Purpose

Appplication for a Variation of a Premises
Licence under the Licensing Act 2003

Content

Licensing Panel
(Licensing Act 2003 Functions) - Notification of the Determination
of Panel.
Licensing Panel
hearing held on Tuesday 30th January 2024 virtually via
Teams in respect of the application for a variation of the premises
licence for Persia, 126 Church Road, Hove BN3 2EA.
 
The panel has read the report, relevant
representations and further papers, and listened to the submissions
put forward at the hearing. The panel has also considered the
council’s Statement of Licensing Policy (SOLP) and the
statutory guidance.
 
The application is for a variation of the
premises licence for Persia. The variation seeks extension of the
licensed area to include an upstairs dining area as shown in the
plan with the application.
 
The premises is situated within the Special
Stress Area (SSA). This is an area of special concern to the
licensing authority because of relatively high levels of crime,
disorder and public nuisance.
 
Two representations were received from Sussex
Police and local residents.
 
We heard from the Police representative who
restated the Police concerns outlined in their representation which
due to some of the content had to be heard in closed session. There
were concerns about the lack of cooperation in providing CCTV after
a serious incident within the premises. The police did not have
confidence in the licence holder and although they were unable to
provide more information in respect of one of their concerns
invited the panel to refuse the application.
 
The residents were unable to attend the
hearing but the panel has read their
representation and supplementary questions and answers
provided.
 
The applicant’s legal representative
explained the nature of the application. The extension in area to
include a further 25 to 30 covers was proposed due to excess
demand. The premises were well run and in his view there was no evidence to suggest there would be
negative impact on the licensing objectives if the application were
granted. He urged the panel not to take account of the police
submission regarding an investigation as no information was
provided about this and thus no evidence to substantiate it. The
previous drugs issue at the premises was resolved now. The CCTV

issue was ultimately resolved too and the
incident mentioned was not the fault of the licence holder
and not that serious. In terms of the
residents representation, an acoustic
report had been submitted to show that noise would not escape from
the premises or be an issue. It was acknowledged that this area was
the hub of the late night economy in
Hove but granting this application would not add to existing
issues.
 
The panel was able to ask questions of the
representative and the applicant and raised concerns about the
language used to describe the incident linked to the CCTV request.
Smokers would go outside the front of the building as currently.
Conditions already on the licence would cover the new area.
Planning issues were a separate consideration to licensing.
 
The panel has given
careful consideration to this application. We can attach
limited weight to the police concerns raised in their confidential
representation due to their inability to provide more information.
However the panel is concerned about the
incident which occurred leading to the request for CCTV. This
incident was dismissed by the representative on behalf of the
applicant and the panel is concerned that such a dismissive
attitude is not one consistent with the duty of the licence holder
to uphold the licensing objectives of prevention of crime and
disorder and public safety. The request from the police for the
CCTV, which although eventually provided, was met with resistance
and a lack of cooperation and the attitude of the licence holder to
ensure this was provided in a timely fashion was not that of a
responsible licence holder who should be concerned with public
safety and the prevention of crime and disorder. The premises had a
history of drugs issues and other breaches of conditions, which
though largely resolved now still gave the panel cause for concern.
Overall the panel consider that the
applicant has shown a lack of regard for the importance of the
licensing objectives and conditions as evidenced by the CCTV
dealings and attitude towards the incident. Given these concerns
and the evident police resistance, the panel cannot be confident
that the licensing objectives would be promoted by granting this
increase in the licensed area of the premises. In all the
circumstances therefore, the panel considers that it is appropriate
for the promotion of the licensing objectives to refuse the
variation application.
 
The minutes of the panel will be available on
the Council’s website under the rubric ‘Council and
Democracy’.
 
Appeal Rights
(Section 181 and schedule 5 of the Licensing
Act 2003)
 
The applicant may appeal against the decision
to refuse the variation.
 
All appeals must be made to Magistrates’
Court, Edward Street, Brighton, within 21 days of
notification of this decision letter. A fee is
payable upon lodging an appeal.