Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted from B. Thomson, Head of Public Protection at Bury Council and Mr Shah, Premises Licence Holder.

Members of the Licensing Hearing Sub Committee are asked to consider

whether they have an interest in any matter on the agenda, and, if so, to

formally declare that interest.

There were no declarations of interest made.

Report from the Executive Director (Operations) is attached:-

The Licensing Authority received an application by the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police in respect of the licence premises the Topshop, 20 Hurst Street, Bury, BL9 7ER for a Summary Review of the Premises Licence and for interim steps to be taken in advance of that review in accordance with Sections 53A to 53C of the Licensing Act. The reason for the application is because the police believe that the premises are associated with serious crime.

The nature of the application and consideration of options was detailed in the report which was presented to the Members of the Sub-Committee by the Licensing Unit Manager, Mr M. Bridge.

The options available were:

·         To modify the conditions of the licence

·         To exclude the retail sale of alcohol from the licence

·         To remove the Designated Premises Supervisor from the licence

·         To suspend the licence.

Attention was drawn to background papers which included:-

Current Premises Licence

Section 53A application, Certificate and supporting evidence

Bury Council’s Licensing Policy

Guidance issued under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003

Licensing Act (Hearings) Regulations 2005

The Chief Superintendent had issued a certificate under section 53A (1)(b) of

the Licensing Act 2003 in which he stated the following:-

At 16:00 hours on Thursday the 20^th April 2023, officers from Bury Council’s

Trading Standards and Licensing department attended Topshop, 20 Hurst

Street, Bury, in company with Greater Manchester Police and immigration

officers. The intention was to search the premises for illicit tobacco and illegal

vapes, however during the search, a large quantity of cannabis, already divided

in separate snap bags (75 Cannabis and 11 cannabis resin) were discovered

in the store room at the rear of the premises.

Two individuals were arrested in the premises on suspicion of an offence of

Possession with Intent to Supply, however neither party is the DPS or Premises

Licence Holder. During the investigation, it has been established that neither

detained persons, were employed by the store and certainly one male had been

asked to temporarily watch the store by two Asian males as Police and other

agencies arrived on scene.

It was the Chief Superintendent’s opinion that an expedited review of the

premises license was necessary to allow the Licensing Authority to

review/amend the license conditions and prevent a recurrence of such serious

crime.

Attached to the agenda at Appendix 1 (Application by Greater Manchester Police for the Summary Review) and Appendix 2 (Certificate issued by the Chief Superintendent) respectively.

Following the serving of the application for the Expedited Review the Premises Licence Holder cancelled the Premises Licence in writing stating that the shop had been sold, however no evidence of the sale was provided. The Hearing must still be held as the Premises Licence can be reinstated by way of transfer within 28 days. Emails cancelling the licence were attached at Appendix 3 of the agenda pack.

The Premises Licence showing the current licensable activities and conditions was attached at Appendix 4.

The Licensing Unit Manager reported that Mr Shah  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.