No apologies for absence were received.

No declarations of interest were made.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the 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 Panel considered an application, to which representations had been made, for the grant of a new premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003 in respect of the premises known as Mieszko Food City, 51-53 High Street, Gravesend, Kent DA11 0AY.

The Senior Licensing Officer gave a brief overview of the application which was attached at appendix two of the report.

The application which was received on 29 July 2020 from Arka Licensing on behalf of their client Mieszko Foodcity (Watford) Limited was for the grant of a premises licence under section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003. The application was for the provision of off sales by retail of alcohol 24 hours, seven days a week.

The application attached at appendix two of the report included the operating schedule which detailed the steps the applicant intended to take to address the four licensing objectives together with a copy of the plan for the premises.

During the twenty eight day consultation period, the following representations were received which were detailed in the report:-

·         a representation from Councillor Brian Sangha on behalf of himself, Cllr Jenny Wallace and Cllr Baljit Hayre;

·         an agreement had been made between the Health and Safety Officer of the Council and the applicant that the operating schedule be amended to include a condition restricting the floor area being used for display of alcohol:-

o   ‘no more than 20% of the available floor space is used for the storage and display of alcohol‘;

·         a representation from the Environmental Protection team of the Council; and

·         a representation from Kent Police however this representation was subsequently withdrawn following agreement with the applicant to amend the operating schedule to include the following conditions:-

o   operating/licensable hours will be 07:00 – Midnight each day;

o   condition number 5 to read ‘7.5% ABV‘ (rather than 6.5%); and

o   condition number 6 to read ‘a minimum of 2 cans or bottles under 750ml of..‘.

Mr Nira Suresh, Mr Remigiusz Marek Kowalczyk, Debbie Wilders and Cllr Brian Sangha addressed the Panel.

The Panel adjourned to consider its decision.

Determination:

The Chair advised that, in coming to a decision, the Panel had considered the information provided in the written report compiled by the Senior Licensing Officer and presented to the Licensing Panel; the evidence presented by all parties attending the hearing; the representations received during the twenty eight day consultation period; the advice of the Council’s Legal Advisor; the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy; the statutory guidance of the Secretary of State; the Human Rights Act 1998; and the licensing objectives. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.