Purpose

Application for a New Premises Licence under
the Licensing Act 2003

Content

RE: Licensing Act 2003 – Licensing Panel Hearing Notification
of the Determination of Panel.
 

Licensing panel hearing held virtually via Teams on Wednesday
14th May 2025 in respect of the application for a new
premises licence for premises known as Dracula’s House, 58
London Road, Brighton, BN1 4JE
 
The Panel has read all
the papers and has listened to the submissions made at the hearing.
It has had regard to the statutory guidance and the Statement of
Licensing Policy.
 
This is an application
for a new premises licence for a small shop selling Romanian
speciality food and a limited range of alcohol for sale off the
premises from 08:00 to 21:00 Monday to Saturday and 09:00 to 18:00
on Sunday.
 
The premises falls
within the Special Stress Area (SSA) which, as detailed in the
statement of licensing policy, is deemed an area of special concern
in terms of the relatively high levels of crime and disorder and
public nuisance experienced within it. The Matrix policy approach
in the policy indicates a ‘no’ for off-licences within
the SSA.
 
13 representations
were received from a local Councillor, local residents and Local
Action Team and trustee of the Black Minority Ethnic Community
Partnership on the basis of all 4 licensing objectives and due to
the location of the premises within the SSA on London
Road. 
 
The applicants have
agreed a set of conditions with Sussex Police. These are detailed
in the papers and include 80% of all alcohol to be of Romanian
origin, location of all the alcohol behind the counter and
membership of the Brighton Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP).
 
The panel heard from
those making representations. They all described the many
challenging issues they faced in this area of anti-social
behaviour, vulnerable persons and street drinking and highlighted
the saturation of the area with off-licences and their concern that
another alcohol outlet would only add to the problems they faced.
The policy indicated that the application should be refused. There
was also concern that the applicants had already put up a placard
advertising ‘off licence’.
 
The panel heard from
the applicants about the nature of their premises and style of
operation. It was a family business. They had another similar shop
in Horsham. Their wine and alcohol generally were relatively
expensive and not likely to attract street drinkers. The panel and
other parties were able to question the applicants about all
aspects of their proposed operation and their intentions. They
confirmed there would be 2 people on a shift and with alcohol all
behind the counter shoplifting would be deterred. The off-licence
sign was a mistake and would be removed and they were mindful of
the police condition for no external alcohol advertising. Alcohol
would be a very small percentage of their overall sales about 5%.
They were willing to accept a condition that all alcohol be of
Romanian origin.
 
The panel has
considered this application on its individual merits and in terms
of the policy and the concerns raised by those making
representations. It does consider that it is exceptional to enable
departure from the Matrix approach. Primarily this is a small and
genuinely specialist shop selling Romanian products. A set of
tailored and robust conditions have been agreed with the police.
These include that the alcohol for sale will be limited to a small
area behind the till counter as shown on the plan which will
mitigate shoplifting concerns. The applicants agree to 100% of all
the alcohol for sale being of Romanian Origin which reinforces the
exceptional characteristics of the application and sets it apart
from other premises. The alcohol will also be relatively expensive,
and will only constitute a small, almost incidental, part of the
products sold. The applicants struck the panel as genuine with some
relevant experience and who were determined to make the premises
safe and family friendly. The police conditions 2 and 6 are
therefore modified as follows:
2. 100% of the alcohol
for sale shall be of Romanian origin.
6.  There will be no external advertising outside of
the premises of alcohol (including any reference to alcohol in
general)
 
The panel do take very
seriously the concerns of those who made representations and there
is no doubt this is a very challenging area. However, the panel
considers that this application is exceptional and is not likely to
add to the issues in the vicinity. The police conditions (as
modified above) will go onto the licence and will also promote the
licensing objectives along with the style and operation of the
premises.
 
The panel therefore
grant this application as applied for with all the conditions to be
attached to the licence.
 
The minutes of the
panel will be available on the Council’s website under the
rubric ‘Council and democracy’.