Agenda and draft minutes

The Evacuation Procedure was noted.

There were no declarations of interest.

Members of the Statutory Licensing Sub Committee of the Council’s Statutory Licensing Committee were asked to consider an application for a review of a premise licence from Cleveland Police on the grounds of the prevention of crime and disorder and prevention of public nuisance for the premise, The Doghouse, 3 Macmillan Chambers, Prince Regent Street, Stockton on Tees, TS18 1DB.

The Chair introduced all persons who were present and explained the procedure to be followed during the hearing.

A copy of the report and supporting documents had been provided to all persons present and to members of the Committee.

Members noted that the review of the premises licence was made at the request of Cleveland Police.

PC Andrew Thorpe presented his application on behalf of Cleveland Police (“the Police”), a responsible authority under the Licensing Act 2003.

The Committee heard that Mr Edward Hayes (Premise Licence Holder) was the sole director for Leadwise Leisure Limited and was the named designated premises supervisor and had been solely responsible for the management and day to day operations at the premises since 14th April 2023 .

The Committee were told that Police had made the application to review the premises licence on the grounds that it was undermining the licensing objectives of the Prevention of Crime and Disorder and Prevention of Public Nuisance.

PC Andrew Thorpe explained to the Committee that on the 17th of March 2023, the Police and a Local Authority, Licensing Officer, visited the premises as part of their joint licensing checks in the area. The premises was open and trading. PC Andrew Thorpe explained that he spoke with Mr Edward Hayes that evening. Mr Edward Hayes explained that he was the new Licensee, but the Local Authority had not received the paperwork regarding the transfer of the premises to Mr Edward Hayes. Mr Edwards Hayes explained that he had submitted the paperwork, however there was no record of it. Mr Edward Hayes advised to keep the premises closed until the paperwork had been submitted and approved by the Local Authority. Since that date, Mr Edward Hayes had submitted the paperwork and the record was now up to date.

During the visit, PC Andrew Thorpe noted that there was no security staff on the door of the premises. Mr Hayes explained that sometimes there were door staff, and sometimes they were not. There were other areas of non-compliance with the licensing conditions evident during that meeting including CCTV, as well as no evidence of an age verification policy (no Challenge 25 posters), not using polycarbonate glasses and no incident logs.

The Committee heard that the Police and the Local Authority arranged several meetings with Mr Edward Hayes to discuss the non-compliance issues. There were a number of meetings that Mr Edward Hayes did not attend however the Licensing Officer did discuss the non-compliance with Mr Edward Hayes on 18 April 2023.

During a meeting on 11 May 2023, the Licensing Officer identified some improvements but there were still areas of  ...  view the full minutes text for item SLS/7/23

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