Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED

That Councillor Mullins be appointed Chair for the meeting.

In accordance with the Council's Code of Conduct, members of the Council are reminded that it is a requirement to declare interests where appropriate.

No disclosures of interests were made.

To consider report HCS/09of the Head of Community Services.

Councillors are asked to bring the Licensing Handbook to the meeting, which has been circulated with the agenda.

The Sub Committee considered an application to review the premises licence held in respect of the ‘Moonraker’, 199 Three Bridges Road, Three Bridges, Crawley.

Following the introduction of those present at the meeting, the Legal Clerk advised that the Sub Committee would follow the Hearing Procedure, a copy of which had accompanied the letters of invitation.

The Legal Clerk then asked all parties present, if they wished to make any relevant applications, for example additional information or to cross-examine any party.  Sussex Police drew the Committee’s attention to supplementary agenda item 6 which referred to its intention to bring to the Hearing further CCTV footage relating to the additional supporting evidence regarding the incident which took place on 18 October 2018.  Due to the format of the CCTV footage it had not been possible to circulate the video to all parties prior to the Hearing, however Sussex Police were of the opinion that, due to the nature of the incident, it was important that it be viewed by the Sub Committee.  In light of this, Sussex Police made an application to present the CCTV footage as additional information.

The Legal Clerk informed all parties that the Sub Committee had requested a pre-meeting with the Legal Clerk and Democratic Services Officers prior to the commencement of the Sub Committee, to confirm the procedure that would be followed during the meeting.  At that pre-meeting the Sub Committee had confirmed receipt of the supplementary agenda documents which had been circulated following publication of the main agenda, been briefed regarding the Premises Licence transfer details, been informed of the CCTV footage regarding the incident on 18 October 2018 and the possibility of its submission as additional information, been reminded of the regulations which were relevant to the review before them and the actions available to the Sub Committee.

Report HCS/09 of the Council’s Head of Community Services was presented by Mike Lyons, a Senior Licensing Officer for Crawley Borough Council.

The Application

The Senior Licensing Officer, Mr Lyons, informed the Sub Committee that on 20 September 2018, Sussex Police as a ‘responsible authority’ had submitted an application to the Council as the Licensing Authority for the Borough of Crawley for a review of the premises licence in respect of premises known as the ‘Moonraker’ at 199 Three Bridges Road, Three Bridges, Crawley.

The application was detailed in Appendix A to the report and sought a review on the grounds that the Premises Licence Holder was not promoting the statutory licensing objectives of prevention of crime and disorder and public safety.  Sussex Police contended that the licensing objectives had been seriously undermined by the failure of Martin Radmall, the Premises Licence Holder and Designated Premises Supervisor, following a particularly serious assault upon a patron which went unreported, also that he failed to adhere to the conditions attached to the premises licence and to appropriately deal with the management of the premises.

Evidence submitted by Sussex Police in respect of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

RESOLVED

That under Section 11A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act by virtue of the paragraph specified against the item.

Exempt Paragraph 2.

Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual.

The Sub Committee and the representatives for Sussex Police, the Public Health Department and the Premises Licence Holder viewed the CCTV footage of the incident which took place on 18 October 2018.

The Chair declared the meeting re-open for consideration of business in public session.

Questions asked by the Sub Committee of the Applicant (Sussex Police)

The Sub Committee then asked the following questions of the Applicant:

Inspector Lewis advised the Sub Committee that the incident on 18 October 2018 provided further evidence of the lack of management at the premises, the culture within the premises and the level of control within the premises some of the patrons appeared to show.  The CCTV footage of the incident on 18 October 2018 demonstrated that, although the suspect had been excluded from entering any Crawley and Gatwick Business Watch Pub (of which the Moonraker was a member), he had been served by bar staff on the night in question.  Inspector Lewis also highlighted that the child had been on the premises beyond the hours allowed on the conditions of the licence and had not been removed from the premises when the situation escalated.

Interested Party (Public Health Department)

The representative for West Sussex County Council’s Public Health Department, Holly Yandall addressed the Sub Committee in support of Sussex Police’s application to review the licence and drew the Sub Committee’s attention to the representation she had submitted which was included within the report (Appendix E).

Ms Yandall emphasised the impact an assault had on the public health services and cited research by the Trauma Audit Research Network at the University of Manchester which had established that a serious assault, such as the one on 27 April 2018 would amount to a total cost of £20,269 to the health service, ambulance service, Police and the impact on the victim.  Ms Yandall advocated that, had the conditions on the premises licence been adhered to and the licensing objectives promoted, it was unlikely that either of the incidents outlined in the report would have taken place.

In addition, Ms Yandall referred to the evidence of the level of drug use on the premises which Sussex Police had submitted as additional evidence (Appendix B to the report).  Specifically, Ms Yandall explained that when alcohol was mixed with cocaine it produced cocaethylene which had been shown to impact an individual’s behaviour by reducing inhibitions and increasing reckless and violent behaviour.

Ms Yandall informed the Hearing that she supported the recommended actions and conditions proposed by Sussex Police in its application for review (Appendix A to the report) especially in relation to providing a clear drugs policy, providing the associated training and ensuring that the drugs policy was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

RESOLVED

In accordance with Regulation 14(2) of the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, the public be excluded from the following part of the Hearing.  The Sub Committee considered that the public interest in taking such action outweighed the public interest in the Hearing taking place in public.

The Sub Committee gave further consideration to the application and to the matters raised at the meeting.  In formulating its decision, the Sub Committee took into account the options that were available to it and considered what was appropriate to ensure that the licensing objectives were promoted.

RESOLVED

The Sub Committee, having considered the application and the relevant representations in detail, resolved to take the actions as detailed in Appendix 1 to these minutes, because it was considered appropriate to promote the licensing objectives.

The Chair declared the meeting re-open for consideration of business in public session.

The Legal Clerk, on behalf of the Sub Committee, read out the Sub Committee’s decision as detailed in Appendix 1 to these minutes.  It was also announced that all parties would receive a copy of the decision notice within five days of the Hearing.

1.         The Sub-Committee listened carefully to the submissions made on behalf of the applicant for the review, Sussex Police, the representative for Public Health and the Licence Holder.

2.         In coming to its determination, the material and documentation the sub-committee took into account included:

2.1         the representations made on behalf of all parties and the evidence presented by Sussex Police before the meeting and the CCTV evidence presented during the meeting;

2.2         the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003;

2.3         the Statutory Guidance; and

2.4         Crawley Borough Council Licensing Policy.

Observations by the Sub-Committee:

3.         The Sub-Committee found the Police submissions and those by the Public Health representative to be informative and helpful.

4.         The Sub-Committee welcomed, and was encouraged by, the new Licence Holder’s submissions made during the hearing regarding their proposals for tackling and changing the management and culture at the premises; and their confirmation that they do not intend to apply for a transfer of the licence for a period of 6 months, which the Sub-Committee felt was an adequate period of time for the new management to be established.  The Sub-Committee noted that the new Licence Holder had taken the responsible step of closing the premises.  At the outset, the Sub-Committee wanted to say that it wished to support the Licence Holder’s intention to install a new Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) with strong management skills.

5.         The Sub-Committee also welcomed the evidence given during the hearing of the Licence Holder working with the Police.

Findings

6.         The Sub-Committee found that the evidence presented by the Police clearly demonstrated that there had been repeated breaches of the existing licence conditions by the former Licence Holder/current DPS, Mr Radmall, resulting in serious incidents on the premises and other matters of concern.  The Sub-Committee found that the causes of the current situation on the premises were:

6.1         The failure to adhere to existing licence conditions and the management, or complete lack of management, by former Licence Holder/current DPS, of Mr Radmall; and

6.2         A culture at the premises which had developed due to the serious failings of Mr Radmall which featured an acceptance of violence, drug-taking and concerning behaviour regarding minors.

7.         The Sub-Committee concluded that it wished to achieve what was described by the Public Heath representative as a ‘re-set’ of these premises, aiming to achieve the following:

7.1         the appointment of a new Designated Premises Supervisor capable of being a strong manager who can foster a different culture in the premises which promotes the 4 licensing objectives and provides a safe, well-run premises for both staff and clientele;

7.2         a hiatus in operation of the premises to allow a period where regular, problem clientele are absent from the premises to assist in the fostering of a new culture when the premises re-opens;

7.3         the undertaking a deep clean of the premises to remove (as much as possible) cocaine and other illicit drug residue.

Measures to address these causes/achieve the ‘re-set’

8.         Members decided that the following were appropriate steps which should be taken to address the causes, achieve a successful ‘re-set’ of the premises and thereby promote the licensing objectives.

9.         Remove existing DPS, Martin Radmall.

10.      Suspend the premises licence until and including 13 December 2018 (to be clear this allows re-opening on 14 December).  The Sub-Committee considered this is was the appropriate period for the above aims to be achieved (installing a new, responsible management, creating a break to the existing undesirable culture, and allowing the premises to be deep cleaned).   In particular they felt this was the appropriate period to break the link between the undesirable culture and the premises, and that this period will also act as a deterrent to such undesirable conduct being repeated.

11.      Vary the conditions of the licence as follows:

11.1       Existing condition 3 of Annex 2 of the premises licence is to be replaced with this condition:

11.1.1   The premises will be run with a zero tolerance drug policy.  The DPS will ensure that all staff are trained with regard to this policy.  All persons found to be in possession of drugs or dealing drugs will be reported to the police and banned from the premises, and a report will also be forwarded to the Licensing Authority (Crawley Borough Council). 

11.2       Signage stating that the premises has a zero tolerance towards drugs must be prominently displayed and Sussex Police must be consulted on the placement of such signs.  The signs must be in situ prior to any licensable activity taking place.

11.3       Toilet checks must be completed at regular intervals.  The minimum number of checks must be: every 2 hours Sunday to Thursday and hourly on Fridays and Saturdays. 

11.4       Martin Radmall, the former Licence Holder/DPS, is not to be permitted onto the premises for a period of 6 months, that is up to and including 6 May 2019 (to be clear, after this period, Mr Radmall may be permitted onto the premises).

(The Sub-Committee’s view was that the above condition would assist in successfully securing a complete change in management and culture on the premises.)

11.5       A DPS or a staff member who holds a personal licence must be on the premises, in a working capacity, each day until all members of the public have left the premises and its curtilage.

11.6       There shall be no pool tables, snooker tables or similar on the premises.

11.7       The DPS must prepare a written duty of care policy which will include ensuring that appropriate first aid/other attention is given by staff when necessary and until such time as medical/other emergency services are in attendance.  All staff and any contract SIA door staff must be trained on this policy and this training must be included with the induction training required by condition 8 of Annex 2.

11.8       (i)         A documented risk assessment for normal trading must be written.  This must identify the activities undertaken at the premises and the controls necessary to promote the licensing objectives.  The risk assessment for normal trading must be reviewed annually.

(ii)        An additional risk assessment must be conducted and written for events that are anticipated will significantly increase customer numbers, eg. sporting events of national or local interest or funeral events.  On occasions when a requirement is identified by the risk assessment or requested by Sussex Police, SIA trained and licensed door supervisors shall be employed and polycarbonate drinking vessels will be used in both internal and external parts of the premises.

(iii)       The risk assessments will be completed by the DPS, retained on site and made available for inspection by the police and licensing authority on request.

11.9       A written record of those authorised to make sales of alcohol shall be kept.  This shall be endorsed by the DPS with the date such authorisation commences.  This shall be made available immediately upon request to the Local Authority (Crawley Borough Council) and Sussex Police Licensing Officers.