Agenda and minutes

To appoint a Chairman for the meeting.

Councillor B. Fitzsimon, as Vice Chairman took the Chair for this meeting.

Report of the Corporate Director (Public Protection, Planning and Governance) considering an application for a grant of a premises licence for 19 Hillside, Welwyn Garden City.

Introduction and Procedure

The purpose of the meeting was to consider an application for the granting of licence for alcohol sales from 19 Hillside, Welwyn Garden City, AL7 4PZ. The premises Licence is held by Gemma Dawn Crowe. Ms Crowe had applied to be the Designated Premises Supervisor under the premises licence application and therefore would be solely responsible for alcohol sales from the premises.

Documentary Evidence

A copy of the Licensing Officer’s report, the premises licence, resident’s written representation, application for review of the license and a site location map had previously been circulated.

Report of the Licensing Officer

The Licensing Officer presented her report on an application which had been received from the Applicant under the Licensing Act 2003 for a licence to supply alcohol for delivery only from the residential property and only with desserts from the applicant’s dessert company Wednesday - Friday 16.00 – 22.00, Saturday 14.00 – 22.00 and Sunday 12.00 – 16.00. The premises is not open to the public.

The hearing was a result of the Licensing Authority having received six formal written relevant representations against the application within the 28 day consultation period.  Of the six representations received, two of these were submitted by Local Ward Councillors on behalf of members of the public who requested that their identities remain anonymous due to worries of reprisals.

A written representation to the application was received from the Police Licensing Officer on 13 April 2021 expressing concerns over doorstep sales of alcohol at a private residence.  The Licensing Officer had identified conditions that could be added to the premises licence with the agreement of the Applicant to address the concerns expressed by the Police Licensing Officer.

Conditions were proposed to the Police Licensing Officer and the applicant, both parties agreed to the following conditions being added to the premises licence should the application be successful.

Following the agreement of the conditions above the Police Licensing Officer withdrew the representation against the application on 15 April 2021.

Applicant

The License Holder, Gemma Crowe stated that she did try to talk to some of the neighbours before submitting the application to try and resolve issues but was unsuccessful.

The Applicant stated that her business was new and had started operating from 22 February 2021. The Applicant operates in the evenings and has about 20 deliveries a week.

The products sold are meant to be consumed at home and may need re-heating. The Applicant also stated that any products not sold were sent to a Women’s refuge.

The alcohol being sold would be cocktails in bottles. The Applicant stated that the alcohol can be drunk straight from the bottle but advises customers to consume the alcohol from their home and drink from a glass.

The delivery service was strictly for business use only. The vehicles being no different to delivery vans or vehicles. The Applicant stated that she tries to advise the delivery drivers not to park on grass verges and avoid double parking. The applicant has  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.