, when the Sub-Committee re-convened.