Consultations - Licensing Act 2003

Applications:

These are the recently received applications for new licences/registrations and applications to vary existing licences/registrations:

Introduction

Below is a list of the applications under the Licensing Act 2003 that are outstanding and other licensing policy documents that the councils are currently consulting on or awaiting hearings.

All the applications and policy documents can be viewed in full at the Licensing Unit. All licensing hearings are held, in public, at the Shoreham Centre or Worthing Town Hall unless otherwise noted.

Under the Act minor variation applications cannot be dealt with at hearing but for:

New premises licence applications
New club premises certificate applications
Full variations to existing licences

For those that receive relevant representations from 'Responsible Authorities' and/or any other person, and mediation is unsuccessful or impractical, a hearing is required.

A guide to making effective representations can be found at: Making representations.

For a review of a premises licence, or a club premises certificate, a hearing must be held. A guide to the review process can be found here.

All relevant representations received regarding a Licensing Act 2003 application will be forwarded unredacted to the applicant as required by the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005 and the Guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 (December 2023) issued by the Home Office. This will include a representor's name, address and contact details. The Licensing Act 2003 encourages mediation and an applicant will be encouraged to contact representors directly to discuss the application and mediate.

It is an offence knowingly or recklessly to make a false statement in connection with an application made under the Licensing Act 2003 and the maximum fine for which a person is liable is £5,000 on summary conviction for the offence.

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Applications - Adur

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Minor Variation to the Premises Licence at:
Asda

An application for a 'minor variation' to the premises licence at Asda. The store is situated at South Street, Lancing, West Sussex, BN15 8AG.

The licence authorises the sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises between 06:00 and 00:00 Monday to Sunday and the provision of late night refreshment between 23:00 and 00:00 Monday to Sunday. The application seeks to vary the existing licence to:

Make alterations to the layout of the premises.

No other changes are proposed.

Licence holder and applicant: Asda Stores Limited.

Consultation closes: Wednesday 8 May 2024

Committee Hearing: Not required for a minor variation.

For a minor variation application, in addition to the statutory 10 working day public consultation, the Licensing Authority has the discretion to consult any responsible authorities it considers necessary and relevant to the type of application. In this case, as it involves changes to the layout of the premises that could potentially impact on the licensing objectives, Sussex Police, WSCC Fire & Rescue, and the A&W Environmental Health Team are being consulted.

No formal representations were received from members of the public or the authorities consulted. After due consideration officers consider the changes proposed unlikely to have an adverse effect on the licensing objectives. Consequently, the minor variation has been granted as per the terms of the Licensing Act 2003.

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Premises Licence Review at:
Long Feng Han Foods Ltd

An application for a review of the premises licence at 'Long Feng Han Foods Ltd' under section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003. The store is situated at 18 Southwick Square, Southwick, West Sussex, BN42 4FJ.

The store's premises licence permits the sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises between 08:00hrs and 22:00hrs Monday to Sunday.

The application was submitted by WSCC Trading Standards Service and requested that the Licensing Authority considers:

revocation of the Premises Licence

The grounds for review being the applicant contends the following licensing objectives are not being continually upheld at the premises:

the prevention of crime and disorder

Licence holder and applicant: Long Feng Han Foods Ltd / WSCC Trading Standards Service

Consultation closes: Wednesday 29 May 2024

Committee Hearing: Scheduled for 20 June 2024.

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Applications - Worthing

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Review of the Premises Licence at:
Angels Bar & Club

An application for a review of the premises licence at 'Angels Bar & Club' under section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003. The venue is situated at 10 High Street, Worthing, BN11 1NU.

The bar & music venue's premises licence permits the sale of alcohol for consumption on & off the premises, the provision of regulated entertainment and late night refreshment between 10:00hrs and 03:10hrs (of the following day) Monday to Sunday.

The application was submitted by A&W Public Health & Regulation - Environmental Protection Team, a responsible authority under the act, and requested that the Licensing Authority considered:

amending the current licence restricting the hours permitted for regulated entertainment to 23:00hrs each night to reduce the excessive and unreasonable amount of music noise affecting local residents and the public nuisance that is being caused as a result

The grounds for the review being the applicant contends the following licensing objectives are being undermined by the carrying on of licensable activities:

the prevention of public nuisance

Licence holder and applicant: Mr Omar Rafique / Adur & Worthing Public Health & Regulation

Consultation closes: Tuesday 9 April 2024

Committee Hearing: Held on Wednesday 08 May 2024

At the hearing the Licensing & Control Sub-Committee considered all the written and oral representations from the applicant, representors and licence holder.

It resolved that the current licence be amended restricting the hours permitted for regulated entertainment to 23:00 hrs each night until measures contained in conditions 21-24 of the premises licence are complied with. These being:

Before any variation of operating hours commences, a suitably qualified acoustician shall be employed to carry out a noise assessment of the entertainment noise and produce a report setting out a scheme to achieve the following noise criteria:
- the LAeq of the entertainment noise shall not exceed the representative background noise level LA90 in any neighbouring property, without the entertainment noise, and
- the L10 of the entertainment noise shall not exceed the representative background noise level L90 in any neighbouring property, without the entertainment noise, in any 1/3 octave band between 40Hz and 160Hz.
  For this purpose ‘suitably qualified’ means someone who has met the qualification criteria to be a member of the Institute of Acoustics or the Association of Noise Consultants.
The proposed scheme shall be submitted to and agreed with the Licensing Authority before being implemented.
Following approval and completion of the scheme, a test shall be undertaken by a suitably qualified acoustician to demonstrate that the scheme is effective and meets the aforementioned criteria. Should this test show that the criteria have not been met, a further scheme capable of achieving the criteria shall be submitted to and agreed with the Licensing Authority and further tested upon completion.
Thereafter, the final and tested scheme shall be maintained in order to comply with the stated criteria, which will remain conditions of the licence.

In reaching its decision the Licensing & Control Sub-Committee gave due regard to the following:

Statutory licensing objectives
Worthing Borough Councils Statement of Licensing Policy
Guidance under section 182 by the Home Secretary and Licensing Act 2003
The application, written/oral representations made at the hearing and in writing

The Committee also gave regard to human rights legislation and the rules of natural justice.

In discharging its functions the Committee did so with a view to promoting the Licensing objectives, the relevant objective in this case being the Prevention of Public Nuisance.

The Committee accepted the compelling evidence from residents and Environmental Protection Officers that there continues to be a breach of the licensing objective of the Prevention of Public Nuisance. That excessive noise was witnessed by persons living not only with the adjoining party wall but also by residents in the locality, which further confirms it as a public nuisance. The Committee also considered the fact that a statutory notice had been served on 26th July 2023 which required the Licence holder to abate the nuisance from amplified music within 2 days, and also prohibited the recurrence of the nuisance and for the purpose required him to “Not play amplified music at a volume so as to cause a nuisance”. The Committee heard that there had been numerous breaches to this notice and a prosecution was being brought under the Environmental Protection Act. This further demonstrated the lack of commitment by the licence holder to abate the nuisance.

The Committee had substantial evidence before them of all of the meetings and communications between Environmental Health and the Licence Holder and all of the assistance that had been provided, demonstrating ample opportunities to address problems, and yet still the Licence Holder had failed to take the appropriate action. The Abatement Notice had been served in July 2023 and the evidence presented indicated that the noise was the same in May 2024, which demonstrated that the Licence Holder would not act on their own. At the licence variation hearing in August 2023 the Licence Holder promised to carry out all recommendations. Although the Licence holder claimed to have carried out works, it is evident from the continuing noise nuisance that these were not the works requested and that they have not been successful, if indeed there had been any works.

The Committee found the causes of the failures were mismanagement of the premises and the failure to undertake the requirements of an acoustic assessment of the premises as agreed at the licence variation hearing in August 2023.

It was therefore necessary and proportionate to agree with the recommendation of Worthing Borough Council Public Health & Regulation’s Environmental Protection Team and amend the current licence, restricting the terminal hour for regulated entertainment to 23:00 hrs each night to reduce the excessive and unreasonable amount of music noise affecting the local residents, and the public nuisance that is being caused as a result. Once the works set our in the licence at conditions 21-24 are completed the licence holder would be able to operate under approved new hours in the licence variation. Until that time, he would operate under the old hours but with the live music and recorded music being amended to 23:00 hrs. Evidence had been provided that the works would not take long to implement and as the condition would not come into force until after the 21 day appeal period it is expected that the licence holder will be able to implement an approved scheme before the restriction in hours comes into force.

The applicant, licence holder and those that have made representation in connection with this application are reminded that they may appeal against this decision within 21 days of receiving this notice by giving notice to the Magistrates Court. If conditions 21-24 are not complied with and no appeal is lodged the amendment of the terminal hour for regulated entertainment to 23:00hrs each day will come into effect at midnight on Tuesday 04 June 2024./p>

If an appeal is lodged then the Licensing Authority’s decision to amend the hours for the provision of regulated entertainment is suspended until such time as the appeal has been disposed of by the courts.

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Minor Variation to the Premises Licence at:
More Radio Music Festival & Garden Party

An application for a 'minor variation' to the premises licence at the 'More Radio' annual music festival. The event is situated at Steyne Gardens, Marine Parade, Worthing, West Sussex (Ordnance Survey Ref: TQ1502NM).

The licence authorises the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises from a refreshment tent within the park between 17:00hrs & 23:00hrs on a Saturday and 12:00hrs & 18:00hrs on a Sunday limited to 2 days per annum in July or August as part of the More Radio annual festival & garden party.

The application seeks to vary the existing Licence to authorise an amendment to a condition of licence which currently states:

All drinks will be dispensed in plastic glasses or plastic bottles.

amended to:

All drinks will be dispensed in plastic glasses, plastic bottles or environmentally friendly recyclable cans.

No other changes are proposed.

Licence holder and applicant: Proto Restaurant Group Ltd.

Consultation closes: Tuesday 14 May 2024

Committee Hearing: Not required for a minor variation

For a minor variation application, in addition to the statutory 10 working day public consultation, the Licensing Authority has the discretion to consult any responsible authorities it considers necessary and relevant to the type of application. In this case, as it involves changes to a condition of licence, that could potentially impact on the licensing objectives, Sussex Police, WSCC Fire & Rescue Service and the A&W Environmental Health Team are being consulted.

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Minor Variation to the Premises Licence at:
Worthing High Street Food & Wine

An application for a 'minor variation' to the premises licence at 'Worthing High Street Food & Wine'. The store is located at 6 Montague Street, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 3HA.

The licence authorises the sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises between 08:00hrs and 23:00hrs Sunday to Thursday and 08:00hrs and 00:00hrs Friday to Saturday.

The application is seeking to vary the existing licence to:

Make alterations to the layout of the premises

No other changes are proposed.

Licence holder and applicant: Suraj Singh Chawla

Consultation closes: Thursday 16 May 2024

Committee Hearing: This application has been resubmitted after the original application made on 10 April 2024 was rejected after the applicant failed to advertise it.

The application was rejected due to the failure of the applicant to display a public notice in accordance with the legislation.

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New Premises Licence at:
Trading Post Coffee Roasters

An application for a new premises licence for a proposed new cafe to be called 'Trading Post Coffee Roasters'. The cafe is to be situated at 22 Montague Street, Worthing, BN11 3AH.

The application is seeking authorisation for the sale of alcohol for consumption on & off the premises.