Here is a summary of the scheduled items for the Licensing Hearing of Northumberland Council on 27 August 2025. The hearing was convened to address a premises licence application and related objections. Councillors were also expected to make declarations of interest if necessary.

Rothbury Convenience Store - Premises Licence Application

The council was scheduled to consider an application for a premises licence submitted by Mr Rambabu Nagubadi for Rothbury Convenience Store, located at Millstone House, High Street, Rothbury, NE65 7SZ. The application concerned the sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises.

The original application requested permission to supply alcohol from 07:00 to 23:00, Monday to Friday, and from 08:00 to 23:00 on Saturdays and Sundays. However, following an objection, Mr Rambabu Nagubadi agreed to revise the proposed hours to 08:00 to 22:00, Monday to Sunday.

According to the report pack, one objection to the application was received from an interested party, citing concerns about the prevention of public nuisance. This objection is detailed in Appendix B of the report pack.

The report pack stated that when considering the application, councillors should consider Northumberland Council's Statement of Licensing Policy, specifically:

• Introduction (3.1 – 3.1.6)
• Premises Licences - applications (Schedule 2)
• Decision making process (Schedule 5)
• Prevention of Public Nuisance (Appendix C)

The report pack also noted that councillors should have regard to the guidance issued by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003, specifically:

• Section 2 - The Licensing objectives (2.1 – 2.31)
• Section 8 - Applications for premises licences (8.20 – 8.34, 8.66 – 8.70)
• Section 9 - Determining applications (9.3 – 9.10, 9.42 - 9.44)
• Section 10 - Conditions attached to premises licences (10.1 – 10.68)

The report pack outlined the options available to the Licensing Sub-Committee, stating that they may:

1. Grant the licence subject to conditions consistent with the operating schedule accompanying the application, modified to such extent as the Sub-committee considers appropriate for the promotion of the licensing objectives. All conditions should be precise and capable of being interpreted and applied by the applicant.

(Conditions may be modified if any of them is altered or omitted or any new condition is added)

and Any mandatory condition under section 19 of the Act be included in the licence

1. Exclude from the scope of the licence any of the licensable activities to which the application relates or;
2. Reject the application if it is not possible to promote one or more of the licensing objectives by any other means.

The report pack also included information about appeal options, implications, and background papers such as the application for a premises licence (Appendix A), the objection from the interested party (Appendix B), the Licensing Act 2003, the council's Statement of Licensing Policy, and the Section 182 guidance.

Other Items

The agenda also included the election of a chair and a call for councillors to disclose any relevant interests.