The Licensing Hearing of Sevenoaks District Council was scheduled to convene to consider a new premises licence application. Councillors Chris Haslam, David Skinner, and Rachel Waterton were listed as members for the hearing. The meeting was scheduled to be held in the Council Chamber, Argyle Road, Sevenoaks, and was due to be livestreamed on YouTube.

Longhouse Foods LTD Licensing Application

The main item on the agenda was a new premises licence application from Longhouse Foods LTD, trading as Longhouse Malaysian Fusion, located at 17 London Road, Riverhead, Kent. TN13 2BU. The application sought permission to:

Allow the sale of alcohol for consumption on and off the premises Monday to Sunday from 12:00 to 23:00 hours. Hours the premises are open to the public Monday to Sunday from 12:00 to 23:00 hours.

A report included in the Public Reports Pack stated that Sevenoaks District Council consulted several statutory bodies, described as Responsible Authorities under the Licensing Act 2003¹. These included Kent Police, Environmental Health, Kent Fire, Child Protection, Trading Standards, Health & Safety, Planning, Public Health, Home Office Immigration.

Kent Police raised an objection to the application, which is detailed in Appendix D - Police Rep. Chief Superintendent Loudon, the Chief Officer of Police, stated that the application lacked detail in how it would promote the licensing objectives², particularly regarding the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, prevention of public nuisance, and protection of children from harm. However, Kent Police indicated that they would withdraw their objection if the applicant agreed to several proposed licence conditions, including:

• CCTV: Installation of a recordable CCTV system with specific requirements for image quality, coverage, maintenance, and data retention. The system should record all entrances and exits, fire exits, and areas where alcohol is sold.
• Staff Training: All staff involved in the sale or supply of alcohol must undergo licensing training within six weeks of employment, with refresher training every six months. Training records must be maintained and available for inspection.
• Notices: Displaying notices reminding customers to leave quietly and respect nearby residents.
• Incident Recording: Maintaining an incident log to record crimes, ejections, complaints, incidents of disorder, seizures of drugs or weapons, CCTV faults, refusals of alcohol sales, and visits by authorities.
• Challenge 25: Adopting a Challenge 25 policy, requiring customers who appear under 25 to provide proof of age. This policy should also apply to alcohol sales for home delivery, with alcohol only delivered to residential or occupied business addresses upon presentation of valid ID. Alcohol deliveries should be part of a food order.

The Public Reports Pack noted that no other representations were received.

The Public Reports Pack stated that the sub-committee could grant the licence as applied for, modify the licence conditions, modify the hours of licensable activity or reject the application.

The Public Reports Pack included a recommendation that the Sub Committee determine the application in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, Sevenoaks District Council Statement of Licensing Policy, and the Home Office Guidance issued per Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003, whilst having due regard to the applicant's submissions and relevant representations.

Other Agenda Items

The agenda also included the appointment of a chairman for the hearing and declarations of interest from those present.