Purpose

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

Content

Licensing Act 2003 – Licensing Panel Hearing Notification of
the Determination
 

Licensing panel hearing held virtually via Teams on Wednesday 9th
July 2025 in respect of the application for a variation of a
premises licence in respect of premises known as The Lord of Wine,
33 Western Road, Brighton, BN3 1AF

 
The panel has
considered the report of the Corporate Director of City Operations
with the relevant representations and the addendum submissions from
the applicant. It has listened carefully to all the points and
submissions made. In reaching its decision, it has had due regard
to the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy (SOLP) and
section 182 guidance.
 
The application is for
a variation of a premises licence currently authorising the sale of
alcohol off the premises every day, 08:00 to 23:00 hours. The
application is for an extension of these hours for off sales as
follows: Sunday – Thursday 07:00 – 03:00; Friday
– Saturday 07:00 – 04:00, with opening hours to match
these times. The premises is within the Cumulative Impact Zone
(CIZ) and therefore subject to the special policy on cumulative
impact as set out in the Statement of Licensing Policy.
 
Our policy states that
applications for variations of premises licences which are likely
to add to the existing cumulative impact, will be refused following
relevant representations unless the applicant has demonstrated that
their application will have no negative cumulative impact. The
special policy will only be overridden in exceptional
circumstances.
 
However, the policy is
not absolute. Upon receipt of a relevant representation, the
licensing authority will always consider the circumstances of each
case and whether there are exceptional circumstances to justify
departing from its special policy in the light of the individual
circumstances of the case. If an application is unlikely to add to
the cumulative impact of an area, it may be granted. The impact can
be expected to be different for premises with different styles and
characteristics. A matrix approach has also been adopted in the
policy which indicates that an off-licence in the CIZ would not be
granted, subject to the special policy.
 
Representations were
received from Sussex Police, and the Licensing Authority. The
representations raised the licensing objectives of the prevention
of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance, the
protection of children from harm and cumulative impact.
 
The police are
concerned about further increasing the availability of alcohol in
an area already suffering from relatively high levels of crime and
disorder, and many existing licensed premises. They cited crime
statistics which illustrated this with a peak crime rate from
midnight to 1:00 am. They are concerned that an additional licence
will thus add to negative cumulative impact. The applicant has not
addressed the location in the CIZ and there are no exceptional
circumstances demonstrated.
 
The licensing
authority is concerned about breaches of the current conditions
found upon inspection, notably CCTV issues, inadequate staff
training records, missing or incomplete refusals book. There is a
lack of awareness of obligations and conditions under the licence.
Furthermore, the application is contrary to policy, likely to add
to negative cumulative impact and no exceptional circumstances have
been shown.
 
The applicant
addressed the panel. He was applying for the extension in hours due
to economic hardship and competition from nearby shops with later
licences. The issues around the CCTV and refusal book were due to a
personal emergency and the need to visit Turkey. Everything was in
order now. He was willing to hire a security guard and comply with
all conditions. He would be willing to compromise on the hours to 1
or 2 am but no earlier. He operated responsibly with no
incidents.
 
The panel has
carefully considered this application on its merits and
in light of the concerns raised by the
Responsible Authorities and submissions by the applicant. The panel
is mindful of the location of these premises in the CIZ and that
the police have provided evidence of crime and disorder in the area
and that they strongly believe granting this variation or any
extension in hours would add to negative cumulative impact. The
licensing authority shares these concerns. The panel appreciate the
economic reasons for this application but do not consider that any
exceptional circumstances to depart from the special policy have
been shown. The previous breaches of conditions do not give the
panel confidence that the applicant could manage the risk involved
in granting such an extension and does not consider a security
condition would be adequate or able to deal with risk in the CIZ
especially once customers had left the premises. Overall, the panel
consider that granting this variation is very likely to add to the
cumulative impact of problems already in the area and thus
undermine the licensing objectives. As already stated, the panel
does not consider that exceptional circumstances have been shown in
this case. The application is therefore refused.