Purpose

Application for the Review of a Premises
Licence made under the Provisions of the Licensing Act 2003 - The
Dukes Head, 8 Church Terrace, Wisbech, Cambs, PE13 1BJ.
 
The application has been submitted by Cambridgeshire
Police. The relevant licensing objectives are:
·        
The prevention of
crime and disorder
·        
Public
safety
 
The application to review the premises licence relates to
an alleged offence that took place on Sunday 26th January 2025 at
approximately 03:20 hours when there was a report of persons fighting on Market Square, Wisbech, between
several persons. The affray incident is
still being investigated.
 
During the investigation, it has been established by the
Police that Mr Rafique (the Designated
Premises Supervisor) and Mr Shahid
(director of the Premises Licence Holder) were involved.
 
The application can be found on pages 14 to 24 of the
Committee bundle. The reasons for the application to review can be
found on page 19 of the Committee bundle.
 
The premises licence holder is DS Wisbech Limited, and the
Designated Premises Supervisor is Mr
Shahid Rafique. The licence can be found on pages 25 to 34 of the
bundle along with the conditions attached to the
licence.
 
The Applicant has requested that the Sub-Committee
consider:
 
1.   
The removal of
Mr Rafique as the Designated Premises
Supervisor; and
2.   
Whether the Premises
Licence, although in a company name but under the control of
Mr Shahid and influenced by
Mr Rafique, should be
revoked.
 
Present at the hearing
were:
 
·        
The applicant,
Cambridgeshire Police, represented by PC Paul Hawkins,
·        
The premises licence
holder, DS Wisbech Ltd, and the company’s sole director,
Mr Nawaf Shahid, represented by
Mr Jon Payne,
·        
The DPS of the
Premises, Mr Shahid Rafique,
represented by Mr Jon Payne,
and
·        
Interested Party who
had made a representation.

 
The Sub-Committee heard
evidence from the Police Licensing Officer and the legal
representative of the Premises Licence Holder and the Designated
Premises Supervisor. The Sub-Committee also took into account representations received both in
support of the review application and the Designated Premises
Supervisor. The Sub-Committee disregarded matters that did not
relate to the promotion of the licensing objectives or were
otherwise irrelevant.
 
In order to promote the licensing objectives, the
Sub-Committee can take the following steps:
·       
Modify the conditions
and or times of the licensable
activities
·       
Exclude a licensable
activity from the scope of the licence
·       
Remove the designated
premises supervisor
·       
Suspend the licence
for a period not exceeding 3 months
·       
Revoke the licence in
its entirety
·       
Issue an informal
warning or take no action.
 
In deliberations the Sub-Committee were
referred to:
v 
The Council's own
Statement of Licensing Policy
v 
The statutory Government guidance issued under Section 182 of
the Licensing Act 2003.
 
 
 

Content

The Sub-Committee having
considered all the evidence, including the CCTV footage, determined
that a warning should be issued to the Designated Premises
Supervised and requested that the following condition is imposed
upon the premises licence:
 
All
members of the management team of the premises shall undertake
conflict management training and confirmation of the completion of
that training shall be provided to the Licensing Authority by 30
June 2025.