Minutes for Licensing Sub-Committee meeting, Apr 20 2009, 9.30AM official page

RESOLVED:

That Councillor Griffiths be appointed Chair for this meeting of the Sub-Committee.

Members and Officers are requested to give notice of any personal or prejudicial interest and the nature of that interest, relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the relevant Code of Conduct.

No declarations of interest were received.

Report of the Environmental Protection Director

The Sub-Committee considered the report of the Environmental Protection Director on an application served by Chief Superintendent Pilling, Merseyside Police, requesting a decision on interim steps to be taken prior to the Summary Review of the Premises Licence, under Section 53A of the Licensing Act 2003 in respect of the above named premises on the grounds that the premises had come to Police attention for issues of Serious Crime on three occasions in the past 8 months.

The report indicated that the Summary Review process allowed the police to trigger a fast track process to review a Premises Licence, where they considered that the premises were associated with serious crime or serious disorder (or both); and for the Licensing Authority to respond by taking interim steps quickly where appropriate, pending a full review.

Mr. A. Curcillo and Mr. D. Curcillo were listed as the Premises Licence Holders for the premise and Mr. D. Curcillo as the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS).

The Senior Licensing Officer advised the Sub-Committee that under Section 53 (B) (2) of the Licensing Act 2003, the consideration by the Sub-Committee whether to take interim steps may take place without the premises licence holders having been given the opportunity to make representations.

The Senior Licensing Officer indicated that under the Licensing Act 2003 Mr. D. Curcillo had inherited ‘grandfather rights’ as Premises Licence Holder / Designated Premises Supervisor, and therefore, had not been required to undertake training in the operation of licensable activities, in particular the sale of alcohol, as had those applicants that had applied for new licences and variations of licences for premises when the Licensing Act 2003 had come into force.

The Sub-Committee heard representations from Sergeant N. Cowell, on behalf of Chief Superintendent Pilling, in support of the application.  No witnesses were called.

Sergeant Cowell indicated that Merseyside Police had serious concerns with regards the overall management structure of the premises and the failure to promote the licensing objectives in respect of the Prevention of Crime and Disorder; and advised the Sub-Committee of the interim steps that the Licensing Authority should consider taking, namely:

• modification of the current conditions of the Premise Licence;

• exclusion of the sale of alcohol from the current permissions of the Premise Licence;

• removal of the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) from the Licence; or

• suspension of the Licence.

The Sub-Committee questioned Sergeant Cowell on his representation.

All parties agreed the issues that were in contention and the procedure that was to be followed.  There were no further preliminary issues raised and at the end of the representation everyone confirmed that they were satisfied that they had said all they wished to say.

The Sub-Committee retired under Regulation 14(2) of the Licensing Act (Hearings) Regulations 2005 (as amended) and thereby excluded the press and public whilst they reached their decision on the application. The Sub-Committee returned to give their decision in full.

RESOLVED: That

(1)

the Licence in respect of Ciros, also known as the Lounge Inn is hereby suspended with immediate effect; and

(2)

it be noted that the Summary Review meeting for the premise will be held at 10.00 a.m. on Thursday 14 May 2009, at Southport Town Hall.

Reasons:

The Sub-Committee have heard representations from Sergeant Cowell of Merseyside Police on behalf of Chief Superintendent Pilling.  The Premises Licence holders / Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) were not present or represented at the hearing.

The evidence presented to the Sub-Committee indicates a complete failure to promote the licensing objectives and in particular, the prevention of crime and disorder.

There was no evidence of training of the DPS or any of the staff.  It was clear that Mr. D. Curcillo, the DPS was not present at the premises or immediately contactable at or around the time of the incident on the evening of 12/13 April 2009.

The incident which occurred on 12/13 April was extremely serious and yet the Sub-Committee have heard that there was a delay of some three hours in the police being notified and that the crime scene had been cleaned prior to Police arrival.  It is a basic requirement that the Police be notified of any crime and/or disorder on a premise. 

The Sub-Committee’s attention was drawn to other breaches relating to this licence:

• the Premises Licence was not displayed;
• substantial food and refreshment is not available to the public when the premises is open; and
• there were issues relating to the position of the CCTV cameras, one of which was obscured by a large television screen, preventing the recording of the incident on 12/13 April.

The Sub-Committee do not consider that the modification of conditions, the exclusion of the sale of alcohol from the Licence or removal of the DPS are appropriate steps and see the only interim step to be taken is the immediate suspension of the Licence as sought by Chief Superintendent Pilling.