EALING COUNCIL LICENSING SUB COMMITTEE PREMISES APPLICATION: WAWEL, 144 SOUTH EALING ROAD, EALING W5 4QJ (NORTHFIELD) Wednesday, 18 th February 2015

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1 EALING COUNCIL LICENSING SUB COMMITTEE PREMISES APPLICATION: WAWEL, 144 SOUTH EALING ROAD, EALING W5 4QJ (NORTHFIELD) Wednesday, 18 th February 2015 PRESENT: Councillors Shital Manro, Natasha Ahmed Shaikh and Nigel Sumner ALSO PRESENT: Ealing Borough Council Rita Pankhania Jimmy Umrigar Cameron MacLean Applicant Ms Monika Sharma Mr Radimir Bak Police Licensing Team PC Les Smith Introductions Licensing Officer Legal Officer Democratic Services Officer Applicant Owner, RMB Investments (premises owner) The Chair introduced the Sub Committee Members and outlined the procedure that would be followed at the hearing. He invited the parties present to introduce themselves to the Sub Committee. The Chair invited the Licensing Officer to present the report. Rita Pankhania, Licensing Officer, then summarised the report that was before the Sub Committee. Presentation on Behalf of the Applicant Ms Monika Sharma, the applicant, stated that she wished to amend the application as the original application had been based on misinformation provided to the applicant. She said she wished to amend the application to keep it with the Council s policy on core hours, as follows Supply of Alcohol Off the Premises 10:00 20:00 hours Hours Premises are Open to the Public 08:00-20:00 hours Ms Sharma stated that Mrs Ann Chapman, in her representations to the Sub Committee, had suggested that the sale of alcohol should be from 9.00am and that she was willing to agree to this, as the first hour the shop was open was used by staff to prepare the shop for trading. In the subsequent discussion, the following points were raised (i) It would be sensible if the premises opening hours and the hours permitted for licensable activities were the same as this would obviate the requirement to 1

2 (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) keep any alcohol for sale behind locked shutters outside the hours permitted for licensable activities. The Police were satisfied with the amended application in respect of both the opening hours and the permitted hours for the sale of alcohol. The Police had agreed with the applicant that the sale of cans and bottles of beer should be restricted to products that did not exceed 5.7% abv. (alcohol by volume). This would allow the applicant to sell a variety of Polish beers that had an alcohol content of no more than 5.6% abv, and one particular brand that had an alcohol content of 5.7% abv. In response to a suggestion by Mrs Chapman, the applicant stated that she was willing to agree to a condition that the sale of single cans of beer be prohibited, and that she restricts sales of cans of beer to a minimum of four cans at a time. The business was primarily a Polish grocery with 90% Polish customers. There were nearby premises selling single cans of cheap, high strength alcohol, and the applicant did not believe that if she were allowed to sell alcohol that this would result in a significant increase in the number of alcohol sales in the area. (vii) As well as beers, the applicant proposed selling bottles of spirits that would retail for approximately 18 per bottle and, therefore, did not qualify as cheap alcohol. (viii) There would always be a minimum of two members of staff on the premises, including one member of staff who would be responsible for the sale of electronic cigarettes. In addition, the applicant would also be on the premises for most of the time. The applicant was willing to agree to a condition that there always be two members of staff on the premises from 19:00 hours until the premises closed for the night. (ix) There were already eight CCTV cameras installed and the applicant was willing to agree to a condition that the CCTV system meet any requirements stipulated by the Police. The Sub Committee members then retired to consider their decision. DECISION Having carefully considered the papers before it, the representations made by the parties, the Council s Statement of Licensing Policy, and the Home Office Guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003, the Sub Committee decided to grant the licence, as follows Supply of Alcohol Off the Premises 10:00 20:00 hours Hours Premises are Open to the Public 08:00-20:00 hours 2

3 CONDITIONS 1. Colour CCTV to the Satisfaction of Police (i) This will be judged in relation to the advice available in the Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB) document CCTV Operational Requirement Manual 28/09 with special emphasis on the provision of identification quality images of people entering or leaving the premises through any doorway (but not a combination of the two). (ii) The system - Should also provide general views of the interior of the premises and exterior areas where relevant. Must record and store images for 31 days and must record 6 to 12 frames per second. Must be able instantly to download recorded images onto a readable format (CD or DVD) at the time of request i.e. to prevent any need to seize the hard drive thus rendering the system inoperative. (iii) If the CCTV equipment is inoperative, or is otherwise not installed and working to the satisfaction of the Police and Licensing Authority, the premises shall not be used for licensable activities unless with prior agreement from the Police. (iv) Notices shall be displayed at the entrance to the premises, and in prominent positions throughout the premises, advising that CCTV is in operation. (v) For the purpose of these CCTV conditions, "the Police" refers to the licensing/partnership office of Ealing Police Station and 'the Licensing Authority' refers to the Licensing Authority of the London Borough of Ealing. 2. Safe Controlled by a Time Delay Method The safe must achieve the following: (a) Restrict access for at least three minutes, to deter criminals from accessing the surplus or reserve value during any robbery. (b) Have a drop facility with anti-fish mechanism. (c) Include the safe being either bolted to a solid wall and/or solid floor or buried in a solid wall and/or solid floor. Signage must be displayed in the customer area, highlighting that access to cash and valuable items is controlled by time delay. Alternatively, where members of staff do not have access to the safe, a sign must state this fact. It is recommended that a time delay, visual countdown display is used, so that a robber/burglar can see that a time delay is in operation. 3. Cash in tills kept to a minimum Tills must be regularly skimmed off, to reduce the impact should a robbery occur. 3

4 4. Till security The till must be secured to the counter and either be positioned so that customers cannot reach over and grab money from the cash tray or be fitted with a till guard to prevent easy access. 5. Signage - Disorder Signage must be displayed in the customer area requesting patrons leave the premises quietly. 6. Staffing Levels (During any hours after 1900 hrs a minimum of 2 staff must be on premises to prevent crime). 7. Storage (i) Alcohol must be securely stored behind lockable shutters when the premises are open but outside of licensed hours. (ii) No alcohol, beer, wine etc. is to be stored or displayed on the floor of the shop retail area, but must be displayed or stored on suitable shelving or display racking. 8. High volume alcohol No stock or sale of high strength beers lagers or ciders above 5.6% abv 9. Single cans There shall be no supply or sale of miniatures of spirits or single cans of beer lager or cider. 10. A proof of age scheme must be in place and actively used by all staff A Challenge25 (or equivalent) scheme shall be adopted so that all cashiers are trained to ask any customer attempting to purchase alcohol, who appears to be under the age of 21 years, for evidence of age. This evidence shall be photographic, such as a passport or photographic driving licence until the licence holder adopts other effective identification technology (for example thumbprint or pupil recognition). All cashiers shall be instructed, through training, that a sale shall not be made unless evidence is produced. Prominent notices shall be displayed in the store advising customers that they may be asked to provide evidence of age. 11. Operating hours to be displayed on premises A notice displaying the opening hours, and the hours and type of licensing activity which may take place, should be clearly displayed and visible to anyone outside the premises. This may be incorporated in the summary of the licence, which must be displayed, or take the form of a separate item. Likewise, the name of the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) should be similarly displayed. This will allow the Police and other relevant authorities to identify readily those persons responsible for the sale of alcohol. Clearly displayed opening hours will also reduce any confusion for customers prior to entering the premises and possible conflict when the premises close/stop selling alcohol. 4

5 12. A Summary of the premises licence will be displayed at each public entrance to the premises REASONS FOR THE DECISION The Sub Committee was satisfied that the agreement by the applicant to the conditions proposed by the Police was sufficient to promote the four licensing objectives. The meeting ended at 11.20am. COUNCILLOR SHITAL MANRO, CHAIR 5