Purpose

Application for a Variation of a Premises
Licence under the Licensing Act 2003

Content

 
 Licensing Panel
(Licensing Act 2003 Functions) - Notification of the Determination
of Panel.
 
Licensing panel
hearing held virtually via Teams on Tuesday 4th February 2025 in
respect of the application for a variation of a premises licence in
respect of premises known as Brighton Chicken & Pizza, 50
London Road, Brighton BN1 4JD.
 
The panel has read all the papers and has
considered the written representations and all submissions made at
the hearing. The panel has also had regard to its Statement of
Licensing Policy (SoLP) and the
statutory guidance.
 
The application is within the Special Stress
Area (SSA) as defined in the Statement of Licensing Policy which is
an area of concern to the licensing authority because of the
relatively high levels of crime and disorder and nuisance
experienced with in it.
The application is for a variation to the
licence to extend the hours for the provision of late-night
refreshment for collection and delivery to 04:00 hours every
day.
 
Relevant representations were received from
Sussex Police, and the Licensing Authority. The concerns raised
related to the prevention of crime and disorder, prevention of
public nuisance and location in the SSA. Conditions had been agreed
between the applicant and Environmental Protection.
 
The police concerns focus on the location of
the premises in the SSA with London Road having a relatively high
number of incidents of crime and disorder, albeit mostly during the
day. A later licence would be likely to attract more people into
the area and lead to more incidents. There had been some issues
with the licence trading beyond their licence hours and as
advertised on the internet. Planning hours were more restrictive. A
set of conditions had been put forward, but the police still asked
for the application to be refused, as conditions would not fully
mitigate the risk of granting. The Licensing Authority set out the
policy concerns and the risk that granting later hours could add to
burdens within the SSA.
 
The applicant made the following submissions
with the manager present also. He had recently taken over the
business and taken steps to ensure compliance. He had undergone SIA
badge training to help deal with any issues of public nuisance. He
said his business was facing a tough time financially. He would
agree to all of the police conditions. Upon questioning by the
panel and others, it was established that the premises had parking
behind the shop for which they paid monthly and from where the
deliveries would pick up. There was no eating in, just 3 chairs for
waiting and no seating outside. The applicant said he was aware
that with the SIA badge he was not permitted to dual role. He said
they used their own drivers as opposed to third parties and would
agree to a condition stipulating this.
The panel has considered this application
carefully on its merits and is mindful of the location of the
premises within the SSA. On balance however, the panel considers
that a later operation for take away and delivery would not
undermine the licensing objectives. The evidence pointed to daytime
rather than late night issues in the area and the panel considers
that the chance of increased disorder and further incidents linked
to these premises opening later is speculative. The applicant
accepts the police conditions which are robust. There are also
conditions agreed with Environmental Protection. There will be no
outside seating area. The panel considers that it is appropriate to
grant the variation as follows: Sunday to Thursday, 23:00 to 02:00
hours, and Friday and Saturday, 23:00 to 04:00 hours, with opening
hours Sunday to Thursday, 12:00 to 02:00, and Friday and Saturday,
12:00 to 04:00. The panel attaches the following additional
condition as follows: The licence holder will use its own delivery
drivers and will not use external third-party companies. The panel
notes the planning restrictions, which specify earlier hours, and
while the two regimes are separate, premises should not operate in
breach of planning permission or could be liable to prosecution
under planning law so the situation should be regularised. The
panel attaches all the conditions agreed with the police and those
agreed with Environmental Protection and considers that all the
conditions attached will mitigate risk and promote the licensing
objectives.
 
The minutes of the panel will be available on
the Council’s website under the rubric ‘Council and
Democracy’.