Agenda and minutes

The Chair introduced members of the Sub Committee and welcomed everyone to the meeting. 

The Licensing Officer outlined the purpose of the hearing and explained that an application for the review of the premises had been received from Northamptonshire Police on 2 of the Licensing Objectives; the prevention of crime and disorder and the protection of children from harm. The Licensing Officer then explained the procedure of the hearing.

Application for the Review

PC Bryan from Northamptonshire Police confirmed that they had applied for the review of the premises on the grounds of the Licensing Objectives of Prevention of Crime and Disorder and Protection of Children from Harm. He reported that on the 30^th September 2011 Northamptonshire Police had conducted a Test Purchase operation at the premises in relation to the sale of alcohol to minors. The seller sold alcohol to two 15 year olds. The seller was dealt with by way of a Penalty Notice for Disorder, of £80.00, which has been paid.

 Furthermore on the 21^st October 2011, Northamptonshire Police carried out another Test Purchase in relation to the sale of alcohol to minors and the seller again sold alcohol to two15 year olds. The seller was the Manager who was a Personal Licence Holder. The Manager was interviewed under caution and received a caution in respect of the sale of the alcohol he made to minors. Also on 6^th December the Premises Licence Holder (PLH) and Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) Mr Bhupinder Dhaliwal was interviewed under caution. He was reported for the offence of Section 147a of the Licensing Act 2003, persistently selling alcohol to children. The courts subsequently fined him £600.

Clarification was sought by the Sub Committee as to who were the sellers and who is the current DPS. Neither of the sellers was Mr Dhaliwal. The second seller had been Mr Bob Hardman, who was now the DPS. Mr Hardman had received a caution for the offence. He was acting as manager of the premises at the time of the offences, and was more involved in the day to day running of the premises than Mr Dhaliwal.

Representation by the Respondent

 Ms Maria Boehm from DW Solicitors spoke on behalf of the respondent Mr Dhaliwal. She stated that Mr Dhaliwal accepted that underage sales had taken place and that he deeply regretted the incidents. Mr Dhaliwal had not been involved in the day to day running of the business at the time of the incident and was unaware that the first incident had taken place until after the second underage sale. He was no longer the DPS and had appointed Mr Hardman as DPS.

Mr Hardman had undertaken a training programme for all staff. All staff had completed Challenge 25 licence training and had completed an E learning course. Challenge 25 posters were displayed at the premises and a reminder was incorporated in staff signing in records. Mr Hardman was responsible for ensuring that all staff were trained and that they  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.