Agenda and minutes

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

RESOLVED – To elect Councillor J Gibson 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.

There were no exempt items.

There were no formal late items. However, supplementary information was published on the council’s website in relation to Agenda Item 7 – Krakus, 54 Harehills Road, Harehills, Leeds, LS8 5LE. Minute No. 7 refers.

To disclose or draw attention to any interests in accordance with Leeds City Council’s ‘Councillor Code of Conduct’.

No interests were raised.

To receive and consider the attached report of the Chief Officer (Elections and Regulatory) regarding a report that informs the Licensing Sub Committee that West Yorkshire Police has served on the Licensing Authority an application under Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003 for a review of a premises licence in respect of Bucharest Off Licence, 56 Harehills Road, Leeds LS8 5LE.

The report of the Chief Officer (Elections and Regulatory) presented a report that informs Sub-Committee Members that West Yorkshire Police, has served on the licensing authority an application under 51 of the Licensing Act 2003 for a review of the premises licence in respect of Bucharest Off Licence, 56 Harehills Road, Harehills, Leeds, LS8 5LE.

The grounds of the review relate to the seizure of non-duty paid alcohol and cigarettes from the premises.

The following were in attendance for this item:

·  PC Neil Haywood, West Yorkshire Police – Review Applicant

·  Victoria Radford, Entertainment Licensing – Representation in support of the Review

·  Babul Hussain, West Yorkshire Trading Standards - Representation in support of the Review

·  Councillor Ali Asghar, Local Ward Councillor - Representation in support of the Review

·  Emilia Slezak, Public Health – Witness on behalf of the Local Ward Councillors

The Legal Adviser to the Sub-Committee outlined the procedure for the hearing.

It was noted that the licence holder was not in attendance for the hearing. Sub-Committee Members agreed to proceed with the hearing as all other attendees were present.

The Licensing Officer highlighted the following information:

·  A joint collaboration with West Yorkshire Police, HMRC, West Yorkshire Trading Standards and Leeds City Council Licensing, resulted in the seizure of non-duty paid alcohol and cigarettes from the premises.

·  The premises currently holds a licence permitting sale by retail of alcohol (for consumption off the premises only) Monday – Saturday 08:00 until 23:00 and Sunday 10:00 until 22:30.

·  Representations in support of the review have been received from responsible authorities including a Senior Liaison Enforcement Officer on behalf of Entertainment Licensing, Trading Standards and Local Ward Councillors.

·  Members were provided with the steps available to them in determining the application and those appropriate in the promotion of the licensing objectives.

West Yorkshire Police informed the Sub-Committee and provided the following information:

·  Harehills is in a Cumulative Impact Area and categorised as high where alcohol is related as a factor in relation to crime, anti-social behaviour, and violent crime. Harehills is also rated high in terms of ambulance callouts and alcohol related hospital stays. It has also been highlighted by a professional that Harehills is one of the most challenging areas in country due to serious issues relating to alcohol.

·  It is considered that this is not an isolated case, and it appears to be a systematic widespread failure to abide by the law and the premises licence.

·  The premises is one of the 12 put forward for a review by West Yorkshire Police, all for serious breaches and offences. It is believed that the stores are linked via organised crime and the same distribution of goods are being sold across the Harehills area.

·  A multi-agency operation took place on 30^th August 2023, where a visit to Bucharest was undertaken. During the visit, a number of goods were seized including 36 bottles of wine, 19 bottles of spirits and 6740 cigarettes. It is believed that this is not a one-off mistake.

Trading  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To receive and consider the attached report of the Chief Officer (Elections and Regulatory) regarding a report that informs Members that West Yorkshire Police, has served on the licensing authority an application under Section of the Licensing Act 2003 for a review of a premises licence in respect of, 54 Harehills Road, Harehills, Leeds, LS8 5LE.

The report of the Chief Officer (Elections and Regulatory) presented a report that informs Sub-Committee Members that West Yorkshire Police, has served on the licensing authority an application under 51 of the Licensing Act 2003 for a review of the premises licence in respect of Krakus, 54 Harehills Road, Leeds, LS8 5LE.

The grounds for review relate to the seizure of large amounts of non-duty paid alcohol.

The following were in attendance for this item:

·  PC Neil Haywood, West Yorkshire Police – Review Applicant

·  Victoria Radford, Entertainment Licensing – Representation in support of the Review

·  Babul Hussain, West Yorkshire Trading Standards - Representation in support of the Review

·  Councillor Ali Asghar, Local Ward Councillor - Representation in support of the Review

·  Emilia Slezak, Public Health – Witness on behalf of the Local Ward Councillors

·  Muzafar Piroti, Sole Director of Krakus Leeds Ltd – Licence Holder

·  Geoff Dixon, Manchester Licensing Training – Licence Holder’s Representative

·  Sajjad Mohammadi – Interpreter for the Licence Holder

The Legal Officer outlined the procedure for the hearing.

The Licence Holder’s Representative put forward a document to be tabled at the meeting. The information related to a copy of the Licence Holders passport and a return flight ticket. Mr Dixon explained the relevance of the information showed that Mr Piroti arrived in Turkey on 2^nd June 2023, and returned to the UK in October. The Sub-Committee agreed to accept the document and parties present did not object to it being considered.

The Licensing Officer provided the following information:

·  The application is made on the grounds of the prevention of crime and disorder and public safety.

·  The agenda pack includes information received from HMRC and photographic evidence.

·  Supplementary information received and published on the council website relates to information supplied by West Yorkshire Police regarding an immigration report and the arrest of an individual connected to Krakus.

·  The premises licence permits the sale by retail of alcohol everyday 07:00 until 23:00 and the opening hours every day 07:00 until 23:00.

·   Representations have been received from Entertainment Licensing, Trading Standards, and the Local Ward Councillors.

·  Members were provided with an overview of the options available to them in determining the application.

West Yorkshire Police informed the Sub-Committee and provided the following information:

·  Harehills is in a Cumulative Impact Area and categorised as high where alcohol is related as a factor in relation to crime, anti-social behaviour, and violent crime. Harehills is also rated high in terms of ambulance callouts and alcohol related hospital stays. It has also been highlighted by a professional that Harehills is one of the most challenging areas in country due to serious issues relating to alcohol.

·  It is considered that this is not an isolated case, and it appears to be a systematic widespread failure to abide by the law and the premises licence.

·  The premises is one of the 12 put forward for a review by West Yorkshire Police, all for serious breaches and offences. It is believed that the stores are linked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.