Agenda, decisions and minutes

Resolved:  That Cllr Looker be elected to chair the hearing.

The Chair introduced the Sub-Committee Members, the Legal Adviser, the Democratic Services officer and the Licensing Manager.  The Applicant’s Barrister introduced himself and Ben Williams, from Ebor Holdings Ltd, and the Representors introduced themselves.

At this point in the meeting, Members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interest or other registerable interest they might have in respect of business on this agenda, if they have not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests.

Members were invited to declare at this point in the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest or other registerable interest they might have in respect of business on the agenda, if they had not already done so in advance on the Register of Interests.  No interests were declared.

To consider excluding the Press and Public during the sub-committee’s deliberations and decision-making at the end of the hearing, on the grounds that the public interest in excluding the public outweighs the public interest in that part of the meeting taking place in public, under Regulation 14 of the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005.

Resolved:  That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the sub-committee’s deliberations and decision-making at the end of the hearing, on the grounds that the public interest in excluding the public outweighs the public interest in that part of the meeting taking place in public, under Regulation 14 of the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005.

Hearing reconvened remotely in private session at 15:30 on 1 November 2022.

PRESENT:Councillors Looker (Chair), Cuthbertson and Mason.

The Sub-Committee resolved to grant the licence with modified/additional conditions imposed by the Sub-Committee (Option 2) as set out below:

The additional/modified conditions are as follows:

1.   The 20 (twenty) conditions agreed between the Applicant and North Yorkshire Police as set out in Annex 3 of the Agenda papers shall be added to the licence.

All conditions offered in the operating schedule shall be included in the licence, unless contradictory to the above conditions. The licence is also subject to the mandatory conditions applicable to licensed premises.

The full reasons for the Sub-Committee’s decision will be included in the detailed Decision Letter which will be provided to the Applicant and the Representors in due course.

There is a right of appeal for the Applicant and the Representors to the Magistrates’ Court against this decision. Any appeal to the Magistrates Court must be made within 21 days of receipt of the Decision Letter and sent to the following address:

Chief Executive

York and Selby Magistrates Court

The Law Courts

Clifford Street

York

YO1 9RE

Members considered an application by Ebor Holdings Ltd.  for a Premises Licence in respect of The Liquor Store, Lower Ground Floor, The Chocolate Works, Bishopthorpe Road, York, YO23 1DE.

In considering the application and the representations made, the Sub-Committee concluded that the following licensing objectives were relevant to this Hearing:

·        The Prevention of Crime and Disorder

·        The Prevention of Public Nuisance

In coming to their decision, the Sub-Committee took into consideration all the evidence and submissions that were presented, and determined their relevance to the issues raised and the above licensing objectives, including:

1.           The application form.

2.           The papers before it.

3.           The Licensing Manager’s report and her comments at the Hearing.

The Licensing Manager outlined the report and the annexes, noting that the premises were not located in the cumulative impact area and confirming that the Applicant had carried out the consultation process correctly.  She corrected two errors in the table at paragraph 5 of the report; the section on the supply of alcohol should read ‘on and off the premises’ and the section on opening hours should also make reference to New Year’s Eve.  She drew attention to the additional conditions agreed with North Yorkshire Police at Annex 3, the representations at Annex 4, and the additional information from Representors published in the Agenda Supplement.  Finally, she advised the Sub Committee of the options open to them in determining the application. 

In response to questions from the Applicant’s Barrister, the Representors and the Legal Adviser to the Sub-Committee, seeking clarification on the hours for off-sales, the Licensing Manager confirmed that:

·        The initial application was for both on and off sales between the hours of 09:00 and 23:00 (09:00 and 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays).

·        After negotiation with Responsible Authorities, the Applicant had agreed to a modification restricting the supply of alcohol to off-sales only between 09 00 and 11:00 each day.

4.           The representations made by Leo Charalambides, Barrister, on behalf of the Applicant. 

Mr Charalambides stated that the premises had, as a matter of planning, always been envisaged as a hotel or bar.  Paragraphs 14.64 and 14.65 of the Section 182 Licensing Act guidance sought to maintain proper integration between planning and licensing schemes, so it would be inconsistent to refuse the application.  The Applicant was very local and recognised the location of the premises; hence the description of the operation, on page 18 of the agenda papers, as ‘a café / deli / wine bar / restaurant…mainly for local residents’.  As stated in section M of the application, on page 27, the premises were not in town and not on an established ‘route’.  The application was rooted in being part of the local community, geared towards the neighbours of the premises, and the Applicant would not want to do anything to put off expected patrons.  The application was in line with paragraph 1.4 of the council’s licensing policy, which sought to improve the quality of life for local residents by bringing greater  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.