Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made.

The Senior Licensing Officer outlined the purpose of the hearing, stating that on 2 July 2013 an application for a Summary Review (Sec53A Licensing Act 2003) had been submitted by the Police in the grounds of serious crime and disorder following an incident that took place on 30 June 2013.  A Summary Review had been held on 3 July 2013 when a suspension of the Premises Licence had been agreed, which would continue until a normal Licensing Review took place, which was the subject of this hearing.

During the period of the suspension members of the Darien Foundation had been in regular correspondence with the police to discuss the Venue Management Policy.  A copy of the latest version of the Policy (version C), dated 21 July 2013 was then given to members of the Sub-Committee.  Both the applicants and respondents would need to clarify if this was the final version of the Policy.  Both parties had agreed that the terms in the Policy should not form part of the conditions on the Premises Licence.

The Senior Licensing Officer confirmed that the Darien Foundation had updated their licence in respect of the licence holder’s address.

Application for the Review

Sergeant Worthington recapped the reasons for the Summary Review on 2 July 2013, which were that on 1 July 2013 at an event involving the DJ Tim Westwood, a customer had been ejected from the premises at approximately 2am and had subsequently been assaulted.  Photographs of the assaulted person had been shown at the Summary Review.  The review had been called because of the inaction of the doorstaff at the premises, which Sergeant Worthington suggested had facilitated the assault.

The Police had investigated the incident but this had been frustrating as the victim of the assault had not co-operated, had not spoken to the police and it was not known why he had been ejected from the premises.  It had been suggested at the Summary Review that the incident had been linked to the theft of a watch.  The owner of the watch had now had his property returned and was also not co-operating with the police.  It was suspected by the police that the theft and the assault were linked.

During the period of the suspension there had been good liaison with the Darien Foundation.  It had been agreed that the smoking area be moved from the street area to within the curtilage of the premises, the CCTV would be repositioned to cover this area and the door, and the company providing the doorstaff had now been changed. Some additional conditions had been agreed with the Darien Foundation and would be included in the Venue Management Plan.

Sergeant Worthington stated that the police had been working positively with the respondents and hoped to come to a satisfactory conclusion with them.

Questions to the Applicant

In answer to questions from the Sub-Committee and the respondents, Sergeant Worthington stated that:

• No arrests  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.