Agenda and minutes

To seek nominations for the election for the position of Chair.

RESOLVED - That Councillor A Hutchison be elected as Chair for the duration of the meeting.

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules (in the event of an Appeal the press and public will be excluded)

(*In accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2, written notice of an appeal must be received by the Head of Governance and Scrutiny Support at least 24 hours before the meeting)

There were no appeals.

1)  To highlight reports or appendices which:

a)  officers have identified as containing exempt information, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.

b)  To consider whether or not to accept the officers recommendation in respect of the above information.

c)  If so, to formally pass the following resolution:-

  RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of those parts of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information

2)  To note that under the Licensing Procedure rules, the press and the public will be excluded from that part of the hearing where Members will deliberate on each application as it is in the public interest to allow the Members to have a full and frank debate on the matter before them.

RESOLVED – That:

a)  Appendices A & B to the report at Item 6 be designated as being exempt from publication in accordance with 9.2(b) and 10.4(1) of Regulation 14 of the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005;

b)  That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of CCTV footage submitted by West Yorkshire Police on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

There were no formal late items.

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests.

The report of the Chief Officer (Elections and Regulatory) informs Members of an application under Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003 for a review of a premises licence in respect of Neil's Superstore, 9 - 11 Reginald Row, Chapeltown, Leeds, LS7 3HP.

(Report attached)

The report of the Chief Officer (Elections and Regulatory) informed Members of an application for a licence review made by West Yorkshire Police in respect of Neil’s Superstore, 9 – 11 Reginald Row, Chapeltown, Leeds, LS7 3HP.

In attendance at the hearing were:

o  Andy Clifford, West Yorkshire Police

o  JS, Witness for West Yorkshire Police

o  Suky Cheema, Premises Licence Holder’s Representative

o  Malkeet Singh, Premises Licence Holder

The Licensing Officer informed Members that West Yorkshire Police had made an application for the review of a licence under Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003 and the application was served on the Licensing Authority on 24 March 2020. A copy of the application had been attached to Appendix A of the submitted report, but due to an on-going criminal investigation, the document had been excluded from public viewing. The review applicant had also submitted additional information in support of their application including witness statements at Appendix B, and CCTV footage of an incident dated 31 January 2020, which had also been exempt from public viewing.

Members had been provided with a history of the premises set out at point 2 of the submitted report.

There had been no representations supporting either the review application, or the premises. The premises licence holder had however supplied supplementary information including a complaint letter sent to West Yorkshire Police, and 14 letters in support of the licence holder and the premises and can be found at Appendix E.

The Licensing Sub Committee and interested parties watched the CCTV footage. For this part of the meeting the press and members of the public were excluded as the footage contained exempt information, and therefore the meeting had been adjourned for a short while.

West Yorkshire Police informed the Sub-Committee of the following points:

·  2 local residents had been victim of a crime involving stolen payment methods within approximately a mile of the premises;

·   The witnesses in question were underage and had apparently bypassed larger supermarkets on the way to purchase alcohol at Neil’s Superstore. Both the premises licence holder and a shop assistant had sold alcohol to at least one underage person on the day of the incident;

·  The owner of Neil’s Superstore had operated the premises for 27 years, and it was the view of the police that the owner would have had some idea as to who the majority of his clientele are;

·  Approximately 30 transactions had been carried out, totalling a sum of just under £700 in a single hour at the premises;

·  The premises licence holder had not shown any remorse towards the incident;

·  The number of transactions that had been processed within a short period of time, would typically raise concern, especially the transactions that had been declined;

·  The police were of the opinion that the majority of the letters in support of the premises licence holder could not be considered as personal references, due to them being the same letter;

·  CCTV footage shows card checks being undertaken. However, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.