Agenda item

1. Apologies for Absence

There were no apologies for absence.

2. Declarations of Interest

Councillors Saltmarsh and Peach declared that Andrew Cave, the Licence Holder representative, was known to them, however there had been no prior discussions undertaken in relation to the review hearing.

3. Application

Expedited Summary Review of Premises Licence – The Solstice / Radius, Northminster, Peterborough, PE1 1YN

3.1

Application Reference

MAU 069060

3.2   

Sub-Committee Members

Councillor (Chairman) Thacker

Councillor Saltmarsh

Councillor Peach

3.3   

Officers

Darren Dolby, Regulatory Officer – Licensing

Nigel Joseph, Lawyer – Legal Advisor to the Sub-Committee

Karen S Dunleavy, Governance Officer – Clerk to the Sub-Committee

Philippa Turvey, Senior Governance Officer

3.4   

Applicant

Cambridgeshire Constabulary

3.5   

Nature of Application

Application Type

Expedited Summary Review of Premises Licence

Summary of Review Application

In accordance with section 53A of the Licensing Act 2003, following the submission for a summary review of the premises and the certificate signed by a superintendent from Cambridgeshire Constabulary, the licensing authority was required to hold a hearing.

A summary of the issues raised within the representations included an incident of serious disorder occurring on the 9^th March 2014, involving a member of the public and four Security Industry Authority (SIA) registered door supervisors from the Solstice / Radius.

The mediated conditions included:

1. Alcohol sales will cease at 02:30am, and all other Licensable activity will cease at   03:00am. No person will be allowed access into the venue after 02:00am.

2. The premises licence holder or designated premises licence holder shall ensure that all bar staff, supervisors and managers are trained in the legality and procedure of alcohol sales using a training package approved by the Licensing Authority and Police, prior to undertaking the sale of alcohol. Refresher training should be undertaken every 3 months or whenever licensing legislation changes. Training shall be signed and documented and training records will be kept on the premises either in paper or electronic form. These records should be made available immediately to a Licensing Authority Officer or Police Officer (including PCSO) upon request. The documentation relating to training should extend back to a period of 18 months and should specify the time, date and details of both the person providing the training and receiving the training.

3. All SIA Registered door supervisors must be employed from a recognised and qualified SIA registered Door Supervisor Security Company that is approved by the Licensing Authority.

4. A minimum of 8 SIA registered door supervisors, including at least one female door supervisor, will be employed at all times a licensable activity takes place from 22:00 hours on each Friday and Saturday night. A minimum of 2 SIA door supervisors will be employed where capacity is expected to exceed 100 on any other night. They will be employed on the main access door and at strategic points around the venue to:

a)    Prevent the admission of drunk and disorderly persons.

b)    Maintain an orderly queue outside the venue

c)    Count those entering and leaving the premises to ensure building capacity is not breached.

d)    Assist customers leaving the venue to ensure they leave in a quiet and orderly fashion.

e)    To keep out excluded persons circulated via the NightSafe Pub Watch Scheme.

f)     Search and exclude those persons suspected of carrying illegal drugs or offensive weapons.

g)    Maintain effective communication via City Link Radio, or other means with     Peterborough CCTV or the Police when requesting assistance.

5. All door staff shall be trained in the requirements of the Challenge 25 policy, the identification & recognition of drunks and the correct procedures to be followed when refusing service.

6. The premises licence holder and / or the designated premises supervisor shall ensure door supervisors are properly briefed and trained to manage queues in a safe and efficient manner.

7. All door supervisors employed at the entrance / exit of the licensed premises will wear and display their SIA badge in an arm badge holder.

8. All door staff engaged in searching persons (as a condition of entry) shall be fully trained in the use of their powers to do so.

9. The premises licence holder and / or designated premises supervisor shall ensure that the following details for each door supervisor are contemporaneously entered into a bound register kept for that purpose :

                      Full Name

                      SIA badge number in full

                      The time they begun duty

                      The time they completed their duty

                      The full details of any agency through which they have been                         allocated work at the premises.

10. The premises licence holder and / or designated premises supervisor or in their absence another responsible person to keep an 'incident report register' in a bound book, or by electronic means, in which full details of all incidents are recorded. This shall be completed as soon as possible and in any case no later than the close of business on the day of the incident. The time and date when the register was completed, and by whom, is to form part of the entry. The register is to be kept on the premises at all times and shall be produced to an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or Police Officer (inc any Licensing PCSO) when required. The register should be retained for a minimum of 12 months.

11. All door supervisors shall be capable of communicating instantly with one another by way of radio or other simultaneous system of communication.

3.6   

Licensing Objective(s) under which representations were made

3.7                  1. The Prevention of Crime and Disorder

3.7

Parties/Representatives and witnesses present

Applicant

Police Constable Grahame Robinson, Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

Licensee / Representative

Andrew Cave, Solicitor, Licensee Representative

Michael Boyle, Premises Owner, Licensee

Shaun Boyle, Premises Owner, Licensee

Kevin Jeffrey, Designated Premises Supervisor

3.8

Pre-hearing considerations and any decisions taken by the Sub-Committee relating to ancillary matters

There were no pre-hearing considerations.

3.9

  Oral representations

The Regulatory Officer addressed the Sub-Committee and outlined the main points with regards to the application. He explained that mediation had been ongoing and revised hours and conditions had been agreed by all parties. He proposed that the Committee accept the mediated terms.

Applicant

PC Robinson addressed the Sub-Committee and commended Solstice management for working with the police and taking positive steps forward.

Licensee’s Representative

Mr Cave recognised the serious nature of the incident in question and explained that the Solstice / Radius wanted to continue to work with the police and licensing authority in the future. In collaboration with the police and licensing authority a new course for bar staff had been devised with the assistance of the new door supervisors to recognise customers who may be causing problems.

In response to a question Mr Cave identified that a return to previous licensed hours had not been applied for as a result of the serious nature of the incident. It was anticipated that an application for an extension of licensed hours would be made at some point in the future.

PC Robinson commented that ceasing the sale of alcohol at 2:30am was considered appropriate by the police for an interim period to aid a natural dispersion of customers.

.

Summing Up

All parties were given the opportunity to summarise their submissions and each expressed their hope that the mediated terms would be accepted.

3.10  

Written representations  and    supplementary material taken into consideration

None were received.

3.11                         4. Decision

The Sub-Committee listened to all the evidence put before it and also took into account the contents of the application and all representations and submissions made in relation to it.  The Sub-Committee found as follows:-

The interim steps had appeared to alleviate the initial concerns of the relevant authorities and that had been confirmed by further mediation. Given the endorsement of all the relevant authorities for the mediated conditions it was the Committees’ decision to agree to the modification of the premises licence in the mediated terms.

A full decision notice with reasons would be sent to all parties within five working days.