This meeting will consider 4 applications for new and varied Premises Licences under the Licensing Act 2003. There will also be an opportunity for Councillors to declare any interests they have relating to any item on the agenda.

Application for a New Premises Licence - Primo, 1 Bury New Road, Manchester M8 8FW

This application by Primo Market Ltd, for a combined Nisa Local convenience store and first-floor lounge bar, has attracted objections from Greater Manchester Police, Manchester City Council Licensing and Out of Hours Compliance Team, Manchester City Council Trading Standards and Public Health. The application is seeking permission for the following licensable activities:

• Ground floor off licence: Monday to Sunday, 8am to 11pm, then 11pm to 8am via a night hatch
• Lounge bar:
  • Sale of alcohol for consumption on and off the premises: Sunday to Thursday 12pm (midday) to midnight, Friday to Saturday 12pm to 4am
  • Provision of regulated entertainment (recorded music): Sunday to Thursday 11pm to 11.59pm, Friday to Saturday 11pm to 4am
  • Provision of late night refreshment: Sunday to Thursday 11pm to 11.59pm, Friday to Saturday 11pm to 4am.
• Both: 11pm to 4am on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve

Objections have been raised around the applicant proposing a single Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) to cover both the shop and bar, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; how customers consuming alcohol purchased from the shop on the premises would be managed; contradictions in the application regarding when SIA security staff would be on duty; and the likely impact of the night hatch on crime and disorder, public nuisance and public safety.

Public Health also objected to the application on the grounds that “the hours applied for the sale of alcohol are excessive and approving the licence in its current form could harm the local Cheetham population, exacerbate inequalities in the city, and compromise all four licensing objectives”. They go on to say that “residents from Manchester and Cheetham are more likely to be vulnerable to alcohol-related harms” because “Manchester is ranked the 6th most deprived local authority in England” and “Cheetham is the 14th most deprived ward in Manchester”.

The applicant proposes to promote the licensing objectives by, among other measures, limiting the maximum capacity of the lounge bar to 70 people, employing two SIA licenced door staff from midnight on any night the bar remains open beyond this time, keeping all windows and doors on the first-floor lounge bar area closed after 11pm and providing a dedicated telephone line for residents to report any concerns or complaints. The applicant has also agreed to a condition, proposed by Trading Standards, that “all staff engaged in the sale of alcohol will be trained with regards to the Challenge 25 policy and sales by proxy”.

Application for a Premises Licence Variation - Tokies, 120 Burton Road, Manchester, M20 1LP

This application by VM Leasing Ltd, the new owners of Tokies, seeks to amend the premises’ floor plan, vary the opening and licensable hours and add new conditions. It has attracted objections from a local resident, Withington Civic Society and Councillor Gavin White.

The application is to extend the hours of licensable activity to 5am seven days a week. The report states that “Wraps & Wings often close their stores to the general public but continue delivery throughout the night, as they will do so here if granted” and proposes that the premises close to the general public at midnight from Sunday to Thursday and at 2am on Friday and Saturday, and that from these times until 5am, the premises “will offer delivery only”.

All of the objectors cited the potential for the variation to undermine the licensing objective of the prevention of public nuisance. This included concerns around noise pollution from traffic, deliveries and delivery drivers late into the night, kitchen sounds, including the extractor fan, and litter. Concerns were also raised about vermin associated with the industrial bins at the rear of the premises, and illegal and dangerous parking by customers.

The applicant proposes to address these concerns by, among other measures, keeping all doors closed during licensable hours except for access and egress, only permitting deliveries by drivers directly employed by the licensee, instructing delivery drivers to contact customers by text or quiet telephone call when they arrive, ensuring that delivery drivers wait inside the premises for collections, only delivering to registered residential or business addresses, providing delivery riders and drivers with clear written instructions regarding the responsible use of their vehicles, using bio-degradable food packaging clearly marked with the business name ‘Wraps & Wings’, prohibiting the movement of waste and recyclable materials between 9pm and 8am and ensuring that the area immediately outside the premises is swept and washed at the end of each day, with litter and sweepings stored in accordance with the approved refuse storage arrangements.

Application for a New Premises Licence - Cape Coast Bar, 86 Belle Vue Street, Manchester, M12 5PP

This application, by Nefisa Ankrah, is for the grant of a new Premises Licence for a restaurant and function room. An objection was received from Manchester City Council Neighbourhoods Team (NDT), who initially recommended that the application be refused on the grounds that it would have a detrimental impact on the area in terms of noise, anti-social behaviour and the health and wellbeing of residents. The NDT also felt that “more attention should have been paid to the waste provision at the premises”, stating that “we have had multiple complaints over the last few months with regards to waste being disposed of incorrectly at these premises, by the new owners”.

Agreements on conditions appear to have been reached between the applicant and the Licensing and Out of hours compliance team, who subsequently withdrew their objections. These conditions include limiting the licensable hours to the following:

• The supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises only: Monday to Sunday 12pm to 12am.
• Provision of Late-Night Refreshment: Monday to Sunday 11pm to 12am
• Recorded Music: Monday to Sunday 11pm to 12am.

The report also notes an agreement was reached with the Trading Standards team, on the condition that:

• All staff engaged in the sale of alcohol will be trained with regards to the Challenge 25 policy. This training will be documented, and training should be refreshed at no greater than 6 monthly Intervals.

It is unclear whether the NDT withdrew their objection after these agreements were made.

The applicant also proposes to promote the licensing objectives with a number of additional measures, including: installing and maintaining a comprehensive digital colour CCTV system, in line with Greater Manchester Police requirements, providing SIA registered door staff from 9pm on Friday and Saturday nights, monitoring amplified music levels “to ensure suitable levels of comfort to customers and prevent noise nuisance to residents”, using a dispersal policy to aid a controlled departure of customers, requesting taxis to collect passengers from the front of the building and not from Birch Street, and operating a ‘Challenge 25’ policy.

Application for a New Premises Licence - Cafe 11, 1046 Ashton New Road, Manchester, M11 4PE

This application by Trieu Limited is for the grant of a new Premises Licence for an English breakfast café that is also seeking permission to sell food and drinks, including alcohol, for online delivery only between 10pm and 6am.

Greater Manchester Police and Manchester City Council Licensing and Out of Hours Compliance Team objected to the application and recommended it be refused. GMP cited concerns that noise from delivery drivers collecting orders would cause an unacceptable level of disturbance to residents living in close proximity to the premises, and that this may result in confrontations and calls to the police.

The applicant’s operating schedule states that:

As its an online delivery service. We make sure the person paying is aged 18 and over. We do not sell alcohol to under age, drunk or anyone before the hours of 22:00. After the hour of 22:00 we only sell to online customers only. It is an online service. we will not be serving anyone besides online service delivery to customers home s.

GMP objected to this on the basis that it “offers nothing in terms of enforceable conditions, which gives the impression that the applicant has a limited understanding of the Licensing Objectives”. The Licensing and Out of Hours Compliance Team objected on similar grounds, stating that “the applicant has failed to provide sufficient steps on how they will ensure they uphold the Licensing Objectives”.

Manchester City Council Trading Standards also raised concerns about the application’s lack of attention to the Licensing Objective of the protection of children from harm, and proposed a number of conditions. These included operating the Challenge 25 scheme, displaying a message on the website notifying customers of this, training staff engaged in the delivery of alcohol on the policy, applying a sticker to all consignments of alcohol that reads “Note to delivery service, this package contains age restricted products. Ensure recipient is over 18”, and keeping a log of all instances where a consignment of alcohol has not been delivered because the recipient appeared to be under 18. It is unclear whether the applicant has agreed to these conditions.