Agenda item

To receive and consider the attached report of the Chief Officer (Elections and Regulatory) regarding an application to vary a premises licence, made by Mr Daniel Gary Fallas, for Greens Leeds Limited 841 York Road, Leeds, LS14 6AA.

The report of the Chief Officer Elections and Regulatory presented an application to vary a premises licence, made by Mr Daniel Gary Fallas, for Greens Leeds Limited 841 York Road, Leeds, LS14 6AA.

Present at the meeting were:

• Daniel Gary Fallas – Applicant / Proposed DPS

The Legal Officer outlined the procedure for the meeting.

The Licensing Officer presented the application providing Members with the following points:

• The application was made following a new operator taking control of the premises and sought to extend the hours for the Sale by Retail of Alcohol and Recorded Music, to add Live Music and to amend the conditions attached to the licence. The hours proposed for all activities were, Monday to Thursday 08:00 - 23:30, Friday & Saturday 08:00 - 00:00 and Sunday 08:00 - 23:30.
• A copy of the existing licence was available at appendix A and the application form for the variation was detailed at appendix B.
• Agreements had been reached with responsibility authorities, WYP and EPT, with details of proposed conditions available at appendix F and appendix G.
• There was one representation submitted in objection to the application from other persons, which remained an outstanding matter for consideration by Members.
• The options available to Members were outlined as: grant the application as requested, grant the application whilst imposing additional conditions and/or altering in any way the proposed operating schedule, refuse to specify the said person as the designated premises supervisor or reject the whole or part of the application.

The applicant addressed the Licensing Sub Committee and informed them of the following points:

• The contents of the outstanding objection comment were perceived to be based upon the poor operations of the previous owner of the premises and were not considered applicable to this application.
• The applicant had worked within hospitality for over 12 years, as well as working in security for 9 years. There were already strict measures in place to address any issues of crime and disorder and drug use.
• The premises had been operating for 5 weeks without any complaints being received.
• A further objection comment from a local resident, based on drug use and noise concerns, had been withdrawn following an explanation to the resident that the new business operations did not involve the previous operator.
• The premises held a zero tolerance to drug use policy and conducted door searches when necessary as well as regular toilet checks. The concerns for crime and disorder, drug use and reckless driving were not considered relevant to this application as it was based on issues that had occurred during the time the premises was operated by another business.
• Since opening, there was one patron that had driven to the premises who had been a designated driver and consumed no alcohol, they had also received a discount on their soft drinks as an offer of gratitude for safe conduct.
• The hours applied for were based against the business plan with the intention to offer bookings for small gatherings and events such as baby showers. The existing licence only allowed for licensed activities to occur from 4pm. There was no intention to play loud music at any time as it would primarily be background music to create an ambience for customers, unless a specific event had been planned.
• The applicant had engaged with the local community via handing out letters detailing the business operations and providing contact details so any issues or concerns could be directed to and addressed by staff members.
• The applicant noted he had addressed concerns to the best of his abilities and the one outstanding objection was from a significant distance from the premises.

Responding to questions from the Sub-Committee the following points were noted:

• It was confirmed by the applicant he had 9 years experience working in security and 12 years working in hospitality venues. He outlined that the business operations were to be much better practise than the previous operator, supported by the high level of experience, the good engagement with local residents and responsible authorities displayed evidence for this.
• A fire risk assessment had identified the premises as having a suitable amount of space for 65 people at a time, to ensure safety, it was proposed that there would be no more than 60 people on the premises at any time, including staff members. This was approximated as 40 seated covers and 20 standing.
• Methods for positively engaging with the local community were outlined as providing a letter and contact details for local people to report any issues of litter, noise and disturbance, clearing an adjacent alleyway of litter, trimming obstructive hedges from the outside path and clearing up litter from nearby streets which had primarily consisted of takeaway food containers.
• Measures for customer safety, given the premises was on a busy stretch of road, were to install lighting immediately outside the premises, constructing barriers or fences to restrict parking and traffic to the premises frontage, putting up signage to advice on safety and to limit noise when leaving and having a disability access ramp available.
• As the objection comment had referenced witnessing drug dealing outside the premises proactive crime and disorder enforcement measures were queried. In response it was noted that regular toilet checks were conducted, there was a stringent door policy in place, including ID checks and processes for confiscating drugs and weapons which were to be logged and reported to WYP. There was also a group phone messaging group between all staff members to discuss and record any incidents which were then to be formally logged in an incident book. The issues of drug dealing were outlined to be associated with the previous business at the premises.

In summary, the applicant outlined the following points to the Sub-Committee:

• Engagement with WYP had been positive to reach an agreement, with conditions proposed by WYP already considered, such as challenge 25 and the associated signage.
• EPT had removed their original objection with an agreement made that no live music was to occur until soundproofing was in place, it was noted that this was more of a planning than a licensing issue.
• There were regular internal and external cleaning processes in place and there were currently six CCTV cameras with four internal and one to the front of the premises and one at the rear access. The CCTV was to be available for at least 38 days. An incident log was active and would be used appropriately.

RESOLVED – To grant the premises licence as applied for.