Agenda and minutes

Councillor Ryk Downes was elected Chair of the Licensing Sub Committee 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 Services at least 24 hours before the meeting)

There were no appeals against the refusal of inspection of documents.

There were no exempt information. On this occasion there were no members of the public present.

Supplementary information submitted by West Yorkshire Trading Standards had been sent to the Members of the Licensing sub-committee and all interested parties. It was noted that the applicant’s solicitor was not in receipt of the supplementary information and was not able to respond to the information within the document. Therefore, the information was not heard during the hearing and Members did not use the information during their deliberations.

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.

No declarations were made.

To consider the report of the Head of Licensing and Registration for an application for the review of a Premises Licence under Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003, sought by West Yorkshire Police in respect of Hyde

Park Newsagent, 7 Hyde Park Road, Woodhouse, Leeds, LS6 1PY.

 (Report attached)

An application for the review of a premises licence under Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003, was sought by West Yorkshire Police in respect of Hyde Park Newsagent, 7 Hyde Park Road, Woodhouse, Leeds, LS6 1PY. West Yorkshire Police were in attendance for the hearing along with HM Revenues and Customs and West Yorkshire Trading Standards.

The premises licence holders Mr Mohebullah Noori and Mr Mohammed Akbar Noori were in attendance for the hearing with their solicitor Mr Hodgson. Mr Mohebullah Noori is the Designated Premises Supervisor for Hyde Park Newsagent.

West Yorkshire Police outlined the grounds for the review under the prevention of crime and disorder licensing objective. The premises had come to the attention of West Yorkshire Police via an application to extend the licensable activities at News and Booze. Checks were carried out with various agencies to ensure that there were no issues which had not been highlighted previously. The Off-licence premises and the Premises Licence Holder had been the subject of an investigation by HM Revenues and Customs. Over the last three consecutive years seizures had been made for counterfeit products and goods which had not had UK duty paid.

Members attention was drawn to page 21 of the agenda which listed the dates and the goods seized from Hyde Park Newsagent.

The officer from HM Revenues and Customs told the sub-committee of the procedure during the inspection of a premises and of notices issued where goods were seized. The Sub-committee were told that there had been five seizures at the Hyde Park Newsagents in which counterfeit alcohol and tobacco had been seized.

Members attention was drawn to counterfeit tobacco being found behind kickboards under shelving and on a later date concealed inside a live fuse box. 

Members were made aware of the effects that counterfeit products can cause. It has been documented that counterfeit tobacco can contain higher levels of nicotine and produce more carbon monoxide. The tobacco could also incorporate a mix of cancer causing chemicals including arsenic, cadmium, benzene and formaldehyde.

It has been documented that illicit alcohol has been known to contain chemicals used in antifreeze within their manufacture, can cause health issues ranging from nausea to blindness or coma and death.

The HM Revenues and Customs Officer told the Members that warnings had been issued and this was a normal procedure and although there have been several visits to the premises there was not enough to bring about a prosecution. The Officer was not able to say if other inspections had taken place which had resulted in no seizure of goods. West Yorkshire Police have brought no charges so far.

Members were told that these premises were situated in a student area.

The applicant’s solicitor told the sub-committee that Mr Mohebullah Noori was the current Designated Premises Supervisor for the premises having taken over in 2011 from his uncle Mr Mohammed Akbar Noori who is the Premises Licence holder for News and Booze, the premises are unrelated.

The committee heard  ...  view the full minutes text for item 125.

To consider the report of the Head of Licensing and Registration for an application for the review of a Premises Licence under Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003, sought by West Yorkshire Police in respect of News and Booze, 14 Eldon Terrace, Woodhouse, Leeds, LS2 9AB.

(Report attached)

An application for the review of a premises licence under Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003, was sought by West Yorkshire Police in respect of News and Booze 14 Eldon Terrace, Woodhouse, Leeds, LS2 9AB. West Yorkshire Police were in attendance for the hearing along with HM Revenues and Customs and West Yorkshire Trading Standards.

The premises licence holder Mr Mohammed Akbar Noori was in attendance for the hearing with his solicitor Mr Hodgson.

West Yorkshire Police outlined the grounds for the review under the prevention of crime and disorder licensing objective. The premises had come to the attention of West Yorkshire Police via an application to extend the licensable activities. Checks were carried out with various agencies to ensure that there were no issues which had not been highlighted previously. The Off-licence premises and the Premises Licence Holder had been the subject of an investigation by HM Revenues and Customs. Over the last three consecutive years seizures had been made for counterfeit products and goods which had not had UK duty paid.

Members attention was drawn to page 47 of the agenda which listed the dates and the goods seized from News and Booze.

The officer from HM Revenues and Customs told the sub-committee of the procedure during the inspection of a premises and of notices issued where goods were seized. The Sub-committee were told that there had been five seizures at News and Booze in which counterfeit alcohol and tobacco had been seized.

Members were made aware of the effects that counterfeit products can cause. It has been documented that counterfeit tobacco can contain higher levels of nicotine and produce more carbon monoxide. The tobacco could also incorporate a mix of cancer causing chemicals including arsenic, cadmium, benzene and formaldehyde.

It has been documented that illicit alcohol has been known to contain chemicals used in antifreeze within their manufacture, can cause health issues ranging from nausea to blindness or coma and death.

The HM Revenues and Customs Officer told the Members that warnings had been issued and this was a normal procedure and although there have been several visits to the premises there was not enough to bring about a prosecution. The Officer was not able to say if other inspections had taken place which had resulted in no seizure of goods. West Yorkshire Police have brought no charges so far.

Members were told that these premises were situated in a student area.

The applicant’s solicitor told the sub-committee that Mr Mohammed Akbar Noori was the current premises licence holder for the premises News and Booze with his nephew Mr Mohebullah Noori specified as the Designated Premises Supervisor. Mr Mohammed Akbar Noori is the main sales person at the premises, his wife who is currently pregnant assists behind the counter on occasion.

The committee heard that the clientele are students and locals with 50% of the business coming from the sale of alcohol.

The committee were told that items for sale are usually purchased from outlets including  ...  view the full minutes text for item 126.