Cllr Linda Taylor was appointed chair.

There were no declarations of pecuniary interest.

The Licensing Officer announced there had been a negotiated settlement with the Metropolitan Police, which Sgt Sparham confirmed.  All conditions had been accepted and the police representation had subsequently been withdrawn.

The chair outlined procedure and introduced everyone.

Mrs Kunjal Desai and her representative presented the application as given in the meeting documents, and explained that all the Metropolitan Police objections had been addressed.  The premises were small, with no entry point for customers who were served across a counter.  The alcohol was displayed and served from fridges.  All alcohol for sale was under the 5.5% ABV limit requested by the police.  A CCTV system was already in place that gave clear images of the person serving and the customer.  It was also possible to see what items were being bought.  Mrs Desai showed the panel images from the CCTV using her mobile phone.  The CCTV could be remotely accessed.  There was also a ‘snapshot’ facility by the till.  An audible system was used at the till to remind staff to check for age, and this could be adjusted for the required age restriction, ie over 18 or over 21 etc.  This system had proved successful in other stores.

Graham Edgely explained that training could be provided, as he was a qualified trainer.  Mr Edgely said that Mrs Desai had been a licence holder for 17 years without problems.  Documents were circulated to the panel, including one from Surrey County Council following a test purchase that was successfully rejected. 

Graham Edgely pointed out the shop closed at 8pm, but the licence application had stated 10pm to cover special events, such as the AELTC tournament etc. 

Panel members asked for clarification on the application form, where Mrs Desai had incorrectly ticked the on premises licence box.  Mrs Desai confirmed the licence was for off sales only.

A panel member also asked about ensuring against under age sales.  Mr Edgely explained the training for staff, and how they were already monitoring sales to prevent underage sales of lottery tickets.  He was confident they had the right monitoring in place to avoid underage sales. 

Mr Edgely confirmed, in response to a question from Panel, that an incident log would be kept, and that this was one of the police conditions.

The sub committee’s attention was drawn to the written representation by WEHRA, which included concern over the potential selling of alcohol to vulnerable people.

The Licensing Officer reminded those present of the cumulative impact zone rebuttal assumption and pointed out if the panel granted the licence they could give seasonal variation from 8pm –to 10pm to be decided by the applicant. 

Mrs Desai summarised her application, and explained the objections raised by Wimbledon East Hillside Residents’ Association (WEHRA) were covered by the police conditions.

The Legal Officer reiterated the CIZ policy, referring to section 7:10 of the meeting documents and p35 of the Licensing Code booklet. 

The panel went into closed session at 11.05am and reconvened briefly at 11.35am to clarify comments from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Sgt Sparham gave the representation for the Metropolitan Police as given in the meeting documents and confirmed that the premise is within the Controlled Drinking Zone, which is a difficult area for officers to police.  There were issues with antisocial congregating in the town centre and there had been problems with street drinking in the past.

A panel member asked about the likelihood of problems of antisocial behaviour and street drinking increasing if the application for a licence was granted.  Sgt Sparham said this was expected unless appropriate conditions and monitoring were in place.  Sgt Sparham also explained that the applicant had not approached the police to discuss the licence application or conditions.

The committee went into closed session at 12.15pm.

The panel reconvened the meeting and the following decision was given:

The Licensing Sub-Committee determined that the application for a new Premises Licence for SMAK, 1 Commonside, East Mitcham be refused.

Reasons:

The Licensing Sub-Committee considered all of the relevant evidence made available to it and in doing so has took into account the Licensing Act 2003, the Guidance under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 and Merton Council’s Licensing Policy.

The Committee took into account representations of the police, including the crime statistics, evidence of street drinking and anti-social congregating in the area.  The Committee heard from the Metropolitan Police that the premise is within the Controlled Drinking Zone which is a difficult area for officers to police.

The Committee noted the Police had suggested conditions but that the Applicant had neither responded, nor attended the Committee or sent any representative.

The Committee was therefore not confident that the licensing objectives would be upheld if the application was granted.