The Licensing Sub-Committee was scheduled to convene to review the premises licence for New Golden Gate, a restaurant located at 18 Stonecot Hill, Sutton. The meeting was also scheduled to approve the minutes of previous meetings held on 23 June 2025, 26 June 2025, 4 July 2025 and 7 July 2025.

Here's a breakdown of the key items from the agenda:

Licence Application - New Golden Gate

The primary focus of the meeting was to be a review of the premises licence for New Golden Gate following an application made by the Home Office Immigration Enforcement Licensing Compliance Team (IELCT). The application for review was submitted on the grounds that the restaurant had failed to uphold the licensing objective of 'the prevention of crime and disorder' due to instances of illegal working identified at the premises.

Background

According to the Public reports pack, two enforcement visits were conducted by the South London Immigration Compliance Enforcement (ICE) team:

• 9 April 2024: Two individuals were found to not have the right to work in the UK. One was encountered working as front of house staff, and the other was encountered at the rear of the kitchen wearing chef whites.
• 4 September 2024: Three individuals were encountered, two without the right to work and one working in breach of conditions.

The report pack also notes that New Golden Gate Restaurant Sutton Ltd was issued a £90,000 civil penalty on 23 October 2024 for employing two people without the right to work in the UK. The penalty was upheld on 26 November 2024, and the company did not appeal.

Reasons for the Review

The Public reports pack states that Section 36 and Schedule 4 of the Immigration Act 2016 amended the Licensing Act 2003 to introduce immigration safeguards in respect of licensing applications made in England and Wales on or after 6 April 2017, with the intention of preventing illegal working in licensed premises.

The report pack argues that because the same illegal worker was found on both occasions, and the owner was present on both occasions, there are questions about the right to check process prior to employment at the premises.

The report pack also notes that the premises licence was not displayed, and the CCTV was not operational during the visits.

Potential Outcomes

The Licensing Sub-Committee had the power to take various actions, including:

• Taking no further action.
• Modifying the licence conditions.
• Excluding a licensable activity from the licence.
• Removing the designated premises supervisor.
• Suspending the licence for up to three months.
• Revoking the licence.

The Public reports pack notes that Immigration Enforcement requested that the premises licence be revoked.

Statements in Mitigation

The report pack included statements from [Redacted], the licence holder of The New Golden Gate, [Redacted], the business owner/supervisor role of licence of New Golden Gate Restaurant, and [Redacted] of J.Preedy Solicitors Ltd, on behalf of both [Redacted] and [Redacted].

[Redacted]'s plea statement in the Public reports pack states:

I do not seek to defend my actions-only to express my sincere remorse. This was entirely my fault, stemming from a lack of proper oversight. I failed in my duty as a licence holder, and for that, I am profoundly sorry.

[Redacted]'s plea statement in the Public reports pack states that upon discovering the issue, immediate corrective action was taken, including terminating the employment and implementing stringent right-to-work verification procedures.

[Redacted]'s legal representation submission in the Public reports pack states that since the incidents, significant steps have been taken to comply with all legal obligations, including:

• Displaying the premises licence prominently.
• Implementing rigorous right-to-work checks for all staff, with documented evidence now maintained on-site.
• Terminating engagements with unauthorised workers and ensuring all current employees hold valid visas.
• Cooperating fully with Home Office visits, which confirmed these improvements post-incident.

Licensing Sub-Committee - Hearings Procedure

The Licensing Hearing Procedures document outlines how licensing applications will be dealt with. The document states that where there is a relevant representation to an application or a review has been issued, the Council must:

• Arrange a public hearing within the prescribed timescales for the type of application as laid down by the regulations
• Notify parties of forthcoming hearings within prescribed timescales as laid down by the regulations
• Ensure statutory compliance with the notice and application process
• Provide applicants with copies of the relevant representation(s) that have been made by responsible authorities and other persons
• Supply public information at each hearing
• Supply appropriate information to all parties to a hearing.