Agenda and minutes

To elect a Councillor from the Sub-Committee to act as Chair for the meeting

Councillor Roger Bennett was elected as Chair for the meeting.

The Chair welcomed the Committee members, officers, applicant and other parties to the virtual Licensing Sub-Committee meeting being held via Microsoft Teams.  The Chair explained that the meeting was being live streamed on the Council’s YouTube channel to enable members of the public to observe the committee.

There were no apologies or substitutions on the part of the Councillors making up the Sub-Committee.

One of the interested parties who had registered to speak, Mrs Maureen Berry, was not able to attend and had asked for her apologies to be given to the meeting.

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and / or Other Disclosable Interest they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests.

There were no declarations of interest.

Please note that the attached document is the correct version of the Premises Licence Application form (Appendix 1) submitted by Mr Mahmood, the Applicant, in relation to Chillies at Far Moor Lane, Winyates Redditch.  Please refer to this version, which replaces pages 7 to 28 of the main agenda pack.

Prior to hearing the Premises License application made by Mr Sohail Mahmood (the Applicant) of Sams Properties in respect of Chillies at Far Moor Lane, Members were advised by the legal advisor, Mrs Vanessa Brown, that there was a preliminary issue for their consideration.

At the invitation of the Chair, the Applicant addressed the Sub-Committee and requested that the hearing date be postponed.  The Applicant stated that the two reasons for him requesting a delay to the hearing were:-

1.    To enable the outstanding fire safety works as identified by the fire authority to be completed, and thus enable the objection made by the fire authority to the premises licence be withdrawn.

2.    To enable the Applicant to obtain legal representation from a solicitor.

The Members of the Sub-Committee asked the Applicant to give further details as to the outstanding works required, the likely timescale for their completion, and the reasons why he had not already complied with the requirements of the fire authority, which he had been aware of for five or six months.

In response, the Applicant asked the manager at the hotel, Ms Danielle Paton to address the committee.  Ms Paton went through the list of outstanding items describing the issues to the Members. Some related to the restaurant and some to the hotel. In summary, the list included relocation of the existing fire alarm in the conference room to a central position, updating the fire risk assessment, putting stickers up to indicate the fire escape route, obtaining documentary evidence of PAT testing which had already been completed, and works to secure some loose wiring and apply flame retardant filler.

In explaining the delays to getting the works completed, the Applicant referred to the interruption to his business caused by the Covid restriction and the impact on income.  He had completed that majority of the works identified by the fire authority, but these were the final steps that needed to be completed.  The Applicant had already instructed some third parties to assist him with certain elements and believed that the works could be completed in about two weeks.

With regard to legal representation, the Applicant confirmed that he had instructed a local solicitor to whom he had sent all the papers.  However, he had not yet been able to speak to the solicitor in person to seek advice.

After further questions, and clarification from the legal advisor that if the matter was postponed then the granting of the premises licence would be considered in full in the next occasion, the applicant stated that he would be seeking to be legally represented at the next hearing.

The Members retired to deliberate on the application to postpone the hearing, and the meeting was suspended from 2.26 pm until 3.20 pm.

On re-starting the meeting, the Chair asked the legal advisor to announce the decision of the Sub-Committee.

Decision

Members had considered the application made by Mr Mahmood for an adjournment of this matter. With regards to the request for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.