The Southern Area Licensing Sub Committee of Wiltshire Council was scheduled to convene on Wednesday 11 March 2026. The primary item on the agenda was to consider and determine an application for a Personal Licence by Ms Kaleisha Paris Standen. The meeting was cancelled.

Licensing Application for Ms Kaleisha Paris Standen

The committee was scheduled to consider an application for a Personal Licence submitted by Ms Kaleisha Paris Standen, who resides in Amesbury. The report pack indicated that the application was made under section 117 of the Licensing Act 2003. For the licence to be granted, it needed to appear to the authority that the applicant was aged 18 or over, possessed a licensing qualification or was of a prescribed description, had not had a personal licence forfeited in the preceding five years, and had not been convicted of any relevant offence or foreign offence.

The report detailed that Ms Standen's basic disclosure criminal conviction certificate revealed an unspent conviction for a relevant offence. Specifically, on 13 September 2024, she was convicted of driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle while above the legal limit for alcohol or specified drugs, contrary to sections 5 and 5A of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The sentence imposed included a 17-month driving ban, which had expired, and a fine. This offence was due to become spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 on 13 September 2029.

As a result of this conviction, the chief officer of police was notified, and on 12 February 2026, an objection notice was issued. This objection was based on the grounds that granting a personal licence to an individual with such a conviction would undermine the licensing objective of preventing crime and disorder. The police licensing officer, Alastair M Day, stated in his representation that Ms Standen was employed in a general staffing role at The Amesbury Archer, a licensed premises in Amesbury, and expressed concern that she could potentially become the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) in the future, a role for which he believed she was unsuitable.

The report outlined that under section 120(7) of the Licensing Act 2003, the authority was required to hold a hearing to consider the objection notice, unless all parties agreed it was unnecessary. The committee would then have to reject the application if it considered it appropriate for the promotion of the crime prevention objective, or grant it otherwise. The report also noted that both the applicant and the chief of police had the right to appeal any decision made by the Licensing Sub Committee to the Magistrates Court within 21 days of notification.

The report pack included the application form submitted by Ms Standen, which detailed her personal details, licensing qualification (BIJAB Level 2 Award For Personal Licence Holders), and confirmed she did not currently hold a personal licence, nor had any outstanding applications or previous forfeitures within the last five years. It also included a disclosure of convictions and civil immigration penalties form, where Ms Standen declared the drink-driving conviction. The police objection notice was also provided as an appendix. The report author was Andrew Noble, Public Protection Officer – Licensing.