The Licensing Panel meeting considered a single application, to vary the licence of Bedfont Food and Wine, an off-licence in Feltham.

Bedfont Food and Wine Ltd, 164 Bedfont Lane, Feltham, TW14 9NA

The applicant, Bedfont Food and Wine Ltd, applied to vary the licence for their premises at 164 Bedfont Lane, Feltham, TW14 9NA in order to change the hours during which they are authorised to sell alcohol and open to the public.

The application requested permission to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises from 06:00 to 23:59, Monday to Sunday. The application also requested that the hours the premises are open to the public be changed to 06:00 to 23:59, Monday to Sunday.

The current licence permits the supply of alcohol off the premises at the following times:

• On weekdays, other than Christmas Day, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• On Sundays, other than Christmas Day, 10 a.m. to 10.30 p.m.
• On Christmas Day, 12 noon to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 10.30 p.m.
• On Good Friday, 8 a.m. to 10.30 p.m.

The current licence permits the premises to be open to the public at the following times:

• Monday to Saturday 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.,
• Sunday 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The report noted that two representations had been received in respect of this application, one from the Metropolitan Police and one from the Licensing Team, both statutory responsible authorities under the terms of the Licensing Act 2003.

The Metropolitan Police representation

PC Mark Johnstone, a Police Licensing Officer, submitted a representation on behalf of the Metropolitan Police.

The representation noted that:

The area this premises is located in is a highly residential area, close to two schools, a church, a community Centre and close to various Parks and open spaces.

It was the Police's view that if the application was granted without additional conditions:

it is highly likely that ASB and street drinking issues will simply start early in the day.

In particular the Police objected to the applicant's request to be permitted to sell:

any beer, lager, or cider that is equal to or greater than 6% ABV

and single cans or bottles of beer, lager or cider, because:

Street drinker tend to want to get intoxicated for the cheapest they can, hence why they purchase one strong in ABV can. Likewise non street drinkers who have little funds also tend to buy strong single cans to get drunk, and then go on to cause ASB in the community.

To address their concerns, the Police proposed that the application be granted, but that the hours the supply of alcohol is permitted be restricted to between 06:00 and 00:00. In addition the Police requested a number of additional conditions be added to the licence. When contacted by the applicant, the Police confirmed that they considered all of these conditions to be standard for new and amended licences. The conditions included:

• All staff involved in the sale of alcohol must receive regular training on the Licensing Act 2003.
• Alcohol can only be stored on site, not consumed.
• No beer, lager or cider equal to or greater than 6% ABV to be sold.
• No single cans or bottles of beer, lager, or cider to be sold.
• No miniatures (under 5cl) of spirits to be sold.
• Challenge 25 to be in operation at all times.
• CCTV to be in operation in all areas of the premises where alcohol is stored and sold.
• A member of staff who is conversant in the operation of the CCTV system must be on the premises at all times, and able to provide recordings to the Police or an Authorised Officer of the Council.

The Licensing Authority representation

Charlie Hennessy, Licensing Enforcement Officer, submitted a representation on behalf of the Licensing Authority.

The Licensing Authority representation agreed with the Police that the area:

has been highlighted as an area of concern with regards to street drinking which in turn has lead to ASB due to drunken behaviour.

The Licensing Authority also agreed that the conditions proposed by the Police be added to the licence, but proposed that the hours the premises is authorised to supply alcohol be restricted to between 07:00 and 00:00.

The Licensing Authority representation noted that the applicant had agreed to the conditions proposed by the Police with the exception of the restrictions on high-strength beers, lagers and ciders and single cans and bottles of those drinks.

The Licensing Panel were provided with a copy of the Council's constitution, the Council's Licensing Policy and its procedure for the conduct of panel hearings.