Cllr Jo Hart, who had made a representation as a Ward Councillor, submitted an apology for absence. 

Cllr Jo Hart, who had made a representation as a Ward Councillor, submitted an apology for absence. 

The Licensing Panel were asked to consider an application for a new premises licence for Northfleet Store, 6 Stonebridge Road, Northfleet, DA11 9DR.

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and went through the process he intended to follow. He explained that once everyone had made their submissions and all questions had been answered, the hearing would close to all parties except for the Panel, the legal advisor to the Panel and the Committee Services Officer (for minutes writing purposes only) for the panel to consider their decision.

The Licensing Barrister noted that the Ward Councillor submission was made by Cllr Jo Hart only, with no presentation being submitted during the 28 day consultation period from Cllr Allsion Williams; he requested that Cllr Williams not address the Panel on that basis. After seeking Legal advice, the Chair agreed and asked that Cllr Williams observe the meeting only.

Following a question by the Chair, the original decision made at the meeting on Wednesday, 09 April 2025 was being appealed but it was cheaper and quicker for all parties to agree to grant the licence at a Panel meeting which was why another application had been submitted; the Licensing Barrister advised that he was seeking to persuade the Panel to grant the Premises License at his meeting and avoid progressing at an appeal.

The Panel were informed that even though an application for a Premises License at the premises was originally discussed at a Licensing Panel on Wednesday, 09 April 2025, this was a new application, and the decision and evidence presented at the previous meeting should not be taken into consideration at this Licensing Panel. 

The Assistant Licensing Manager gave a brief overview of the application and background information to the Panel. 

The application was for the sale by retail of alcohol, applied as follows:

Sunday to Thursday

• 08:00am to 22:00pm

Friday and Saturday

• 08:00am to 23:00pm

During the 28 day consultation period, representations were received from Environmental Protection, the Community Safety Unit, five members of the public and a Ward Councillor; the applicant had also agreed additional conditions with Licensing and Kent Police who both raised no objections to the premises licence. The details of those representations and additional conditions could be found in Appendices B-F of the report.

The Licensing Barrister was invited to address the Panel and summarised why the applicant should be granted the new premise licence including giving a detailed response as to how the premises would meet each of the licensing objectives, outlined the measures that were in place to stop alcohol being sold outside the agreed times, the notable lack of objections from the Police and Licensing as the responsible authority, a similar premises being run without issue a few doors up and then addressed each objection which had been presented to the Panel in turn.

The Chair opened the Panel to allow questions from all parties present and reminded the Panel that the questions should only pertain to the application and not include  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.