Agenda and minutes

It was RESOLVED that Councillor V Guglielmi be elected Chairman for the meeting.

The Committee is asked to note any apologies for absence and substitutions received from Members.

Councillor J Henderson sent her apoligies.

To confirm and sign as a correct record, the minutes of the last meeting of the Sub-Committee, held on 4^th of November 2020.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting of the Personal/Premises Licenses Sub-Committee held on Tuesday, 4 November 2020 be agreed as a correct record.

Councillors are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Personal Interest, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

There were none.

The Sub-Committee will determine an application for the grant of a Premises Licence in respect of the above premises.

The Chairman (Councillor V Guglielmi) welcomed everyone to the meeting, including the applicant, Ray Dowsett of DCS Enterprise Ltd and made introductory remarks.

The Council’s Licensing Manager (Karen Townsend) gave a verbal summary of the written report and advised that the Sub-Committee had before it, for its consideration, as set out in item A.1 of the Report of the Corporate Director (Operations and Delivery) an application for the grant of a premises licence for DCS Enterprise Solutions Ltd.

Section 2.2 of the written report set out the proposed opening hours for the premises which were:-

Mondays to Sundays 1200 to 0200

Section 3.0 of the written report set out the proposed licensable activities which were:-

Sale of Alcohol on and off the Premises Mondays to Sundays 1200 to 0200

Late Night Refreshment Mondays to Sundays 2300 to 0200

The applicant had stated the steps that they proposed to take to promote the statutory Licensing Objectives within the Operating Schedule and those steps were detailed in Sections 4.1 to 4.5 inclusive.

Members were further informed that three letters of objection had been received, two from residents and one from Councillor I Henderson, the local Ward Member in relation to this application.

No representations had been received from any of the Responsible Authorities.

Members also had before them the Application Form and supporting documentation, a location plan and copies of the representation/objection letters.

The Chairman then invited the applicants to give representations to the Sub-Committee.

Mr Dowsett, Directorof DCS Enterprise Ltd, explained that they had owned the property for many years, and had let it out to an external contractor. The property had now returned to them and they were in the process of refurbishing it so they could operate it as a restaurant.

The Sub-Committee heard how he had worked on the application with Officers from the Council’s Licensing Section and that the only objections he had received were the three objections that the Sub-Committee had also received.

Councillor Ivan Henderson then addressed the Sub-Committee as an objecting party in relation to the application and its opening hours, especially the selling of alcohol on and off the premises until 02:00. He explained that the premises was in his Ward and that it was close to a number of residential properties. He believed that the opening hours would attract a large foot fall of customers late at night after other establishments had closed and that would cause antisocial behaviour as there was limited public transport available to leave the area.  He also mentioned that there was a flat above the premises and asked the Sub-Committee to consider the people living there when deliberating granting a licence.

Mr Parker, a member of the public, spoke as an objecting party in relation to the application and said he fully endorsed what Councillor Henderson had said but added that he didn’t believe the signage on the premises, asking its customers to be respectful of the local area when leaving, would be adhered to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

The press and public will be re-admitted and the meeting will resume in order to allow interested parties to hear the Sub-Committee’s decision.

The Sub-Committee will determine an application for the grant of a Premises Licence in respect of the above premises.

After some discussion the Sub-Committee returned with its decision and the meeting resumed. The Sub-Committee’s decision was as follows:-

“The conclusion we’ve come to for application number 20/00510 is to grant a premises licence in respect of DCS Enterprise Solutions Ltd. 1 Midland House, Harwich.

The Sub-Committee has given careful consideration to this application and in reaching our decision we have taken into account the views expressed by the applicant, the representations received by residents, along with the guidance issued by the Secretary of State and other matters set out in the Licensing Authority’s own statement of licencing policy.

The decision of this Sub-Committee is to grant this application in part. Having heard Mr Ray Dowsett on behalf of the applicant, Councillor Ivan Henderson, the ward Councillor, as well as Philip Parker and Lesley Pollard, the Sub-Committee has decided to grant the application for the sale of alcohol, on and off the premises, and late night refreshments. The Sub-Committee has decided to grant the licence as follows: Monday to Thursday until 00:00, Friday & Saturday until 01:30 and Sunday until 00:00.

In reaching this decision the Sub-Committee has paid attention to the issues raised around the opening hours and the issues that may arise from the opening of various premises and has been advised of the hours of other premises, of a similar nature, in and around the area, the type of area this premises is situated in and the nature of the business as well as the manner in which they are run.

If there are any particular issues with any premises then in the first instance, they would normally be raised with the managers of the premises themselves, and depending upon the nature of the issues, potentially with the relevant authorities.

It is understood that Mr Dowsett already runs a number of other establishments in the area and he has demonstrated a willingness to work with the authorities. Indeed he has indicated to the Sub-Committee today a willingness to compromise and to discuss matters, and such attitudes are to be encouraged at all times.

Finally, we must mention that all parties that are aggrieved at the decision of the Sub-Committee have the right of appeal to the Magistrates Court. This decision was made today, 3^rd of December 2020 and will be confirmed in writing to all parties.”