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Lewes and Eastbourne
Councils

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Court Room - Town Hall, Eastbourne. View directions

Contact: Committee Services on 01323 410000 

Items
No. Item

10.

Apologies for absence

Minutes:

There were none.

11.

Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPIs) by members as required under Section 31 of the Localism Act and of other interests under the Code of Conduct

Minutes:

There were none.

12.

Variation to Premises Licence For: Boltons Bar, 4 Bolton Road, Eastbourne BN21 3JX pdf icon PDF 95 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

All parties present introduced themselves and the Chairman detailed the procedure to be followed at the meeting.

 

The Senior Specialist Advisor for Licensing outlined the report detailing the application for a variation to the premises licence for Boltons Bar, 4 Bolton Road, Eastbourne BN21 3JX.

 

Details of the current premises licence and variation sought were appended to the report. When submitting an application for a variation to a premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003, the applicant was required to describe any steps they intend to take to promote the four licensing objectives, as defined by the Licensing Act 2003. These were appended to the report at Appendix 1.

 

The premises in question was located within the cumulative impact zone (CIZ) and where valid representations were received, the cumulative impact policy (CIP) creates a rebuttable presumption that the application be refused. It is up to the applicant to demonstrate that granting the application would not add to the cumulative impact caused by licensed premises and challenges already experienced in the area and would not undermine the promotion of the licensing objectives.

 

Following a consultation period of 28 days, two representations had been received Sussex Police and an Environmental Health Specialist Advisor from Eastbourne Borough Council.

 

Before the meeting commenced, Sussex Police as a responsible authority had mediated with the applicant and agreed 17 conditions which would be adopted by the establishment. Similarly, the Environmental Health Specialist Advisor had mediated with the applicant and agreed 4 conditions. These 21 conditions would be adopted by the establishment regardless of whether the variation to license was granted or not. The list of conditions are attached at Appendix 1.

 

The applicant addressed the committee, stating that since they had taken over Boltons Bar they had worked to remove its negative stigma; tailoring towards more mature customers and having 0 tolerance on drugs and weapons. The applicant clarified that their variation to premises license requested the removal of tables from downstairs as it was very narrow and it caused a potential fire exit hazard; there would still however be seating available upstairs and outside. The applicant also clarified that the variation to the license regarding the removal of a waiting service was because they would be required to hire more staff, solely for the purpose of waiting tables.

 

A representative of Sussex Police addressed the Sub-Committee, stating that the variation to the license would undermine the Prevention of Crime and Disorder licencing objective, specifically as the establishment lies within the Cumulative Impact Zone. The applicants had been made aware of the conditions of their license since April, but still continued to knowingly breach their license. The applicant had not demonstrated adequate awareness of what it meant that their property was within a Cumulative Impact Zone, and it was not addressed in their application which therefore failed to promote the core licensing objectives. Despite there being an increase in crime and disorder in and around the vicinity, the applicant had not added any conditions to mitigate  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.