Agenda and minutes

Resolved:           That Councillor Gillies be elected as Chair of the meeting.

At this point in the meeting, Members were asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may in the business on the agenda. None were declared.

Members considered an application for a Premises Licence in respect of Sainsburys, Unit 1,2 & 3 Queens House, Micklegate, York.

In coming to their decision, Members took into consideration all of the evidence and submissions that were presented to them and determined their relevance to the issues raised and the licensing objectives.

The following were taken into account:

1.   The Application Form

2.   The Licensing Managers report and her comments made at the hearing. She advised that the premises are located in the Council’s special policy zone. She confirmed that consultation had been carried out correctly and that there were no planning restrictions associated with this premises.

3.   The applicants representations made at the hearing. Members were advised that Sainsbury’s is a responsible operator with dedicated Compliance and Licensing Managers. There had been no objections to the application from local residents or other responsible authorities. It was stated that the main concern of North Yorkshire Police is the location of the premises in the Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ), but it was questioned if convenience stores are covered by the special policy. The hours applied for were not usual for a Sainsbury’s Local and had been chosen to reflect the location within the special policy area.

4.   Representations made at the hearing by North Yorkshire Police. Their Legal Representative advised that whether the premises are covered by the CIZ or not, the Police have genuine concerns relating to the hours of the store overlapping with other licensed premises in the area and the associated impact. The Police Sergeant responsible for York City Centre also spoke to outline the problems faced by the Police in the Micklegate area, in particular on Saturday afternoons and evenings when the area is popular with groups visiting the city.

The Sub-Committee were presented with the following options:

Option 1     Grant the Licence in the terms applied for.

Option 2     Grant the licence with modified/additional conditions imposed by the licensing committee.

Option 3     Grant the licence to exclude any of the licensable activities to which the application relates and modify/add conditions accordingly.

Option 4     Reject the application

Members chose Option 2 and granted the licence with the following conditions as agreed with North Yorkshire Police attached to the licence:

1.   A CCTV system shall be installed and fully operational whilst the premises are open to the public. The recording equipment will be stored and operated in a secure environment with limited access, to avoid damage, theft, unauthorised viewing and maintain the integrity of the system. The system will be regularly maintained and serviced on a minimum of 12 monthly basis. The system clock will be checked regularly for accuracy taking into account of GMT and BST. CCTV footage will be retained for 31 days.

2.   The system will incorporate a camera covering each of the entrance doors and the main alcohol display area and will be capable of providing an image which is regarded as identification standard. The precise positions of the cameras may be agreed,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.