Agenda item

The Licensing Team Leader outlined the circumstances as set out in the report. It was noted that this was a full review, following an expedited review on 3^rd May 2017 where conditions to the licence and interim steps had been agreed. Members were informed that further representation had been received from Northamptonshire County Council Public Health and Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service.

PC Chris Stevens addressed Members, noting the incident that occurred on 29^th April 2017 and the interim steps that were applied following the summary review on 3^rd May 2017. It was further noted that following extensive consultation between the licence holder and the Police, all 22 conditions had been agreed. PC Stevens commented that the licence holder had been proactive in his approach and that the Police were happy with the bar’s continued operation.

Responding to questions, PC Stevens told Members that the Police were happy for the interim steps to be dropped.

Ian Grieve from Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service addressed Members, stating that a number of deficiencies had been found during their audit on 10^th May 2017. The bar was given 3 months to address these issues but work was already underway to resolve them. It was further noted that an independent fire service was working in conjunction with Northamptonshire Fire & Rescue Service to assist the bar owners in addressing their issues.

Steven Marks from Northamptonshire County Council Public Health addressed Members, stating that he too was happy with discussions had with the bar owner and agreed to the conditions.

Responding to questions, PC Stevens informed Members that in relation to the incident on 29^th April 2017, the injured person was still refusing to co-operate with Police but it appeared that the weapon used was more likely a blunt instrument; a Police investigation was still underway.

Mark Worthington addressed Members, stating that all staff had undertaken additional training; extra modules, including alcohol related violence, were included. He noted that it was an “examed course” with a BII qualification and that all staff had achieved at least 75%. It was further noted that a Management Folder had been put together, which included licences for both staff and the bar, the “Challenge 21” policy, incident logs, training packages and that search, dispersal and drugs policies were being worked on at the time of the meeting. Mr Worthington also stated that the existing documentation was being revised and would be refreshed every 6 months.

The bar owner then addressed Members. He stated that the implementation of the ID scanners, which were capable of searching their own database as well as the Home Office’s, had been a success; there had been a noticeable reduction in disorder since the policy was introduced.

RESOLVED:

Thank you for attending the Licensing Committee to consider the review of the premises licence for the Balloon Bar, 21 Bridge Street, Northampton, NN1 1NH.

This review is as a consequence of a Section 53a Summary Review Licensing Act 2003 which took place on 3^rd May 2017 as called by the Police under the Licensing Objective of the Prevention of Serious Crime and Disorder

The Sub-Committee have carefully considered the application, representations from the Police, the representative for the premises licence holder and the premises licence holder.

The Sub-Committee have therefore decided unanimously that on a balance of probability the current operation of the premises is not promoting the Licensing Objective of the Prevention of Crime and Disorder.

Therefore it is considered unanimously by the Sub-Committee that the following are appropriate and proportionate under section 53c Licensing Act 2003:

To modify the conditions on the premises licence with the addition of the following conditions in replacement of all non-mandatory conditions:

1)    Door supervisors will be employed at the premises based upon a threat & risk assessment performed by the premises management and a decision as to whether to deploy door supervisors or not will documented in the venues written risk assessment including any rationale as to why this decision was reached.   A copy of this risk assessment document should remain at the premises and be made available to an officer from a local authority upon reasonable request. As a minimum door supervisors will be deployed as follows: Friday, Saturday and Bank Holiday Sundays 2 from 23.00hrs and an additional 2 from 24.00hrs.

2)    All security staff must sign into a register at the commencement of every duty.  This register will contain the name and full (16 digit) SIA badge number of each security staff member on duty. The register must be fully maintained and kept on the premises at all times and must be made available to an officer from a responsible authority upon reasonable request.  Records must be retained for at least 6 months.

3)    Door supervisors employed at the venue will wear hi-visibility outer garments at all times both when working inside and outside the venue.

4)    The premises will have a means of monitoring and controlling its capacity during peak times, (clickers, head count etc).  This will be determined by the management but will generally be between 24.00 and 04.00 Friday, Saturday and Bank Holiday Sundays.

5)    An ‘ID scanner’ (or similar device) will be used to screen all customers entering the premises when open for licensable activity.

6)    The premises will have a documented search policy which has been agreed between the management and Northamptonshire Police.  This document will be retained upon the premises and made available to an officer from a responsible authority for inspection upon reasonable request. All relevant staff will be made aware of this policy and will actively implement it.

7)    The premises will have a documented drugs policy which has been agreed between the management and Northamptonshire Police.  This document will be retained upon the premises and made available to an officer from a responsible authority for inspection upon reasonable request. All relevant staff will be made aware of this policy and will actively implement it.

8)    A ‘Drug Safe’ will be installed at the premises and used in accordance with an agreement with Northamptonshire Police.

9)    A Security ‘patrol plan’ will be developed and implemented during peak times, covering all areas licensable activity takes place.

10) A member of the management team will monitor and risk assess any queue forming after 03.00 and will redeploy security staff to monitor such a queue in line with that risk assessment.

11) No customer will be permitted to enter (or re-enter) the premises after 03.30 at any time the premises is open for licensable activity.

12) The premises will have a dispersal plan in place which involves staff/door staff encouraging and monitoring the safe and peaceful exit of customers from the venue and the immediate area outside.  If customers are exiting onto Angel Street, their dispersal as far as Bridge Street will be monitored. All relevant staff will be made aware of this policy and will actively implement it.

13) The Designated Premises Supervisor shall ensure that all existing staff, new staff, supervisors and managers receive an induction in the legality and procedure of alcohol sales, prior to undertaking the sale of alcohol. This training will include the lawful selling of age restricted products, refusing the sale of alcohol to a person who is drunk or appears to be intoxicated, the contents of the premises licence; times of operation, licensable activities and all conditions. Verbal refresher training will be undertaken at intervals not to exceed 6 months. Training documents shall be signed and dated, and training records be made available to an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or the Police upon reasonable request. The records will be retained for at least 12 months.

14) An incident log will be maintained by the premises showing a detailed note of incidents that occur in the premises. The log will be inspected and signed off by the DPS (or a person with delegated authority) at least once a week. The log book should be kept on the premises and be available for inspection at all times the premises are open by authorised officers of the Licensing Authority or the police. An incident will be defined as being one which involves an allegation of a criminal offence and/or is relevant to the licensing objectives.

15) A fully working and maintained CCTV system capable of recording and storing images must be installed on the premises. The system must record at all times the premises is open to the public and images must be stored for a minimum of 28 days with date & time stamping. As a minimum, this must cover all entry and exit points, both sides of all areas where the sale/supply of alcohol takes place.

16) A person conversant with the retrieval and down loading of CCTV footage must be present on the premises at all times it is open to the public.

17) All recordings must be made available to an officer from a responsible authority upon reasonable written request and in line with the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998.

18) Polycarbonate drinking vessels will be used throughout the premises. Where possible PET bottles will be served. Products supplied in glass bottles may be decanted into polycarbonate drinking vessels based upon a threat & risk assessment performed by the premises management.

19) A proof of age scheme, such as Challenge 21, shall be operated at the premises where the only acceptable forms of identification are recognised photographic identification, as per the current home office guidance.

20) Challenge 21 signage will be displayed at all points of sale of alcohol.

21) No person under the age of 18 will be permitted to enter the premises when it is open for licensable activity.

22) The premises will have a written policy in relation to dealing with vulnerable people associated with the venue.  This will include as a minimum – a) a means of contacting any scheme that deal with vulnerable people such as Street Pastors; b) a direct line of communication with the local area CCTV operators; c) documented training for all staff members in dealing with vulnerability and how to spot it within the context of the night-time economy; d) an agreement with a local taxi company(ies) to provide a line a of communication facilitating the removal of vulnerable people to a safe location if the need arises (the choice of company(ies) shall be at the discretion of the venue); e) identification of a safe area inside the venue where vulnerable people can remain until their safety has been insured; f) a nominated member of staff who can be tasked to deal with any vulnerable people within the venue; g) a method of recording the rationale for actions taken when dealing with a person who is deemed as vulnerable.

A copy of this policy will remain on the premises and be made available to all staff as they need to refer to it and to an officer from a responsible authority at all times upon reasonable request. All relevant staff will be made aware of this policy and will actively implement it.

The Committee have also decided that the interim steps determined on 3^rd May 2017 do not apply anymore.

The Sub-Committee received legal advice in terms of:

1)    The Licensing Objectives

2)    The legal test to be applied

3)    The options available to the Committee

4)    Section 182 Guidance

The reasons for the decision are as follows:

1)    The conditions added onto the licence have been agreed by the Police and premises licence holder

2)    The interim step conditions now form part of the conditions of the licence as determined today under section 53c Licensing Act 2003

3)    The decision being in the interests of the wider community

4)    Under S.182 Guidance the Police being the main advocates for the prevention of crime and disorder

Any persons aggrieved by this decision has a right of appeal to the Magistrates Court no later than 21 days from the date of receiving the decision notice.

The meeting concluded at 10:35am