Agenda and minutes

(Director of Governance) To declare interests in any item on this agenda.

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

(Director of Governance) To note the agreed procedure for the conduct of business, as attached.

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

(Director of Governance) To note the agreed procedure for the conduct of business, as attached.

The three Councillors that presided over this item were Councillors P Keska, D Dorrell and J Jennings.

The Chairman introduced the members and officers present and outlined the procedure that would be followed for the determination of the application. The Chairman welcomed Mr K Clarke for the Co-op who was the applicant and Mr R Arnot, Solicitor for the Co-op. A representative from Loughton Town Council, in objection to the application, Councillor J Angold-Stephens was also in attendance.

(a)        The Application before the Sub-Committee

The Licensing Compliance Officer H Ibrahim introduced the application. The application had been made by the Co-operative Group Food Limited for a new premises licence at Ground Floor of The Landmark, Corner of The Broadway and Barrington Green, Debden IG10 3SP. The application was for the supply of alcohol, Monday to Sunday 07:00 to 23:00 hours. The application was received on the 29 September 2017.

The responsible authorities had received a copy of the application and it had also been advertised at the premises and in a local newspaper. All residences and businesses within a 150 metre radius of the premises had been individually consulted. The Council had received representations from Loughton Town Council and one local resident which related to the prevention of crime and disorder and the prevention of public nuisance.

(b)            Presentation of the Applicant’s Case

The Solicitor for the Co-op, Mr Arnot advised that the Co-op was the sixth largest supermarket in the Country, employed approximately 78,000 people and had over 2,200 shops. The new store was due to open in February 2018 and it was a convenience store, part of a convenience store was to sell alcohol and on our experience 85% of the turnover would be sales of groceries and 15% alcohol.

The Co-op have been established for over 170 years and understood their responsibilities towards licensing and selling alcohol at their stores. All new staff were fully trained they would have a four hour induction with an exam at the end of the induction period. If they passed the exam they would then be allocated an experienced member of staff to work alongside for up to four weeks or until that member of staff thought the trainee was ready to work alone. Trainees are not allowed to sell alcohol until this training had passed and the supervisor / manager was satisfied that the trainee was competent in putting into practice the Challenge 25 policy when selling alcohol. There would be 3 licensed Designated Premises Supervisor’s at the store and 16-20 employees.

Mr Arnot stated that the Co-op had taken on board the comments of the objectors but would like to point out that legally the objection from Loughton Town Council should not have been included due to their comments being speculative. Objections cannot be speculated there had to be evidence and as the store was not yet trading there was no evidence.

In summing up Mr Arnot expressed that the premises would be well lit with CCTV inside  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.