Agenda item - R&A Global Food LTD Licensing Panel (Licensing Act 2003 Functions)

3.1      The Panel considered a report of the Executive Director, Housing, Neighbourhoods and Committee which required them to determine an application for a New Premises Licence under the Licensing Act 2003 for Global Food Ltd, 17 Preston Road, Brighton BN1 4CE.

          Licensing Officer

3.2      The Licensing Officer explained that the application proposed use of the ground floor shop, predominantly selling groceries, household items and international food, with the area used for the sale of alcohol to be approximately 2 to 4 metres in size. The alcohol would be kept in the chiller situated on the right-hand side as you entered the shop. It was proposed that the alcohol would only make up 5 to 15% of the business. The premises fell within one of the Special Stress Areas, this was deemed as an area of special concern in terms of levels of crime and disorder and public nuisance experienced within them. Six representations had been received from local residents, a local business, Sussex Police and the Licensing Authority.

3.2      The representations received had expressed concerns relating to the licensing objectives of the Prevention of Crime and Disorder, Prevention of Public Nuisance, Protection of Children from Harm and upholding the Statement of Licensing Policy, Special Stress Area (SSA). Full details of the representations received were included in Appendix C to the report.

3.3      In answer to questions it was explained that that the applicant held a personal licence and that the premises had held a licence previously from 2007. The licence had then been varied in 2015 and subsequently revoked in 2017. Further applications had been made and refused in 2018 and 2019 respectively and an application made in 2020 had been withdrawn before being considered by a Panel.

          Police Representation

3.4      The Police representatives referred to their representation and highlighted the challenging nature of the area and the high levels of crime and disorder within it. This stretch of Preston Road was included within the extension of the SSA at the recent review of the Statement of licensing policy. Evidence was presented of the high number of licensed premises and the increase in the number of reported alcohol related crimes. The police maintained that an additional premises selling alcohol would add to negative cumulative impact within the area. The applicant had not demonstrated any understanding of the licensing objectives or provided robust reasons for making an exception to existing policy In answer to questions the Police confirmed that whilst this premises had given cause for concern in the past there were no indications that the present business had any association with them.

          Licensing Authority Representation

3.5      The representative in attendance on behalf of the licensing authority fully supported the concerns expressed by the Police and were concerned that the application did not meet the requirements of the council’s licensing policy as the applicant has not addressed the policy issues within their application and it was contrary to the policy. The Matrix within the policy stated that no new off-licence applications should be permitted within the SSA. The licensing authority contended that no exceptional circumstances had been demonstrated. The representations from the local business and residents had expressed concerns that an additional alcohol outlet would add to existing problems in the locality. They considered that the conditions put forward by the applicants were those which would expect any premises should adhere to and did not illustrate exceptional circumstances.

          Submission by the Applicant

3.6      The Solicitor acting on behalf of the applicants referred to written submissions in which in their view the local policy was addressed. It was contended that this premises which sold predominantly Afro-Caribbean foods, hair and beauty products should not be classed as an off licence as alcohol would be an ancillary part of the business. It was stated that it was akin to a Tesco Express. A condition was suggested to reinforce this, and further conditions were proposed including a sensible on strength condition. It was considered that the premises would have a community benefit as it would cater for the Afro-Caribbean community. It would be unfair to link this application with misdemeanours of the previous licence holders. There was no connection between this applicant and previous licence holders, and this was a worthy applicant. The applicant had another premises at 4 Preston Road which sold alcohol and the proposed DPS was also the DPS for this premises.

          Closing Submissions

3.7      No further submissions were made and therefore all parties made their closing submissions. The Licensing Officer reiterated that that Panel were required to determine the application whilst being mindful of the premises location in the SSA, the need to fulfil the licensing objectives and to determine whether exceptional circumstances had been shown for departure from the Statement of Licensing Policy.

3.8      The Police representative and representative in attendance on behalf of the Licensing Authority re-iterated their concerns in respect of the application and the applicant made a closing statement in support of their application.

          The Decision

3.9      The Chair explained that the Panel had considered the report of the Executive Director of Neighbourhoods, Communities and Housing and the additional documentation submitted on behalf of the Applicant. It had listened carefully to all the points and submissions made. In reaching its decision, it has had due regard to the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy (SOLP) and section 182 guidance.

3.10    The application was for a new premises licence for 17 Preston Road, Brighton, authorising the sale of alcohol off the premises Monday to Sunday 09:00 to 23:00 hours. The application was within the Special Stress Area (SSA) as defined in the Statement of Licensing Policy, an area of concern to the licensing authority because of the relatively high levels of crime and disorder and nuisance experienced with in it. New and varied applications for premises and club premises certificates within the SSA will not be subject to the presumption of refusal, but operators will be expected to pay special attention when drawing up their operating schedules and to make positive proposals to ensure that their operation will not add to the problems faced in these areas.

3.11    Representations had been received from Sussex Police, the Licensing Authority, a local business and local residents. The representations raised the licensing objectives of the prevention of public nuisance, prevention of crime and disorder, and the protection of children from harm, the location of the premises within the SSA and the history of the premises. The police had highlighted the challenging nature of the area and the high levels of crime and disorder within it. This stretch of Preston Road was included within the extension of the SSA at the recent review of the Statement of licensing policy. Evidence had been presented then of the high number of licensed premises and the increase in the number of reported alcohol related crimes. The police had maintained that an additional premises selling alcohol would add to negative cumulative impact within the area.

3.12    The licensing authority were in agreement with this assessment and were concerned that the application did not meet the requirements of the council’s licensing policy as the applicant has not addressed the policy issues within their application and it was contrary to the policy. The Matrix within the policy stated that no new off-licence applications should be permitted within the SSA. The licensing authority contended that no exceptional circumstances had been demonstrated. The representations from the local business and residents had expressed concerns that an additional alcohol outlet would add to existing problems in the locality.

3.13    The applicant’s solicitor had referred to written submissions in which the local policy was addressed. It was contended that this premises which sold predominantly Afro-Caribbean foods, hair and beauty products should not be classed as an off licence as alcohol would be an ancillary part of the business. It was stated that it was akin to a Tesco Express.  A condition was suggested to reinforce this, and further conditions were proposed including a sensible on strength condition. It was considered that the premises would have a community benefit as it would cater for the Afro-Caribbean community. It would be unfair to link this application with misdemeanours of the previous licence holders. There was no connection between this applicant and previous licence holders, and this was a worthy applicant. The applicant had another premises at 4 Preston Road which sold alcohol and the proposed DPS was also the DPS for this premises.

3.13    The Chair stated that the Panel had given careful consideration to this application on its merits and in light of the concerns raised. The main issue for the panel was whether a further premises selling alcohol would have a detrimental effect on the area, which was one of concern within the SSA, and whether exceptional circumstances had been shown to depart from the policy. The panel believed that the concerns raised by the responsible authorities and local residents in relation to this application were extremely valid. A further premises selling alcohol for consumption off the premises was likely in the Panel’s opinion to add to the problems of public nuisance and anti-social behaviour in the area and thus undermine the licensing objectives. The panel had taken into consideration the conditions offered and submissions made. The conditions in the application were not particularly relevant and those subsequently offered were not considered adequate to mitigate the risk. Furthermore, the panel did not consider that exceptional circumstances had been shown in this case. While the Afro-Caribbean character of the premises was noted, it would still seem to envisage operating in the same way as many outlets such as Tesco Express which the Panel would consider to come within the definition of ‘off-licence’. In the Panel’s view the meaning of ‘alcohol sale ancillary to business activity’ in note 5 to the Matrix would not cover convenience store type operations. The Panel also had concerns about the day-to-day management and staffing proposals for the premises given that the DPS was also the DPS for the premises at 4 Preston Road.

3.14    There was an interesting discussion during the hearing about the licence at 4 Preston Road and whether this might be relinquished as part of this application. However, it was generally felt, and the panel agree, that this would require further consideration and consultation to explore whether such an option may be possible and could amount to exceptional circumstances. The main concerns for the Panel centred upon the location of the premises within the SSA and in an area of high levels of crime and disorder and anti-social behaviour, with many other licensed premises in close proximity and other outlets where people congregate. The grant of this application was considered likely to add to existing problems and was therefore refused.

3.15    RESOLVED – That the application for a new premises licence for Global Food Limited, 17 Preston Road, BN1 4QE be refused for the reasons set out above.

          Note: The Legal Adviser to the panel advised the applicant that they would receive notification of the panel’s decision in writing with details of their appeal rights attached.