Content

The unanimous decision of the
Committee is to grant the application. This is subject to an
amended schedule of conditions (attached to this decision notice)
which was also agreed unanimously, save for condition 1 which was
agreed by a majority.
 
The Committee in reaching its
decision has taken into
account:
 
· 
The evidence before it both written and
oral
 
· 
The relevant parts of the Council’s Statement
of Licensing Policy especially paragraphs 4.7, 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 7.3,
7.4.3, 7.12 and 7.14.
 
· 
The relevant parts of the Guidance issued by the
Secretary of State in particular paragraphs 1.16, 1.17, 2.1, 2.2,
2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 2.20, 2.21, 2.22, 2.23, 2.24,
2.25, 2.26, 2.27, 2.28, 2.31, 2.32 and 9.12.
 
Committee’s reasoning and
findings are:
 
Committee considered the
application as presented by the Applicant company. The company
director, Mr Thanh Hoa Nguyen, attended the hearing and was
supported by Ms Lana Nguyen, who spoke on behalf of the
Applicant.
 
At the outset, Ms Nguyen
clarified that the Applicant had initially misunderstood the hours
sought for licensable activities. This matter was resolved
following discussions with Northumbria Police, and the application
was amended accordingly, as detailed in Appendix 2. The Applicant
also agreed a schedule of licence conditions with both the Police
and, subsequently, the Licensing Authority, which added further
conditions to those originally agreed. These conditions are set out
in the Licensing Authority’s written representation and
included within the agenda report.
 
Ms Nguyen further advised that
the Applicant wished to amend the application by removing Late
Night Refreshment and off-sales of alcohol, confirming that the
premises would no longer provide takeaway services, delivery, or
click-and-collect. The application now sought authorisation solely
for on-sales of alcohol between 10:00 and 23:00 hours. The premises
would operate as a restaurant serving mainly cold food, such as
sushi and salads, with any hot food being pre-prepared off-site and
purchased from wholesale suppliers (e.g., Costco). Food service
would cease at 21:00 hours. Alcohol sales would be restricted to
customers ordering food, in accordance with a condition agreed with
the Police and Licensing Authority. This was clarified with the
Applicant, who confirmed he understood the requirements of this
condition i.e. that if a customer came into the premises after
21:00 hours and could not order food, they could therefore not just
order alcohol.
 
In response to questions, Ms
Nguyen confirmed that the premises had no gas supply, and any
heating or cooking would be limited to an air fryer, microwave, or
small salamander oven. The kitchen was described as small and
comparable to a domestic kitchen, which had led to a reduced menu.
Ms Nguyen acknowledged concerns raised by Environmental Health
regarding potential odour nuisance and explained that the menu was
designed to minimise such risk, given the existing extraction
system (two filters and recirculation).

Ms Alison Hunter, on behalf of Environmental Health, confirmed that
the substantial changes to the application addressed most concerns
raised in the earlier written representation. Reduced operating
hours alleviated noise concerns, and the removal of takeaway and
delivery services mitigated risks of on-street nuisance and public
safety issues. The risk of odour nuisance was considered minimal
due to the limited menu and domestic-style kitchen appliances. Ms
Hunter withdrew the earlier representation but proposed a revised
condition restricting the menu and kitchen use to that described by
the Applicant.
 
Committee also noted and had
regard to the written representation submitted by Mr Fox, a local
resident.
 
Decision
 
Committee carefully considered
all written and oral submissions presented in relation to the
application. It noted the significant amendments made to the
application since its original submission, as detailed in the
agenda papers. These amendments substantially reduced the scope of
the licensable activities originally sought. Further reductions
were made following the agreement of conditions with the Police and
the Licensing Authority, who subsequently withdrew their earlier
representations.
 
The application before
Committee was therefore limited to permitting the sale of alcohol
for consumption on the premises between 10:00 and 23:00 hours
daily.
 
Committee was mindful that the
Police and Licensing Authority had withdrawn their representations
on the basis of an agreed schedule of
conditions designed to promote the licensing objectives in the
context of the original application (subject to reduced hours for
alcohol sales). However, as the amended application no longer
included late-night refreshment, off-sales of alcohol, or
takeaway/delivery facilities, Committee reviewed the previously
agreed conditions and determined that several were no longer
appropriate, proportionate, or justifiable. In accordance with
statutory guidance on this topic, Committee resolved to remove
conditions relating to late-night refreshment, off-sales, and
takeaway/delivery services.
 
Committee also determined that
certain conditions should be amended to better reflect the intended
operation of the premises as a restaurant, with alcohol sales
ancillary to food service. It noted the position of Environmental
Health and was satisfied that the amended application would promote
the licensing objectives, particularly in respect of public
nuisance and public safety.
 
Committee considered the
outstanding representation from a local resident, Mr Fox, which
raised concerns about the proposed hours of licensable activity,
particularly in relation to early morning or midnight closing.
Given that the application had been amended to a terminal hour of
23:00 daily, Committee gave appropriate weight to this
representation in that context.
 
In reaching its decision,
Committee had regard to paragraph 9.12 of the statutory guidance
issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003, which
recognises each Responsible Authority as an expert in its
respective field.
 
Having considered all the
evidence and given appropriate weight to the representations and
submissions, Committee unanimously resolved to grant the
application as amended, namely:
 

To
permit the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises between
10:00 and 23:00 hours daily.

 
In relation to the operating
schedule and conditions, Committee unanimously agreed to remove all
conditions relating to off-sales of alcohol, late-night
refreshment, and takeaway/delivery services. By a majority decision
(Councillor Higgins dissenting), the Committee also resolved to
amend Condition 1 to restrict the restaurant to mainly cold food
and to permit only domestic kitchen appliances for the preparation
or heating of food. Committee, by majority, resolved to do so as
under the earlier conditions agreed with the Police and Licensing
Authority, the sale of alcohol was intrinsically linked to the sale
and therefore preparation of food. Having regard to the submissions
made by Environmental Health, Committee (by majority) concluded
that an amendment to condition 1 was therefore also required to
ensure the promotion of the licensing objective of prevention of
public nuisance.
 
Conditions
 
As per
the operating schedule attached to this notice. This schedule
includes the conditions agreed with Northumbria Police and the
Licensing Authority but removes all conditions which related to
off-sales, late-night refreshment and takeaway / deliveries, as
these were no longer relevant to the application and licensable
activity granted.
 
Right
of Appeal
 
There
is a right of appeal against this decision to Newcastle Magistrates
Court.  An appeal must be commenced
within 21 days beginning with the day on which you receive written
notification of the decision.
 
Conditions
 
1. 
The premises shall trade as a restaurant which mainly serves cold
food and only uses domestic kitchen appliances to prepare and heat
food.
 
2. 
There will be no change to the brand or operating style of the
premises without prior written notice to the Licensing Authority,
which shall include details of the brand or operating style of the
premises. The Licensing Authority shall advise within 21 days
whether a formal application for variation or a new application is
required and the licence holder shall
comply with that direction.
 
3. 
Alcohol shall only be sold to and consumed by patrons seated at a
table as ancillary to a table meal.
 
4. 
Waiter/waitress service shall be
available at all times the premises are open for licensable
activities.
 
5. 
The maximum numbers of persons (including staff)
allowed on the premises shall not exceed 40 persons.
 
6. 
The operator shall ensure that
at all times when the premises are open for any licensable
activity there are sufficient, competent staff on duty at the
premises for the purpose of fulfilling the terms and conditions of
the licence and for preventing crime and disorder.
 
7. 
The operator and designated premises supervisor
shall conduct a risk assessment for the general operation of the
premises and in the case of individual bespoke events.
 
8. 
The premises licence holder shall ensure that all
relevant members of staff receive training in their
responsibilities under the Licensing Act 2003.Staff training to
include the risk of proxy sales. Such training shall be documented
and records made available upon request from the police or an
authorised officer of the Licensing Authority. This will include
refresher training which shall be conducted at regular intervals
not exceeding 12 months and will be retained for 12
months.
 
9. 
A CCTV system shall be designed, installed and
maintained in proper working order, to the satisfaction of
Northumbria Police. Such a system shall: -
 
a. 
be operated by properly trained staff
b. 
be in operation at all times that the premise
are being used for a licensable
activity.
c. 
ensure coverage of all entrances and exits to the
licensed premises internally and externally.
d. 
ensure coverage of such other areas as may be
required by the Licensing Authority and Northumbria
Police.
e. 
During the times licensable activities are provided,
a member of management or staff will be contactable and trained in
the retrieval of CCTV footage, with the ability to download the
relevant footage onto a disc/memory stick within a reasonable time
of any request from Northumbria Police to do so.
f. 
provide continuous recording facilities for each
camera to a good standard of clarity. Such recordings shall be
retained on the hard drive for a period of 31 days and shall be
supplied to the Licensing Authority or Police Officer on
request.
 
10.An incident and refusals log
shall be maintained on the premises (in writing or digitally) to
record incidents and refusals and shall be made available to
officers of the licensing authority or Northumbria Police upon
request. Details of the following will be recorded:
 
a. 
Drugs or other illegal items recovered
b. 
All crimes reported to the premises or by the
premises to the police
c. 
All ejection of customer
d. 
Any incidents of disorder
e. 
Any faults in the CCTV system
f. 
Any visits made by a responsible
authority.
g. 
All logs will be retained for 12 months.
 
11.An alcohol sales refusal
register will be kept at the premises and be maintained to include
details of all alcohol sales refused. The register will include the
following:
a. 
The date and time of the refusal
b. 
The reason for the refusal.
c. 
Details of the person refusing the sale
d. 
Description of the customer
e. 
Any other observations.
 
12.The refusals register will be
made available for inspection and copying on request of an
authorised officer or responsible authority. All entries must be
made within 24 hours of the refusal.
 
13.There shall be displayed
suitable signage of sufficient size and clarity at the point of
entry to the premises and in suitable location at any points of
display and sale advertising customers that underage sales of
alcohol are illegal and they may be
asked to produce evidence of age.
 
14.The premises shall display
prominent signage indicating the Challenge 25 scheme is in
operation.
 
15.A Challenge 25 policy shall be
adopted ensuring that all members of staff at the premises shall
refuse to sell alcohol to anyone who appears to be under the age of
25 and who is seeking to purchase alcohol unless that person
provides credible photographic proof of age evidence. Such credible
evidence, which shall include a photograph of the customer, will
either be a passport, photographic driving licence, military ID or
Proof of Age card carrying a “PASS” logo.
 
16.A written record must be
available for inspection upon request by any responsible authority,
detailing the names of those members of staff who are authorised by
the Designated Premises supervisor to sell alcohol.
 
17.Prominent, clear and legible
notices will be displayed at the exists of the premises reminding
our customers to respect the needs of local
residents and to leave the premises quietly.