The Licensing Sub-Committee B convened to review minutes from previous meetings, address a disciplinary hearing, and consider licensing applications. The committee approved the minutes from several meetings held earlier in the year, and also chose to exclude the public from a discussion regarding a disciplinary hearing. Additionally, the committee granted a premises licence to Blaengarw RFC with specific conditions, approved a premises licence for Pendre Stores with reduced hours, and issued a counter notice for a temporary event at The Loft Bar due to noise concerns.

Disciplinary Hearing

The sub-committee moved to exclude the public from the meeting to discuss a disciplinary hearing involving a Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Driver. This decision was made under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) (Wales) Order 2007, because the information to be discussed was considered exempt and prejudicial to the applicant. The decision from the hearing is not available for public inspection.

Licensing Act 2003 Sub-Committee Decisions

The Licensing Sub-Committee made the following decisions regarding premises licences and temporary event notices under the Licensing Act 2003:

Blaengarw RFC

The sub-committee granted a premises licence to Blaengarw RFC at 40 Victoria Street, Pontycymmer, Bridgend, CF31 8NW. The application was submitted by Katie-Louise Struthers. South Wales Police (SWP) initially objected to the application but agreed to withdraw their objection if a number of conditions were imposed on the premises licence.

Ms Struthers agreed with all the proposed conditions except for the requirement to have door staff. She argued that the cost of employing door staff would make it too expensive for customers to hire the premise, particularly in the Garw Valley. Ms Struthers, who is a prison officer, also stated that a number of the members who work at the premise have experience dealing with difficult people and are able to de-escalate situations. She stated that in the 18 months of running the premise, she had not had any issues with the parties that had been hosted.

A member asked if Ms Struthers would consider hiring door staff for higher risk events such as boxing events. Ms Struthers stated that she did not hold bigger boxing events at the premise or televise them, and that the events referenced in the application was for the Welsh Wrestling Association, which is a children's event. Fiona Colwill from SWP stated that the licence could be transferred to another licence holder who could host any event within these conditions, so the condition of door staff was to cover all bases.

The sub-committee granted the licence with the following conditions:

1. The premises must maintain a digital CCTV recording system capable of recording 31 days of 24-hour recording.
2. Signage must be displayed within the premises stating that a zero-tolerance drugs policy is being implemented.
3. Incidents of refusal of sales of 'age restricted goods' to persons who appear underage must be recorded in a 'Refusal Register'.
4. Signage must be displayed stating that it is illegal for any person to attempt to purchase alcohol for a person under the age of 18.
5. The premises must implement and operate a 'Challenge 25 Scheme'¹.

Pendre Stores

The sub-committee approved a premises licence for Pendre Stores, located at 24 Pendre, Bridgend, CF31 1PE.

Three local residents objected to the application, citing concerns about anti-social behaviour and criminal damage in the area. One objector, Miss Pickett, explained that the street and locality suffered with anti-social behaviour and criminal damage, and that there were beer cans left everywhere, even in the local park where children play. She also mentioned a recent attempted burglary at her property and that her disabled relative slept on the ground floor at the back of the house. She added that there are shops selling alcohol 100 yards in each direction, and that the post office had been open for 70 years and had never sold alcohol.

The applicant's representative stated that alcohol would only account for a small percentage of the store's sales, around 5% overall. The applicant voluntarily agreed to reduce the time for alcohol sales to 7pm, addressing a specific concern raised by a resident. Additional conditions were offered, including Challenge 25, CCTV, and signage requesting patrons not to drink alcohol in the street.

The sub-committee granted the licence to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises between 08:00 and 19:00, Monday to Sunday. The additional conditions offered by the applicant were also added to the licence. The sub-committee stated that limiting the sale of alcohol to 19:00 would potentially limit the increase of anti-social behaviour in the vicinity.

The Loft Bar Bridgend

The sub-committee decided to issue a counter notice for a temporary event notice (TEN) for The Loft Bar, located at 1 Nolton Arcade and 20 Nolton Street, Bridgend. The TEN was submitted by Daniel Apsee, the premises licence holder, for the May bank holiday weekend, requesting permission to extend the sale of alcohol until 01:00.

Helen Pembridge, Team Manager for Pollution Control for Bridgend, representing Shared Regulatory Services (SRS), objected to the TEN due to concerns about noise nuisance. She stated that there had been a breach of an abatement notice² on 26 October 2024 on the first floor of The Loft bar, and noise nuisance had been observed on the second floor of the top deck bar, resulting in a further notice being served on the premises manager.

Ms Pembridge stated that SRS had been preparing a case for prosecution for the first breach of the notice but had put this on hold due to the applicant's willingness to co-operate and instruct a Noise Consultant. However, by March 2025, this had not progressed, and noise complaints continued to be received. She added that on 26 April 2025, an officer attended the premises and observed that the main door and windows to the top deck were open, and noise from patrons outside was clearly audible inside the complainant's property.

Mr Apsee stated that he was waiting for a Noise Consultant to confirm dates in order to gauge the noise emanating from the premises. He also stated that he had ordered and paid for a new door to be installed to mitigate the noise, and staff were taking time logs, going outside the adjacent premises with a noise recording device and collating a spreadsheet for this purpose.

The sub-committee found that Mr Apsee had failed to adequately address the issue of excessive noise from the premises and had failed to progress with the instruction of a Noise Consultant in a timely manner. The sub-committee determined that allowing the event to go ahead would undermine the licensing objectives, particularly the prevention of public nuisance.

Approval of Minutes

The sub-committee approved the minutes of the previous meeting held on 23 July 2024 as a true and accurate record.