Agenda item

To receive and consider the attached report of the Chief Officer (Elections and Regulatory) advising Members of a temporary event notice (TEN) which has been received by the Licensing Authority in respect of an event at Halton Moor Amateur Boxing Club, Cartmell Drive, Halton, Leeds, LS15 0DE.

The report of the Chief Officer (Elections and Regulatory) advised Members of a temporary event notice (TEN) which has been received by the Licensing Authority in respect of an event at Halton Moor Amateur Boxing Club, Cartmell Drive, Halton, Leeds, LS15 0DE.

The notice has been submitted to authorise licensable activities during a contact sport event.

West Yorkshire Police served an objection notice to the TEN on the grounds of prevention of Crime and Disorder.

In summary, the application sought licensable activities for sale by retail of alcohol, provision of regulated entertainment and provision of late-night refreshment from 12:00 hours on the 17^{th of} September 2022 until 1:00 hours on the 18^{th of} September 2022. It was noted that the maximum capacity of the event is 400.

The following were in attendance for this item:

o  PC Andy Clifford (West Yorkshire Police)

The Legal Officer set out the procedure to be followed and the Licensing Officer outlined the application.

It was noted that since April 2018, the licence is currently suspended due to non- payment of the annual fee.

The applicant was not in attendance at the hearing.

PC Clifford addressed the Sub-Committee and explained the main reason behind his representation, related to an event held on 17^th October 2021. The incident related to attacks on two males that had visited the club. The males were denied alcohol due to not being able to pay in cash and could only pay by card. The males were then assaulted inside of the club. One of the males left their car and house keys inside the club, to which he later returned to retrieve his keys and was again assaulted. The injuries sustained led to hospital attention. It was believed that the suspects are linked to the operations of the club and following the attacks, the operators of the premises have been unwilling to co-operate with the police in terms of providing names and contact details of attendees and it is sensed that there is fear of reprisals amongst the attendees if they are seen to be helping the police.

Further to the event on 17^th October 2021, a female was assaulted outside of her home whilst trying to help her partner who was assaulted. A car window had also been damaged by a folding chair that apparently came from the premises in question. The chair was collected from the scene, and footage of this has been captured on CCTV.

PC Clifford explained that he did not previously object to the TEN for the event in December 2021 as the victim was not well enough to be interviewed when the TEN was served in October for the December event. It was believed that the victims of the assault are not being dishonest and are described as good people in the local community. Finally, PC Clifford confirmed that the club has not done anything to assist nor take responsibility for what has happened.

In response to questions from Sub-Committee Members, the following was confirmed:

·  Suspects have been arrested and released under investigation in relation to the assault, but no charges have been made as of yet.

·  The victims felt that the mood of the club changed once they spoke in Polish, but do not entirely believe that this is the reason behind the assault.

·  There has been no willingness from the club to assist the police in the ongoing investigation.

·  The club has previously mentioned installing CCTV but have not actioned this to date.

In summarising, PC Clifford asked the Sub-Committee to consider upholding the licensing objective of the prevention of crime and disorder. PC Clifford explained that the club has presented that crime and disorder is linked to the club and they are unwilling to work with the police. It was believed that even if the club installed CCTV, there would be no faith that the police will be able to gain access to footage in the future.

The Chair concluded the open session of the hearing before the Sub-Committee went into private session to make their decision.

The Licensing Sub-Committee carefully considered the report of the Chief Officer (Elections and Regulatory) and the representations submitted and made at the hearing. Therefore, it was

RESOLVED – To issue a counter notice against the event to prevent the event from taking place.