The Licensing Sub-Committee met to consider applications from Greggs for variations to premises licences for two city centre locations. The proposed variations included extending hours for late night refreshment. Councillor George Pattison, Councillor Rob Higgins, Sheriff and Deputy Lord Mayor, and Councillor Karen Robinson were scheduled to be in attendance.

Greggs Licensing Applications

The sub-committee was scheduled to consider two applications from Greggs PLC to vary their premises licences for the Greggs at 42 Neville Street and the Greggs at 73-75 Grainger Street.

Both applications sought to:

• Add the provision of late night refreshment
• Extend the existing late night refreshment hours to 23:00-05:00 daily
• Extend the opening/closing hours to 24 hours daily
• Remove all dated conditions under annex 2 and replace them with up-to date conditions
• Update the internal layout plan

The agenda indicates that the sub-committee intended to discuss the application for Greggs, 42 Neville Street at 9:00 am, and the application for Greggs, 73-75 Grainger Street at 10:30 am.

Background

According to the Greggs Neville Street Committee Report Final_Final and the Greggs Grainger Street Committee Report Final_Final, both premises are located within the City Centre Cumulative Impact Special Stress Area¹. The Public reports pack 16th-Sep-2025 09.00 Licensing Sub-Committee includes copies of the current premises licences, which show that both Greggs stores already have permission to supply late night refreshment:

• Greggs, 73-75 Grainger Street: Wednesday - Saturday 23:00 - 04:00, Sunday 23:00 - 00:00
• Greggs, 42 Neville Street: Monday to Saturday 23:00 - 04:30

Donna Lockett, Director at Lockett & Co, agents for Greggs, proposed amendments to the applications in an email dated 5 August 2025, including that Grainger Street would amend the late-night refreshment timings to 23:00-01:00 Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, with no increase to late night refreshment hours Wednesday to Saturday, keeping the hours that the premises currently has being 23:00-04:00. Neville Street would have no increase in late night refreshment hours, keeping the existing hours that the premises licence provides 23:00-04:30 Monday to Saturday, and adding Sunday 23:00-1:00.

The Licensing Authority - additional correspondence Neville Street Grainger Street includes an email from Jonathan Bryce, Licensing Manager at Newcastle City Council, to Donna Lockett, in which he refers to a condition within Appendix 1, Section P of the premises licence, which states:

No food or drink will be on open display to customers – it can only be passed to the customer by members of staff.

Jonathan Bryce notes that it was concerning that the premises licence was not available on site, staff were unfamiliar with the specific conditions attached to the licence, and the requirement appeared to staff as a new instruction despite being an existing licence condition.

Objections

The Public Health objection from Alice Wiseman, Director of Public Health, stated that extending the hours would conflict with the licensing authority's framework of hours, and that granting the licence would have no positive effect for the area. Alice Wiseman also raised concerns about the high number of takeaways in Newcastle, and the impact of fast food availability on obesity rates.

Chief Inspector Rob Bossom, of Northumbria Police, objected to the application, stating that to agree to the application as it currently stands would add to the negative cumulative impact already experienced in the area and therefore undermine the Licensing Objective of the Prevention of Crime and Disorder.

Councillor Jane Byrne also objected to the application because it did not support the licensing objectives, in particular the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety and the prevention of public nuisance, and because the application is for operating hours that are outside the framework of core hours set out in Newcastle City Council's Licensing Policy.

Police position

Sergeant Rachael Julie Cottiss, of Northumbria Police, prepared a statement outlining the police's position. The police had no objection to the amended applications for licensable hours that fall within the Council's Statement of Licensing Policy Framework of Core Hours. Sergeant Rachael Julie Cottiss stated that the police had proposed standard worded conditions to the Applicant that are considered appropriate for the promotion of licensing objectives, in particular the crime prevention objective.

A further statement from Northumbria Police confirmed that their objection to both applications still stood and that to grant both applications, in the terms sought, would undermine the crime prevention objective.

Further Considerations

The sub-committee was also provided with procedure at licensing sub, which outlines how the hearing would be conducted, including the right of all parties to a fair hearing, and the need for all local government decision making to be conducted in an open, transparent and accountable way.