Agenda and draft minutes

To appoint a Chair for the Licensing (Hearings) Sub-Committee meeting.

The Sub-Committee unanimously agreed that Councillor Steve Bridger be appointed as Chair of the meeting.

To receive declarations of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or other registrable or non-registrable interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.

No declarations of any disclosable pecuniary interests or other registrable or non-registrable interests were made by Members in respect of any items considered at the meeting.

Members are requested to determine an application to vary a premises licence where the authority has received relevant representation.

The Sub-Committee received a report to determine an application to vary a premises licence for Epsom Grill, 3 Waterloo Road, Epsom KT19 8AY where the authority had received relevant representation.

The Principal Licensing Officer introduced the report.  Within his introduction he stated the following:

a)             That the measures proposed by the Applicant to promote the four licensing objectives will be converted into enforceable conditions on the license if granted and unless the sub-committee make any changes.

b)             Paragraph 2.7 of page 7 had been amended to say no reports or records of complaints in respect of the above events.

c)             Paragraph 3.2 of page 7 had been amended to 11 December 2026 rather than 2025.

The Sub-Committee invited the Applicant and other parties to ask questions of the Principal Licensing Officer. 

d)             No parties had any questions to ask of the Principal Licensing Officer.

The Sub-Committee were invited to ask questions of the Principal Licensing Officer.

e)             The Sub-Committee had no questions at this time.

The Sub-Committee invited the Applicant to make an opening submission.  The Licensing Consultant (Applicant’s representative) provided an opening submission on behalf of the Applicant.

f)               Epsom Grill had been trading several years, was a takeaway service and did not deal with alcohol and were seeking a variation of operating hours on Friday and Saturday nights until 4am.

g)             Several Temporary Events Notices (TENS) had been applied for in the past year to extend operating hours.  Recently, 10 applications had been made for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve which had no incidents and received no negative feedback from authorities. This showed the business acting responsibly and safely.

h)             Relying on TENS was not good for the business as it was difficult to plan in advance especially when they have short notice of events.  The Applicant did not hold a personal licence so can only do two lates per year and this does not cover customer demand.

i)               During the application process the police registered a complaint citing concern about the crime rates in the town centre but confirmed that only a small number of incidences were directly linked to premises nearby. Therefore, Epsom Grill was not the main cause of crime or disorder.  The police also cited that extended hours would contribute to people loitering in the area for longer periods but there was a club open not far from Epsom Grill that operated until 3am. Chicken Valley also operated until 2.30am.  By allowing the application it would assist with dispersal of people as there would be multiple locations available rather than having them all at one venue.

j)               The Applicant was happy to employ one SI door supervisor on Friday’s and Saturday’s if the Committee thought this necessary. The Applicant was also happy to accept strong conditions such as CCTV, incident logs litter picking and dispersal signage.

The Sub-Committee were invited to ask questions of the Applicant.

k)             The Sub-Committee had no questions at this time.

The Sub-Committee invited other parties to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.