Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations of interest made pursuant to the Member’s Code of Conduct.

The Sub-Committee noted the agreed procedure for the conduct of business and the terms of reference.

(Director of Neighbourhoods) To consider the attached report and appendices.

The three Councillors that presided over this item were Councillors M Sartin (Chairman), R Gadsby and G Shiell. The Chairman welcomed the application representatives and requested that they introduce themselves. In attendance, on behalf of the application were Mr R Arnot of Wardhadaway law firm and Mr G Gaston, the designated premises supervisor for the Co-operative Group Food Ltd in respect of the premises at 113 Church Hill, Loughton, Essex IG10 1QR. It was noted that there were no objectors present. The Chairman then introduced the members and officers present and outlined the procedure that would be followed for determination of the application.

(a)          The Application before the Sub-Committee

The Licensing Officer informed the Sub-Committee that an application had been received on 17 October 2014 from the Co-operative Group Food Ltd for a premises licence at 113 Church Hill, Loughton, Essex IG10 1QR. The application set out the relevant licensing activities applied for:

·         Monday to Sunday 06:00 – 23:00

The application had gone out to consultation, the responsible authorities receiving a copy of the application. The application had been advertised at the premises and in a local newspaper.

The District Council had received letters from Essex Police, Quality Assurance and Safeguarding Service at Essex County Council and EFDC Public Health stating they had no representations to make. The authority also received an acknowledgement letter from Essex County Fire and Rescue. It was advised that a representation had been received from Loughton Town Council, however this was subsequently withdrawn as the applicant had later agreed to amend the sales of alcohol items, commencing from 07:00 hours, instead of 06:00 hours.

The authority had also received three representations from residents, their objections related to the prevention of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance and protection of children from harm.

The applicant had provided Members with their corporate training guide as supporting documentation. The document had also been offered to objectors for their consideration. Hard copies were circulated at the meeting.

(b)          Presentation of the Applicant’s case

Mr R Arnot, speaking on behalf of the application, stated that the Co-operative were the fifth largest retailer in the UK with 3,000 stores and 8 million members. The premises in question was an industrial unit, its business was a convenience store. The intended alcohol sales would make up 15% of turnover. The store was not a dedicated off-licence.

The Co-operative had a regional risk manager, the company applied policies and procedures to its operations with training and business audits.

The Sub-Committee was advised that induction training for new staff took 4 hours followed by an exam. Staff could not start work until they’d passed. Co-operative used a “buddy” system for new staff. Mr R Arnott added that there were two refresher courses for staff which involved passing an exam. The premises had 16 CCTV cameras. The cash till used by staff had a product bar code which scanned products and prompted the employee to follow company procedures. All information was captured and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.