No apologies for absence were received.

No declarations of interest were made.

The Licensing Panel met to determine an application for a review of the Premises Licence granted under the Licensing Act 2003 in respect of the premises known as Londis, 29 Milton Road, Gravesend, Kent DA12 2RF.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the first virtual meeting of the Panel and went through the process he intended to follow during the Panel. He further explained that once everyone had made their submissions and all questions had been answered, then the hearing would close to all parties but the Panel and the Council’s Legal Advisor, for the Panel to consider their decision. The decision would then be published within 5 working days.

The Senior Licensing Officer gave a brief overview of the current Premises Licence and background information in relation to the Londis convenience store.

On 9 June 2020 an application for a review of the licence under section 51 of the 2003 Act had been received from the Police. The application related to all four licensing objectives by continuing to serve street drinkers and person who cause anti-social behaviour through the day and night in and around the area. The premises was also found to have been in continued breach of the premises licence.

At this point, the Chair mentioned the new information that had been emailed by the applicant’s representatives the previous night and the Police that morning.  The Council’s Legal Advisor advised that the receipt of these documents amounted to submission on the day of the meeting and was a matter for all parties to agree acceptance for consideration. The Chair sought and obtained the agreement of all those in attendance.

Chris Hill, the Police representative addressed the Panel and the main points were as follows:

·         The quantity of high strength beer, lager and cider available in the store.

·         The Refusals Register which had not been used since April 2018.

·         The storage of a quantity of beers and ciders on the floor of the shop which was a breach of a licensing condition namely that all alcohol was to be displayed on suitable shelving as indicated on the plan and not on the floor.

·         A breach of the licensing condition which states that at all times the Designated Premises Supervisor or a personal licence holder must be present to authorise the sale/supply of alcohol. The female shop assistant, who at the time did not hold a Personal Licence, had stated that the DPS had only been away from the shop for 30 minutes or so but was due back soon. The PC who was present at the store then witnessed the shop assistant selling alcohol which had not been authorised by the DPS or a personal licence holder.

·         The sale of high strength alcohol to known street drinkers who then went on to exhibit anti-social behaviour and cause littering. A compliance check was undertaken and CCTV footage was assessed which confirmed that the Designated Premises Supervisor was breaching three conditions as follows:

o      All staff working on the premises will  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.