Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to disclose the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.

Review of premises licence Bay Leaves

Councillor Phil Neale, Other Interest: Councillor Phil Neale declared that he is a Ward Councillor for the ward in which the premises is located and that in the past he has eaten at the premises as a customer. He confirmed he has not been a customer of the premises within the past 18 months.

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

The Licensing (Hearing) Sub-Committee (“the Sub-Committee”) was asked to determine an application for review of a premises licence made under the Licensing Act 2003 – for the premises known as Bay Leaves, 364 Kingston Road, Ewell, KT19 0DT.

The Principal Licensing Officer introduced the report.

The License Holder’s Agent had no questions to ask of the Principal Licensing Officer.

The Sub-Committee had no questions to ask of the Principal Licensing Officer.

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

a)            He explained that the previous license holder had not informed the current holder of the immigration inspection that took place, nor the forthcoming fine from the Home Office, both of which came as a surprise to the current holder.

b)            He explained that he and the Licence Holder were aware of and sympathetic to the remaining objector’s concerns. He explained that they had tried to engage with the objector and were keen to resolve their concerns.

c)            He explained that all incidents in relation to the objections occurred during the time of the previous licence holder’s management. He stated that along with the remaining objector, the current holder too is a victim of the issues caused during time of the previous holder’s management, due to the adverse effect the objections could now have on the business.

d)            He explained that the previous licence holder had agreed a restrictive covenant to not come to the property or run a business within 2km of the premises and had agreed to relinquish the premises license and cease being the designated premises supervisor.

e)            He explained that proposed conditions addressing noise and public nuisance (seen at item 4, ‘Supplementary Information - Newly Proposed Conditions and Surrounding Correspondence’ (published as a supplement to the agenda)) had been provided for the Sub-Committee’s consideration.

The License Holder’s Agent responded to questions from the Sub-Committee, and the following was confirmed:

a)            Following a question from a Member, the Agent explained that the accusations of intimidation from staff towards local residents were in relation to car parking disputes and in relation to unwanted staring. The Agent confirmed that the concerns surrounding the unwanted staring had been rectified.

b)            The Agent explained that the Company have required that their staff park their cars away from the premises in order to prevent further car parking disputes and to reduce noise caused by staff. He explained that since the acquisition of the premises there have been no further complaints received in relation to car parking or noise from staff.

c)            The Agent suggested that the proposed conditions (Item 4) be implemented as additional conditions to the licence in the interest of the prevention of any potential public nuisance in the future.

d)            In response to a question from the Chair in relation to the ‘report [that] shall be submitted to the Council detailing the potential for noise from amplified music’, as listed amongst the proposed conditions (Item 4), the Agent explained that the intention  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.