Decision details

AB

DECISION NOTICE - LICENSING ACT 2003 SUB-COMMITTEE

REVIEW OF THE PREMISES LICENCE – MANSFIELD SNOOKER CLUB, 119a LINCOLN ROAD, PETERBOROUGH

21 AUGUST 2014

This Decision Notice refers to the review of the premises licence Mansfield Snooker Club, 119a Lincoln Road, Peterborough.

We have considered the representations made to us today and in writing in support of the review by:

• Cambridgeshire Constabulary;
• Pollution Control;
• MANERP; and
• Councillor Khan, Ward Councillor

The representations received were made in respect of the Licensing Objectives:

• The Prevention of Crime and Disorder; and
• Public Safety

In our deliberations we considered the various options available, these being:

• To modify the conditions of the premises licence;
• To exclude a licensable activity from the scope of the licence;
• To remove the designated premises supervisor from the licence;
• To suspend the licence for a period not exceeding three months, or; and
• To revoke the licence.

We therefore agree to reduce the opening hours of the premises, known as Mansfield Snooker Club, 119a Lincoln Road, Peterborough from 8.00am until 3.00am and to modify the conditions of the premises licence to include those conditions as requested by the police as below and as agreed by the Premises Licence Holder:

• 4; ‘CCTV equipment must be maintained in good working order, be correctly time and date stamped. Recordings must be kept in date order, numbered sequentially and kept for a period of 28 days’;
• 5; ‘The Premises Licence Holder must ensure at all times a Designated Premises Supervisor or appointed member of staff is capable and competent at downloading CCTV footage in a recordable format and hand this footage over to the Police / Local Authority on demand’;
• 6; ‘The recording equipment and discs / usb pen drives shall be kept in a secure environment under the control of the DPS or other responsible named individual’;
• 7; ‘An operational daily log report must be maintained endorsed by signature, indicating the system has been checked and is compliant, in the event of any failings of the system actions taken are to be recorded’;
• 8; ‘In the event of a technical failure of the CCTV equipment the Premises Licence Holder / Designated Premises Supervisor must report the failure to the Police or Local Authority immediately’;
• 9; ‘Notices advising that CCTV has been installed on the premises shall be posted so that they are clearly visible to the public within the licensed premises’;
• 10; ‘Staff training in relation to identifying and preventing sales of alcohol to any person who is, or appears to be drunk should be undertaken on a monthly basis. This training, together with on-going training to prevent underage sales (Challenge 25) and conflict management should be recorded in a written format and be available to an authorised officer upon demand’;
• 11; ‘A refusals log will be maintained on a daily basis recording all refused attempted purchases of alcohol, carried out by drunks or underage persons;
• 19; ‘The club will have at least 25 Members’; and
• 20; ‘Members must be 16 years or older, once accepted each member agrees to comply with the rules’.

The Sub-Committee have also agreed to the implementation of further conditions requested by the police as below:

• 3; ‘CCTV will be provided in the form of a recordable system, capable of providing pictures of evidential quality in all lighting conditions in particular face recognition. Cameras shall encompass all entrances and exits to the premises, fire exits and all area where the sale / supply of alcohol occur’. Although the applicant has upgraded the CCTV since the review application the Sub-Committee felt that an implemented condition relating to CCTV was relevant and required to assist with future offender identification;
• 14; ‘No person will be allowed to enter or leave the premises with an open vessel of alcohol and the licensee will actively discourage and prevent anyone congregating or drinking outside the premises’. The Sub-Committee felt it appropriate to implement this condition due to the proximity of the premises to neighbouring residential properties; and
• 17; ‘Under the rules of the club persons becoming members without prior nomination or application may not be admitted to the privileges of membership without an interval of at least 48 hours between them becoming members and their admission’;
• and 18; ‘Each member may only introduce no more than 2 guests at any one time and no more than 2 guests in a 24 hour period. Guests name, address and date of birth will be entered into a ‘guest register’, with the name of the member and their members’ number prior to allowing any guests access to the club’;
• and 21; ‘All members must show their card on arrival and they are also responsible for their guests’ behaviour. Each member (and guest(s) if applicable will be booked into the club onto an ‘attendance register’ which will be produced to an authorised officer upon demand’. The Sub-Committee felt that there were genuine concerns raised by the police in relation to the identification of members in the absence of the DPS.

The reasons for the Sub-Committee’s decision include:

• The incidents of crime which have taken place at the premises after the time of 3.00am, both recorded and reported;
• Lack of responsibility and management of the premises; and
• The rationale behind the Police request to review the licence.

In relation to the conditions recommended by Pollution Control, the Sub-Committee felt that there was no evidence presented on which to base the addition of these conditions to the license.

The Sub-Committee’s decision reflects the evidence supplied by the police and the Committee did not feel that it was appropriate nor proportionate to reduce the hours of operation of licensable activities from 8.00am to 11.00pm.

The Sub-Committee feel assured that should further intervention be required this will be dealt with expeditiously by the relevant authority and it suggests that ongoing mediation between the police, the local community and the Premises Licence Holder be explored.

Any party in objection to the decision may appeal to the Peterborough Magistrates Court within 21 days of receiving this formal notice at:

Peterborough Court House, Bridge Street, Peterborough, PE1 1ED. Tel No. 0845 3100575. There is a fee to pay.

Councillor Thacker M.B.E.

Sub-Committee Chairman