Issue - meetings

The Licensing (Hearing) Sub-Committee (“the Sub-Committee”) is being asked to determine an application to vary a premises licence made under the Licensing Act 2003.

The Licensing (Hearing) Sub-Committee (“the Sub-Committee”) was asked to determine the substantive application made by Mr Bilal Gilgil for a variation of a premises license under the Licensing Act 2003 – for the premises known as: Epsom Grill, 3 Waterloo Road, Epsom, Surrey, KT19 8AY.

The Principal Licensing Officer introduced the report.

The Principal Licensing Officer clarified that Objector Councillor Neil Dallen, as Town Ward Councillor, was speaking on his own right and not on behalf of any other persons.

The Applicant and his Agent had no questions to ask of the Principal Licensing Officer.

The Objectors had no questions to ask of the Principal Licensing Officer.

The Responsible Authority (“Surrey Police”) had no questions to ask of the Principal Licensing Officer.

The Principal Licensing Officer responded to questions from the Sub-Committee, and the following was confirmed:

a)            The Principal Licensing Officer confirmed Licensing and Planning legislation are separate regimes. He explained the Sub-Committee may refuse or grant a license contradictory or dissimilar to Planning permissions, and that Planning permissions are not of relevance to the decision-making process of the Sub-Committee in relation to Licensing legislation.

The Sub-Committee received a verbal representation from the Agent (on behalf of the Applicant):

a)            She confirmed the photos of the front of the premises provided in the supplement to the agenda were taken on a Friday night after 02:00.

b)            She confirmed that at the current date, the Applicant had been the manager of the business for 6 months, following a transfer application made in July 2022. She stated that previous cases of crime and disorder associated with the premises occurred during the time of the previous management, and that there had been no recorded crimes associated with the premises over the past 6 months.

c)            She stated that the business does not attract additional people to the area, and that people congregate outside the front of the premises regardless, as they wait for taxis after leaving the neighbouring nightclubs. She stated that Applicant’s intention is to provide hot food and complimentary tea/coffee to patrons as they wait for taxis and would not be selling any alcoholic drinks.

d)            She confirmed that the Applicant had proposed conditions to provide bins outside the front of the premises, at his own expense, and for his staff to clean the area after closing hours to prevent and clean up any litter left by patrons.

e)            The Agent confirmed that the Applicant now wished to propose the following conditions:

The provision of late-night refreshment until 03:00, with a closing time of 03:30, Thursday to Saturday.

f)             The Agent confirmed that in the event the Sub-Committee granted the application, the Applicant would agree to all Surrey Police’s proposed conditions (page 50 of the agenda) except for one, being condition 3, ‘the management and staff will make all reasonable attempts to make sure the premises is not open to members of the public after 02:00’, stating that this contradicted the Applicant’s proposal to sell food and drink until 03:00.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6