Agenda item

Review of the Premises Licence for Madison Bar & Grill, 486 Harehills Lane, Leeds, LS9 6NG

To receive and consider the attached report of the Chief Officer, Elections and Regulatory

Minutes:

The report of the Chief Officer, Elections and Regulatory presented an application from the Licensing Authority for the review of a Premises Licence held at Madison Bar & Grill. Representations had also been made by West Yorkshire Police and the Environmental Protection Team

 

Prior to the hearing all parties present agreed to the application being considered by two Members of the Sub-Committee.  The Legal Officer then informed of the procedure to be followed for the hearing.

 

The following were in attendance:

 

Carmel Brennan – Licensing Authority

PC Andy Clifford – West Yorkshire Police

Laura Ramsden – Supporter of the premises

Steve Kelly – Supporter of the premises

Salman Haydaran

 

The Licensing Officer outlined the application to review the license which had been submitted with regards to the prevention of crime and disorder and public nuisance.  There had also been representations submitted by West Yorkshire Police and the Environmental Protection Team.  There had also been 13 individual representations of support for the premises.

 

Carmel Brennan outlined the case on behalf of the Licensing Authority.  This was the third review that had been submitted for the premises although previous reviews had included different operators. The sub-committee was given a summary of the outcome of previous reviews.  The current Premises Licence had been granted in October 2020 following the agreement of a number of additional conditions.  Concern had been raised following an incident at the premises and it had become clear that there had been breaches of the licence and conditions and the premises had been issued with a closure notice.

 

Further issues highlighted included the following:

 

·  Reference was made to the conditions to the licence and that these had appeared to have been ignored despite being given the appropriate advice on several occasions.

·  There was some confusion over who was running the premises.  A previous DPS and the landlord of the building, Mr Salman Haydaran was believed to still be involved with the running of the premises.

·  There was no confidence that the premises could be operated in a safe way under the existing management of be compliant with the licence and law.

·  In response to questions from the Sub-Committee, the following was discussed:

o  The premises claimed to be operating in a restaurant style and would be food led in order to obtain a licence.

o  Concerns over the CCTV provision and staff not being able to operate the system.  This was considered to be one of the most important conditions of the licence.

o  Provision of a drug safe.

o  Concerns in the food safety officers report about carbon monoxide.

 

PC Clifford addressed the Sub-Committee with information to support the review.  This included the following:

 

·  Reference was made to previous incidences of crime and disorder and public nuisance that was associated with the premises.

·  There were still links to previous licence holders when the problems had occurred and conditions of the licence ignored and it was felt that there was an unwillingness to comply with the licence.

·  Concern that the premises was still being managed by a Mr Haydaran who was a previous licence holder who was in charge when stabbings had occurred at the premises.

 

Mr Haydaran was given opportunity to address the Sub-Committee.  He informed the Sub-Committee that he had never been told he was not allowed to work at the premises and had been told that he could apply for a premises licence.  He had invested £70k in the building and the latest DPS was Mr Wilson who had since passed away.  Mr Hoskins ran the Madison Bar and Grill while Mr Haydaran was responsible for the building.  Any involvement he had had with the running of the bar had been at the request of Mr Hoskins and Mr Haydaran did not normally have anything to do with the licensed part of the business.  There was a new manager and director to run the licensed premises.

 

The Sub-Committee heard from members of the public who had submitted letters of support for the premises.  Issues highlighted included the following:

 

·  It was surprising to hear that there had been breaches of regulations at the premises.

·  It would be disappointing to see the premises lose their licence and ability to operate.

·  The staff are highly experienced and know what is required and acceptable to run a licensed premises.

·  There had not been any kind of anti-social behaviour witnessed and any incidents referred to occurred during the previous management of the premises.  There had not been anything of concern witnessed.

·  An offer to assist with the management of the premises and ensuring the license was operated in a compliant manner.

·  The premises was one of the few places where local residents could socialise.  It would be of great loss to the area.

·  I have always felt safe and secure when attending the premises.

 

In summary, the Licensing Authority informed the Sub-Committee that support was available to all licensed premises.  The letters of support for the premises  were acknowledged but did not show an awareness of the intricacies of licensing legislation and compliance.  There was no confidence that the existing Premises Licence holder could manage the premises whilst up[holding the licensing objectives and it was requested that the licence be revoked

 

The Chair concluded the open session of the hearing before the Sub-Committee went in to private session to make their decision.  All parties were informed that the decision would be sent within 5 working days.

 

The Licensing Sub-Committee carefully considered the report of the Chief Officer, Elections and Regulatory, the Statement of Licensing Policy and the representations submitted and made at the hearing.

 

RESOLVED – That the Premises Licence for Madison Bar & Grill, 486 Harehills Lane, Leeds, LS9 6NG be revoked.

 

 

Supporting documents: