Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Myla Arceno, Robert Boyle, Stephen Booth, Akin Elekolusi, Coleen Houlihan, Mason Humberstone, Lin Martin-Haugh, Claire Parris and Anne Wells.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the previous meeting of the Committee held on 28 March 2024.

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 28 March 2024 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To note the Terms of Reference for the Committee, as agreed by the Annual Council Meeting on 22 May 2024.

It was RESOLVED that the Terms of Reference be noted.

To note the procedure for the hearing of licensing applications and reviews.

All parties noted the procedure for the Hearing which had been circulated with the agenda.

To determine an application for a review of the premises licence for Oval Wines, 9 The Oval, Stevenage, SG1 5RA made by Hertfordshire Constabulary.

The Committee considered an application for a review of the premises licence for Oval Wines, 9 The Oval, Stevenage, SG1 5RA made by Senior Licensing Officer Gill Ackroyd of Hertfordshire Constabulary.

The Council’s Licensing Officer presented a report to the Committee outlining the facts of the application. The Licensing Officer advised that the grounds for the review brought by the Police fell under all four of the Licensing Objectives, prevention of Crime and Disorder, Public Safety, Prevention of Public Nuisance and Protection of Children from Harm.

The application for review was accepted as valid and duly made by the Council on 29th October 2024.

Representations had been made by Hertfordshire Trading Standards, as a Responsible Authority, in support of the review application, based on the discovery on the premises of illegal tobacco products and a prescription-only medication.

No representations were made by other responsible authorities or by members of the public.

The Chair invited all parties to ask questions to the Licensing Officer regarding their report. There were none.

The Chair then invited the Police to state their case.

The Police representatives spoke to the basis of their application for review of the licence. They spoke of incidents connected with the premises and said that they had serious concerns about the management of the premises.

On 3 October 2024 Police had been present when illegal items had been seized. These were illegal tobacco products and cigarettes. A Viagra-type jelly was found in the shop which could only be sold with a prescription. There were items of drugs paraphernalia (a grinder and small bags). £4,000 in cash was found in a bag and was seized. No explanation had been offered for the presence of the cash.

Drugs wipes were used on the visit, which showed strong indications of cocaine use in the toilet, sink and kitchen area, as well as on both sides of the customer counter. However, no drugs were found on the premises.

The License Holder had failed to produce CCTV footage in breach of licence conditions. The request for CCTV footage was made in the light of a very serious incident on 30 August 2024 involving gang violence in the vicinity of the premises. CCTV footage was requested on a subsequent visit to the shop on 3 October 2024 but, again, was not available.

It was a licence condition that the Designated Premises Supervisor, Mr Polat, should be readily available but attempts by the Police to contact him had failed.

The Police were concerned that the “Oval Gang” was using the shop as a base and was dealing drugs either within the shop or in its close vicinity.

The Police believed that the Licence Holder supported customers against the Police and did not co-operate in supporting Police efforts to tackle crime and disorder in the area. On one occasion, gang members escaped through the shop. The Licence Holder had not contacted the Police to alert them to the incident on 30 August despite being present and did  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

To consider any Part I business accepted by the Chair as urgent.

There was no Urgent Part I Business.

To consider the following motions –

1.  That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraphs1 – 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act as amended by Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006.

2.  That Members consider the reasons for the following reports being in Part II and determine whether or not maintaining the exemption from disclosure of the information contained therein outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

Not required.

To consider any Part II Business accepted by the Chair as urgent.

There was no Urgent Part II Business.