Agenda and minutes

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interest they may have in any matter which is to be considered at this meeting.

None declared.

The Licensing Officer presented a report from the Corporate Director of Customer Services in respect of a request by the Metropolitan Police for a review of the Premises Licence for 126 St Mary’s Parade, Barking.

PC Corrine Holland presented the case for the Police and explained the grounds for the review request which centred on the following:

• On 22nd August 2009 the Premises failed a test purchase conducted by the Police and Trading Standards Officers
• The Premises operates a refusal book which is not currently a condition of the License
• A ‘No ID no Sale’ poster was on display behind the counter
• PC Mahoney, the local Safer Neighbourhood Officer has stated that the owners of this shop are usually very conscientious about who they serve and he had received no complaints about the shop selling underage in the last two and a half years
• These Premises passed the two previous test purchases 
• The police have decided to ask for a review in this case as not only has an underage sale been made as a result of a test purchase operation, but the Premises Licence was a conversion from the Licensing Act 1964, therefore there are no conditions attached aimed at supporting the Licensing Objectives. Therefore, the Police were proposing specific conditions be imposed in order to uphold the Licensing Objectives. 

The Board questioned whether the condition that all alcoholic drinks be individually labelled with stickers identifying the Premises as the source of the item was appropriate in this case, as it would have financial implications for the License Holder. In response, PC Holland accepted this however, added that the condition helps the Police to identify the source of alcoholic drinks when found in the possession of people under the age of 18.

The Board questioned why three test purchases had been carried out on the premises in the past year. PC Holland responded that it was normal practice to carry out these tests to monitor whether license holders were complying with the law. Furthermore, the government is also placing increasing pressure on the Police to carry out test purchases.

The Premises Holder and the Designated Premises Supervisor, Mr Ali Eren Yuruk, put his case to the Board, which was as follows:

• He apologised for the Premises failing the test purchase carried out by the Police and Council and stated that it was a one-off error made by a member of staff who thought the test purchase volunteer looked over the age of eighteen
• He regularly trained his staff on his policies on selling alcohol
• He operates CCTV and a refusal book although currently these were not conditions of his License
• He was working closely with PC Mahoney who would confirm that the Premises has a good record
• He would willingly comply with the conditions imposed by the Police

On questioning, Mr Yuruk confirmed that there were three members of staff working at the Premises and that although a Challenge 21 poster was displayed, during the occasion in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

The Chair stated that the Premises License Holder and Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS), Mr Moeen Anwar had informed officers that he had only received the hearing documents today and hence, did not have enough time to prepare his case.

On questioning, the Licensing Officer stated that the notice of hearing and the representations made by the Police were sent to Mr Anwar on 8 October 2009. The Police stated that they also sent a copy of their papers to him in sufficient time for today’s meeting.

The Board considered whether the meeting should be adjourned and sought representations from the Applicant.

The Board agreed that the hearing should proceed in Mr Anwar’s absence because the relevant papers were sent to Mr Anwar ten working days before the hearing, in line with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005. Mr Anwar had also not attended this meeting, nor had he made any representations requesting an adjournment.

The Licensing Officer presented a report from the Corporate Director of Customer Services in respect of a request by the Metropolitan Police for a review of the Premises Licence for Ramune, 763 Becontree Avenue, Dagenham.

PC Corrine Holland presented the case for the Police and explained the grounds for the review request which centred on the following:

• Two underage sales of alcohol have taken place within five months of each other

• Although a Challenge 21 poster is on display it is obscured by bottles of alcohol on both visits to the shop

• A refusal book did not appear to be in existence at the time of both underage sales. It has never been checked and signed by the DPS, Mr Anwar

• There is no written record of authorisation by the DPS to make sales of alcohol

• Staff training logs have not been kept. Forged training logs were produced to Police and Trading Standards Officers during a formal interview.

• Mr Anwar had made no attempt to obtain a copy of his licensing conditions since he received a letter from the Police dated 15 May 2009. He could not abide by them if he didn’t know what they were

The Police feel that the accumulation of the above failures are a serious issue which show a total lack of regard for the Licensing Law, and a complete absence of any professional management ability.

Upon questioning, the Licensing Officer confirmed that the hours listed under the current licensable activities section of the report should have read 11:00 to 23:00 as opposed to 08:00 to 23:00.

On questioning, PC Holland  confirmed that the Premises passed two test purchases on 27 February 2008 and 3 December 2008, which were omitted from the Police’s representations because they were conducted some time ago. She accepted that when outlining the premises’ history in their representations, the Police should take into account the same period of time for each application to ensure a consistent approach.

Following private deliberations, having considered the evidence and taking into account the Licensing Objectives, particularly the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.