Appendix C

REP A – CH valid on the grounds of PCD, PPN. 

The Licensing Technical Support Officers
Brighton & Hove City Council,

Hove Town Hall,

Norton Road, Hove,

BN3 3BQ

 

26/03/2026

Email: REDACTED

Dear Corinne Hardcastle,

RE: APPLICATION FOR A VARIATION OF PREMISES LICENCE FOR THE MESMERIST, 1-3 PRINCE ALBERT STREET, BRIGHTON, BN1 1HE UNDER THE LICENSING ACT 2003.

I write on behalf of the Chief Officer of Police for Sussex to raise a representation against the grant of the above application on the grounds that it will undermine the Licensing Objectives of the prevention of crime and disorder and public nuisance. We also make reference to the Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) Statement of Licensing Policy (revised January 2026).

This is a proposed variation application in an area of the City which is subject to a Special Policy adopted by Brighton & Hove City Council. The premises lies in the City safety Area (CSA) (as defined in the BHCC Statement of Licensing Policy) and seeks the following licensable hours for sale by retail of alcohol on and off the premises:

 

Sale by Retail of Alcohol (On and Off the premises)

Sunday – Thursday:                      09:00 – 02:00

Friday – Saturday:                         09:00 – 03:00

 

With the additional of non-standard timings for major sporting events.

 

Live music – Indoors

Sunday – Thursday:                      09:00 – 02:00

Friday – Saturday:                         09:00 – 03:00

 

Recorded Music – Indoors

Sunday – Thursday:                      09:00 – 02:00

Friday – Saturday:                         09:00 – 03:00

 

Anything of a similar description to that falling with ( e), ( f) or (g )

Sunday – Thursday:                      09:00 – 02:00

Friday – Saturday:                         09:00 – 03:00

 

Late Night Refreshment – Indoors

Sunday – Thursday:                      09:00 – 02:30

Friday – Saturday:                         09:00 – 03:30

 

With the additional of non-standard timings for major sporting events.

 

Opening Hours:

Sunday – Thursday:                      08:00 – 02:30

Friday – Saturday:                         08:00 – 03:30

 

With the additional of non-standard timings for major sporting events.

 

 

While Sussex Police acknowledge that the variation application has limited the extension asked for to 1 hour every day of the week, this is arguably the busiest time in the night-time economy across the week, especially at weekends and so requires special scrutiny and discussion. Offering additional licensable activity into the early hours encourages persons who may be already under the influence of alcohol or drugs to remain in the area, which is at the heart of the night-time economy in Brighton. This increases the risk of crime and disorder, anti-social behaviour and public nuisance.

 

The licensing decision matrix in the Council Statement of Licensing Policy (SoLP) suggests that new premises or premises licence variations asking for sale of alcohol (both on & off the premises), regulated entertainment and late night refreshment are a ‘No’ in the City Safety Area. Applications of this nature, which are highly likely to add to existing cumulative impact, should be refused following relevant representations.

 

Paragraph 3.2.3 of the Brighton and Hove Statement of Licensing Police 2026.

Firstly, although no longer subject to a blanket presumption of refusal, all applications within the CSA will be scrutinised against the new Matrix Approach (set out at 3.4 of the policy) meaning that applications which do not comply with the Matrix are likely to be refused.

Also within Paragraph 3.2.3

the Matrix Approach will not be applied inflexibly, but the Licensing Authority will only depart from it in exceptional circumstances.

 

The applicant did not pre consult with Sussex Police and has offered 1 additional condition as part of their application. They do not make mention of the BHCC Special Policy and Statement of Licensing Policy (SoLP) within their application.

However, Prince Albert Street is a key location in the Nighttime economy and in Police data and while current premises licence conditions currently offered can go some way to reduce incidents occurring and being managed within the premises itself, there are no conditions that can address the risks around what happens once customers leave the premises in the later hours of the morning, also noting that off sales has been applied for during this additional hours which is a further concern.

 

Looking at incidents that Sussex Police have dealt with within 0.2-mile radius of the venue between 26th March 2025 and 26th March 2026, there were a total 1208 crimes – 467 were thefts, 334 Violence against the person, 63 Drug offences and 42 Sexual Offences amongst others. Although we acknowledge that not all these incidents are linked to alcohol, when looking at these crime types alcohol is often a factor. We also have concerns that permitting further licensable activities into the Nighttime economy and so increasing the availability of alcohol could have a further negative impact within an area that already suffers from crime and disorder. 345 of the 1208 crimes occurred between the hours of midnight and 04:00.

 

Sussex Police would also contend the need for Major Sporting events, if there are any sporting events that are shown outside the current operating hours outside of the premises licence, it can be suggested that the use of a Temporary Event Notice could be used.

 

Therefore, it is not felt that anything provided could fully address the local concerns or show the application will have no negative cumulative impact. Therefore, Police question whether this application can provide evidence to rebut the presumption of refusal in the CSA and believe it should be heard by a Panel to be able to explore this.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

REDACTED

 

Sgt Kate Hancox o.b.o. Insp Ben Morrison
Operations, Planning & Events (inc. Licensing) Inspector

Brighton & Hove Division

Sussex Police

 

REDACTED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REP B – CH valid on the grounds of PCD, PPN.  

 

Corinne Hardcastle

Licensing Officer

Licensing Team

Brighton & Hove City Council

G39, Hove Town Hall

Norton Road

Hove, BN3 3BQ

 

Date:

Our Ref:

Phone:

Email:                

8th April 2026

REDACTED

REDACTED

 

 

Dear Mrs Hardcastle

 

Re: Licensing Act 2003 - Representation regarding the application for a New Application for a Premises Licence For: Mesmerist, 1-3 Prince Albert Street, Brighton, BN1 1HE

 

I refer to the application made by C-Side Ltd, for variation of a premises licence to be issued for the above premises.  The Licensing Team, in its role as a Responsible Authority, has concerns about this application and therefore I am submitting this representation on the grounds of the prevention of crime & disorder and public nuisance and to uphold our Statement of Licensing Policy 2026 (SoLP).

 

The applicant has applied for an extension of one additional hour at the end of the day for sale of alcohol (on & off), live music, recorded music, anything of a similar description (all, Sun-Thurs until 2am and Fri-Sat until 3am), late night refreshments and opening hours by one additional hour.  With the addition of non-standard timings for major sporting events.

 

This premises falls within the Licensing Authority’s City Safety Area (CSA). The CSA is an area of special concern to the licensing authority because of the high levels of crime and disorder, and nuisance experienced within it (SoLP 3.1.2). This is evidenced by the police data, which is attached to Appendix E of the SoLP.

 

Before submitting an application within the CSA, applicants are expected to consult with the Responsible Authorities and seek advice on which measures are appropriate to include in the proposed operating schedule (SoLP 3.2.4). The applicant did not undertake consultation with the Licensing Authority before submitting this variation application.

 

The SoLP goes on to say that applications within the CSA will be expected to include in the proposed operating schedule robust additional measures (as appropriate to the nature and location of the venue) which are set out in Appendix A. Statement of Licensing Policy Appendix A - Licensing Best Practice Measures These best practice measures place a special emphasis on safety. (SoLP 3.2.4).  Under Section M of the applicant’s operating schedule, there is no mention of the premises location in the CSA or additional safety measures/steps to show exceptional circumstances to depart from our matrix/policy.  The premises already has later hours than the matrix allows and requesting even later hours will add to the additional burdens and problems within the CSA. 

 

I invite the Sub-Committee Panel to decide the outcome of this application on behalf of the Licensing Authority and whether the applicant has demonstrated whether there are exceptional circumstances to depart from our policy. 

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

REDACTED

 

Sarah Cornell

Senior Licensing Officer

Licensing Team

Regulatory Services

 

REP C – CH valid on the grounds of PPN. 

From: Chinwe Ihemefor < REDACTED >
Sent: 10 April 2026 08:03
 To: Manager Mesmerist < REDACTED >
 Cc: EHL Licensing <EHL.Licensing@brighton-hove.gov.uk>; Corinne Hardcastle < REDACTED > REDACTED
 Subject: Re: 1 - 3 Prince Albert Street Brighton BN1 1HE

 

Hello,

 

Thanks for your application to extend the timing for:

·         Live and recorded music, and performance of dance until 02:00 hours Sundays to Thursdays and 03:00 hours on Fridays and Saturdays;

·         late night refreshment until 02:30 hours Sundays to Thursdays and 03:30 hours on Fridays and Saturdays;

·         general operations until 02:30 hours Sundays to Thursdays and 03:30 hours on Fridays and Saturdays.

And to allow for the showing of major sporting events involving England men’s or women’s teams to be shown and alcohol sold up to 1 hour prior to the commencement of the sporting event and finishing 30 minutes after the sporting event (where such times fall outside of the ordinary operating set out above).

 

Environmental Protection must object to this variation at this time due to noise concerns linked to your premises. We have received persistent complaints of loud music and people noise from a neighbouring resident, despite existing conditions on your licence designed to prevent public nuisance, assurance from you that proactive steps are being taken to monitor noise levels and claims that the noise stems from patrons leaving several nearby venues in a busy area.

 

Further to your email of 5th of February, Environmental Protection received a noise diary detailing repeated occurrences of loud music on the 5th, 6th, 7th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 19th of February, as well as persistent people noise from the garden area.

 

In light of the current pattern of disturbance, Environmental Protection is seriously concerned that any extension to licensable hours would exacerbate noise impacts and significantly heighten the risk of nuisance, which would be directly contrary to the Prevention of Public Nuisance licensing objective.

 

While we acknowledge your assertion that robust measures are already in place, the evidence received to date shows that these controls are not effective in practice. On this basis, the Environmental Protection Team are not satisfied that the premises can operate later hours without causing further nuisance and therefore cannot support this application.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

Chinwe Ihemefor (she/her) |Environmental Health Officer – Environmental Protection

Regulatory Services

Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove, BN3 3BQ

T REDACTED