Agenda item - The Brighton Zip Licensing Panel (Licensing Act 2003 Functions)

Report of the Executive Director Housing, Neighbourhoods and Communities (copy attached)

3.1      The Panel considered a report of the Executive Director, Housing, Neighbourhoods and Communities requesting that they and determine a notification of a Temporary Event Notice in view of formal objection(s) to it by a relevant person under section 104(2) of the Licensing Act 2003.

          Presentation by the Licensing Officer

3.2      The Licensing Officer, Jo Osborne explained that a TEN was sought to cover the sale of alcohol during the following periods

        These Temporary Event Notices relate to the time periods below: 

23^rd October 2021 Opening Hours: 12:00 to 23:30, Sale of Alcohol: 12:00 to 23:00

24^th October 2021 Opening Hours:12.00 to 22.30, Sale of Alcohol: 12.00 to 22.00

30^th October 2021 Opening Hours: 12:00 to 23:30, Sale of Alcohol: 12:00 to 23:00

31^st October 2021 Opening Hours: 12:00 to 22:30, Sale of Alcohol: 12:00 to 22:00

6^th November 2021 Opening Hours: 12:00 to 23:30, Sale of Alcohol: 12:00 to 23:00

7^th November 2021 Opening Hours: 12:00 to 22:30, Sale of Alcohol: 12:00 to 22:00

3.3      The Panel were required to consider the submission received from the Police and needed to decide whether it was necessary for the promotion of the licensing objectives of the Prevention of Crime and Disorder and Public Safety, to issue a counter notice to prevent the events from taking place.

          Submission by Sussex Police

3.4      Mark Thorogood was in attendance on behalf of the Police and explained that the police had concerns about the way the premises had been managed under the previous premises licence which had recently lapsed on the liquidation of Happyvale Limited. The applicant in this case, Madeira Leisure Limited, appeared to have links to that company, so it is reasonable for the Police and Panel to have regard to the behaviour of the previous licence holder. The Police witnessed concerned that the premises was moving away from a restaurant style of operation to a café style. This was also a challenging location within the Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ) with a relatively high number of incidents drawing upon police and other resources. breaches of the restaurant condition on the licence and did not have confidence that the premises will promote the licensing objectives. They were particularly concerned that the premises was moving away from a restaurant style of operation to a café style. This was also a challenging location within the Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ) with a relatively high number of incidents drawing upon police and other resources. 

          Submission by the Applicants

3.5      On behalf of the applicant and premises user it was stated that they were going through a period of change for the site as a whole. A new premises licence had been applied for.  The applicant accepted that there had been breaches of the restaurant condition under the old licence which was due in part to some misunderstanding of the relevant law. They now appreciated the situation and wished to re-build confidence and trust in their operation of the premises and these applications represented a controlled way in which to do this.  The Temporary Event Notices made it clear that the conditions in Annex A would be adhered to during the temporary events. These included waiter/waitress service and availability at all times of substantial food.

          Closing Submissions

3.6      No further issues were raised and the Licensing Officer made their closing submission reminding Members of the germane issues they needed to consider when determining the application. Each of the other parties then made their closing submissions reiterating the points they had made earlier in the meeting.

          The Decision

3.7      The Chair stated that the panel had read all the papers and listened carefully to the representations made by both Sussex Police and the applicant.The Panel had decided not to issue a counter notice to the premises user in respect of the above events. This means that the events could go ahead.

3.8      The police had concerns about the way the premises were managed under the previous premises licence which recently lapsed on the liquidation of Happyvale Limited. The applicant in this case, Madeira Leisure Limited, appeared to have links to that company, so it was reasonable for the Police and Panel to have regard to the behaviour of the previous licence holder. The Police had witnessed breaches of the restaurant condition on the licence and did not have confidence that the premises will promote the licensing objectives. They were particularly concerned that the premises was moving away from a restaurant style of operation to a café style. This was also a challenging location within the Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ) with a relatively high number of incidents drawing upon police and other resources. 

3.9      On behalf of the applicant and premises user it was stated that they were going through a period of change for the site as a whole. A new premises licence had been applied for.  The applicant accepted that there had been breaches of the restaurant condition under the old licence which was due in part to some misunderstanding of the relevant law. They now appreciated the situation and wished to re-build confidence and trust in their operation of the premises and these applications represented a controlled way in which to do this.  The Temporary Event Notices made it clear that the conditions in Annex A would be adhered to during the temporary events. These included waiter/waitress service and availability at all times of substantial food.

3.10    The panel needed to decide these applications on their merits and take appropriate action to promote the licensing objectives. The panel did share the police’ concerns about the way in which the premises was managed under the previous licence and acknowledged that this was a challenging area and within the CIZ. However, the panel noted that the Police had not identified any concerns during a licensing check undertaken on the weekend of 2^nd/3^rd October.  The panel also recognised that the applicants did accept responsibility for the way in which the premises had been run and were keen to rebuild trust with the authorities. In particular, they are anxious to work with the Police to fine tune conditions and policies in connection with their current licence application. The panel considered that it is appropriate to allow these events to go ahead to give the premises an opportunity to demonstrate they can operate responsibly and promote the licensing objectives.

3.11    RESOLVED – That Temporary Event Notices be issued as set out above for the events stipulated for the Brighton Zip Wire, Duke’s Mound, Brighton.