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 Monday 15th
September 2025 in respect of the application for a new premises
licence for premises known as Surrey Street, 1 Surrey Street,
Brighton BN1 3PA
 
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 casual & accessible deli /
restaurant / wine bar that focuses on empowering local suppliers
and producers. The application is for sale of alcohol on and off
the premises from 12:00 to 22:00 Monday to Thursday, and12:00 to
23:00 Friday and Saturday. Live and recorded music is also applied
for but is deregulated if the premises is licensed for the sale of
alcohol.
 
The premises falls
within the Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ) and is therefore subject to
the special policy on cumulative impact as set out in the Statement
of Licensing Policy.
 
Our policy states that
applications for new premises licences will be refused following
relevant representations. This presumption can be rebutted by the
applicant if they can show that their application will have no
negative cumulative impact. The special policy will only be
overridden in exceptional circumstances. However, the policy is not
absolute and both the policy and matrix approach indicates that a restaurant/café bar within
certain hours may be unlikely to add to cumulative impact in the
area and therefore be exceptional. The Matrix policy approach in
the policy indicates a ‘no’ for off-licences within the
CIZ.
 
2 representations and
8 supporting representations were received from local residents and the licensing authority.
 
The applicants have
agreed a set of conditions with Sussex Police and the Environmental
Protection team. These are detailed in the papers and include no
vertical drinking, off sales restricted to a very limited offer and
entertainment restrictions.
 
The panel heard from
residents in support of the application. They felt that a well-run
wine bar/deli would be a welcome addition for the local community
and would discourage anti-social behaviour in the area and create a
safer environment through natural surveillance. The off sales would
be premium products only and thus low risk. The licensing authority
was also concerned about the off-sales aspect which was against
policy. The panel also had regard to the representation made
against the application in the papers.
 
The panel heard from
the applicants about the nature of their premises and style of
operation. They had other hospitality premises in the city and were
very experienced operators. They appreciated that the off sales
element was an issue, but it would be very limited. They had
themselves put forward the restrictions as to local craft beer and
limited selections of wine to the police who were happy with those
and so they were agreed conditions. Off sales would be a small
element of the business, not advertised and given the nature of
products sold would not be like a normal off licence and so not
likely to lead to issues. They needed the extra hour on Friday and
Saturday to give a better customer experience especially to those
commuting from London. They were collaborating with local creative
businesses and organising rotating monthly chefs.
 
The panel has
considered this application on its individual merits and in terms
of the policy context and the views expressed by those making
representations. It does consider that it the type of premises that
is exceptional and not likely to add to negative cumulative impact.
The off-licence element is certainly unique, offering premium
limited products so as to enable
departure from the Matrix approach. This is a small specialist,
cafe type premises with experienced applicants who had agreed a
robust set of conditions with the police which would promote the
licensing objectives. The panel also noted the points made by those
in support of the application which they considered to be valid.
The panel therefore grant this application as applied for with all
the conditions agreed with the police and environmental protection
and those from the operating schedule to be attached to the
licence.