Agenda item

Report of the Assistant Director (Corporate Policy & Support) - A.1 - Grant of a Premises Licence Pieseas Chippy, 76 West Street, Harwich, CO12 3DA

To inform Members that an application has been received for the Grant of a premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003 from Mr Ismail Duyar for late night refreshments for the premises at Pieseas Chippy, 76 West Street, Harwich and further that objections to the proposed licensable activity has been received from members of the public.

Minutes:

The Sub-Committee heard from the Licensing Manager that the application had been made under the Licensing Act 2003 for the grant of a Premises Licence to include late night refreshments. 

 

The applicant had described Pieseas Chippy as a small size recently refurbished local fish and chip takeaway shop.

 

The applicant had proposed to open to the public on the following days/hours:

 

Monday to Thursday                           11:00 to 23:00

Friday to Sunday                                11:00 to 02:00

 

 

Late Night Refreshment Hours:

 

Friday to Sunday                                23:00 to 02:00

 

 

The full application had been attached to the main report (A.1) as Appendix A.

 

The Sub-Committee was informed that following objections to the proposed hours, the applicant had volunteered to change the late-night refreshment activity to the following days/hours:

 

Friday and Saturday                           23:00 to 01:00

 

The Sunday to Thursday opening times would then be 11:00 to 23:00.  Those hours were not required to be licensed under the Licensing Act 2003.

 

All objectors had been notified of those changes; however, they had all confirmed that they still wished to object to the amended hours.

 

Members were informed that 13 representations/objections had been received from residents in relation to the application, including one from Harwich Town Council. Those letters of objection had been attached as Appendix B to the Officer report (A.1).

 

There were no objectors present at the meeting.

 

The Sub-Committee heard that all responsible authorities had been consulted as per procedure and that no representations had been received in response to that consultation.

 

Members were reminded that each application must be considered in its own rights and on its own merits only on how it might impact the four licensing objectives, which were the prevention of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance, public safety and protection of children from harm.

 

Questions from Members:

Answers:

What contingencies are in place to ensure noise levels are kept to a minimum?

(Applicant) We already have CCTV. We will also arrange for a staff member to stand at the door to manage any noise from customers.

 

What are the current opening hours?

(Applicant) The current opening hours are 12pm until 9pm. This would stay the same other than Fridays and Saturdays where we have applied to open until 1am.

Would you like to address any issues raised by the objectors?

(Applicant) We do try not to make a lot of noise. I have been running businesses in Harwich for 15 years and have never had any issues with the other businesses.

 

What are the opening hours for your other businesses?

(Applicant) I have an Off-Licence that is open until 10pm. I also have a fish and chip shop (The Fish House) which has a licence to open until 1am, but we do not want to open that late in the town centre.

 

Have you had your businesses for a long time?

(Applicant) My family also own a coffee shop (Station Café). I came to Harwich in 2012. Since then, I have run takeaways and restaurants in the area, and I have never had any problems.

 

Would 11pm not be late enough to open?

(Applicant) I feel 11pm is too early to close on a weekend considering that the pubs close at 1:30am and their customers are walking from Harwich to the town centre (around a mile walk) for food making noise on their way and then get a taxi home. If we could open until 1am, it would mean that customers from the pubs could get their food and get a taxi from Harwich, meaning less noise overall.

 

 

The Chairman (Councillor A Cossens) then adjourned the meeting at this time whilst the Sub-Committee retired to deliberate. The Litigation Lawyer (Sarah Opene) and Democratic Services Officer (Katie Koppenaal) retired with the Sub-Committee for observatory reasons only.

 

Upon resuming the meeting, the Chairman (Councillor A Cossens) read out a statement detailing the Sub-Committee’s decision as follows:

 

“The Sub Committee has given careful consideration to this application. The premises is Pieseas Chippy, 76 West Street, Harwich,

 

In reaching its decision, we have taken into account the views expressed by the Applicant Mr Ismail Duyar and have considered the 13 representations received from objectors. The Council has considered the statutory guidance and the Licensing Authority's Policy.

 

It has also considered the licensing objectives namely, the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm.

 

The sub-committee is asked to consider an application for a late night refreshment with the proposed opening hours for Friday and Saturday being 11pm – 1am.  The application has been determined in its own right and on its own merit.

 

The sub-committee is granting the license for Friday and Saturday until 11:30pm on the condition that the doors will be shut upon entry of customers after 11pm.

 

The sub-committee’s decision is subject to the right to an appeal at the Magistrates court. 

 

The applicant will get notification in writing of this decision within 5 days.”

Supporting documents: