Agendas, reports and minutes

Minute of the meeting of the Highland Licensing Board held in the Council Chamber, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, on Friday 1 March 2019 at 10.00 am.

Present:

Mr J Bruce (from item 4), Dr I Cockburn (Convener), Mr G Cruickshank, Mr A Jarvie, Ms E Knox, Mrs P Munro and Mr C Smith.

In Attendance:

Miss C McArthur, Clerk
Mr I Cox, Licensing Standards Officer
Mr D Inglis, Licensing Standards Officer
Mrs A MacArthur, Administrative Assistant

Also In Attendance:

Sergeant B Gray, Police Scotland
Sergeant A Cooper, Police Scotland

Item 7.2: Ms A Allan, premises manager and Mr D Booth, objector.
Item 8.1: Mr D Key, regional director
Item 8.3: Mr E Moine, manager
Item 9.1: Mr D Smilie, licence holder and Mr M Smith, licence holder’s solicitor

The Convener advised the Board that the meeting would be filmed and broadcast over the internet on the Highland Council website and would be archived and available for viewing for 12 months.

1.  Apologies for Absence
Leisgeulan

Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Mrs L MacDonald and Mr D Macpherson.  

2.  Declarations of Interest
Foillseachaidhean Com-pàirt

There were no declarations of interest.

3.  Confirmation of minutes
Dearbhadh a’ gheàrr-chunntais

There was submitted for confirmation as a correct record the minute of the meeting of the Highland Licensing Board held on 18 January 2019.

The Minutes were held as read and APPROVED.

4.  Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005
Licences granted under delegated powers
Achd Ceadachd (Alba) 2005
Ceadachdan a bhuilicheadh fo Ùghdarras air a Thiomnadh

There had been circulated Report No HLB/011/19 detailing licences which had been granted under delegated powers by the Clerk to the Board during the period 8 January to 6 February 2019.

The Board NOTED the report.

5.  Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005
Occasional licences and extended hours
granted under Delegated Powers                                                       
Achd Ceadachd (Alba) 2005
Ceadachdan Corra-uair agus uairean sìnte a bhuilicheadh fo ùghdarras air a thiomnadh

There had been circulated Report No HLB/012/19 detailing occasional licences and extended hours applications which had been granted under delegated powers by the Clerk to the Board during the period 8 January to 6 February 2019.

The Board NOTED the report.

6.  Review hearings – non-payment of annual premises licence fees
Moladh ath-sgrùdaidh – neo-phàigheadh chìsean ceadachd togalaich bliadhnail

There had been circulated Report No HLB/013/19 by the Clerk inviting the Board to hold premises licence review hearings in respect of each of the premises listed in the report, further to the review proposals made by the Board on 18 January 2019.

The Clerk provided an update on the report during which she confirmed that the undernoted premises had now paid their annual fee:-

• Stables Restaurant, Dudley Road, Fort William; and
• Brunstane Lodge Hotel, Golf Course Road, Strathpeffer.

The Clerk advised that the remaining unpaid licence holders had received their reminder letters and had been informed of the possible consequences of their failure to pay.

Thereafter, the Board AGREED to REVOKE the premises licences for the following premises:

• The Monarch Hotel and Church Ruin, Laggan, Newtonmore;
• Highland Crossroads, Gollanfield Crossroads; Ardersier;
• Drumbeg House, t/a Blar na Leisg, Drumbeg; and
• Taj Mahal, Bridge Street, Wick. 

under section 39 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 on the grounds of non-payment of their annual premises licence fees.     

7.  Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005
Applications for New Premises Licences
Achd na Ceadachd (Alba) 2005
Larrtas airson Cheadachdan Thogalaichean Ura

7.1  Ref: HC/INBS/634
Applicant: Mignonne Khazaka, Strathmashie House, Strathmashie, Newtonmore, PH20 1BU
Premises: Strathmashie House, Strathmashie, Newtonmore, PH20 1BU
Type: On and off sales

There had been circulated Report No HLB/014/19 by the Clerk.

The Board AGREED to GRANT a new premises licence subject to mandatory conditions and the local conditions set out at 7.2 of the report.

7.2  Ref: HC/RSL/1887
Applicant: Baoighill Aoigheachd Ltd, Dean Bank Lodge, 10 Dean Bank Lane, Edinburgh, EH3 5BS
Premises: The End of the Line Distillery Company, Station Road, Kyle of Lochalsh
Type: On sales and off sales

There had been circulated Report No HLB/015/19 by the Clerk.

Ms A Allan, premises manager, advised that the premises would be specifically used as a whisky shop.  There would no longer be live music events.  The outside area was to enable sampling and tasting sessions to be undertaken outside. 

The Board then heard from Mr D Booth, objector, who advised he had not been aware of the changes.  He further stated that the premises were within 4 metres of a petrol station which contained gas canisters.  Although he was glad to see the area developed, he did not believe that this area was suitable for what had been proposed. 

Ms Allan responded that the outside area would be on the other side of their premises away from the filling station and gas canisters. 

The Board AGREED to GRANT a new premises licence (as amended, at the applicant’s request, in the course of the hearing before the Board and on the terms as set out below) subject to mandatory conditions, the local conditions and the special condition set out at 7.2 and 7.3 respectively of the report.

Amended application:

• Description to be amended to “”Retail unit under 30 m2 with outside area.  Single storey detached specialist alcohol shop and fenced outdoor area located on Station Road, Kyle”;
• Remove all other listed activities and services listed in the operating plan other than recorded music and outdoor drinking area.

Informative: The licence holder is encouraged to make contact with the Council’s planning department to ensure they have all the relevant permissions for the premises (including the outdoor drinking area) and are not in breach of any planning legislation.

8.  Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005
Applications for variation (major) to Premises Licences
Achd Ceadachd (Alba) 2005
Iarrtasan airson Caochladh (Mòr) a thaobh Ceadachdan Thogalaichean

8.1  Ref:   HC/INBS/140
Applicant:  Parkdean Holiday Parks Limited, 2nd Floor, 1 Gosforth Park Way, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE12 2ET per Poppleston Allen, Solicitors, 37 Stoney Street, The Lace Market, Nottingham, NG1 1LS
Premises:  The Entertainment Complex, Nairn Lochloy Holiday Park, East Beach, Nairn, IV12 5DE
Type:  On and off sales

There had been circulated Report No HLB/016/19 by the Clerk.

The Board AGREED to GRANT the major variation to premises licence subject to mandatory conditions and the existing local conditions.

8.2  Ref:  HC/INBS/479
Applicant:  Calum Duncan, 28 Riverview, Portland Place, Inverness, IV1 1NE
Premises:  Crown Stores, 13 Kingsmills Road, Inverness, IV2 3JT
Type:  Off sales

There had been circulated Report No HLB/017/19 by the Clerk.

The Board AGREED to GRANT the major variation to premises licence subject to mandatory conditions only.

8.3  Ref:  HC/INBS/165
Applicant:  Glen Mhor Limited, First Floor Templeback, 10 Temple Back, Bristol, BS1 6FL per Stronachs, Solicitors, 28 Albyn Place, Aberdeen,AB10 1YL
Premises:  Glen Mhor Hotel, 8-15 Ness Bank, Inverness, IV2 4SG
Type:  On and off sales

There is circulated Report No HLB/018/19 by the Clerk.

The Board AGREED to GRANT the major variation to premises licence subject to mandatory conditions, existing local conditions and the special conditions set out at 8.3 of the report.

8.4  Ref:  HC/CSR/0854
Applicant:  Clean Bees Ltd
Premises:  The Store, Bettyhill, Sutherland, KW14 7SS
Type:  On and Off Sales

There had been circulated Report No HLB/019/19 by the Clerk.

The Board AGREED to GRANT the major variation to premises licence subject to mandatory conditions only.

8.5  Ref:  HC/CSR/1700
Applicant:  Christopher Duckham
Premises:  Cote Du Nord, The Old Schoolhouse, Bettyhill, KW14 7TB
Type:  On Sales

There had been circulated Report No HLB/020/19 by the Clerk.

The Board AGREED to GRANT the major variation to premises licence subject to mandatory conditions and the existing special condition.

8.6 Ref:  HC/CSR/0300
Applicant:  Parkdean Holiday Parks Limited, per Poppleston Allen, 37 Stoney Street, The Lace Market, Nottingham, NG1 1LS
Premises: Grannies Heilan Hame Holiday Park, Embo, Dornoch, IV25 3QD
Type:  On and Off Sales

There had been circulated Report No HLB/021/19 by the Clerk.

The Board AGREED to GRANT the major variation to premises licence subject to mandatory conditions and the existing local conditions.

9.  Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 Section 38
Application for review of premises licence
Achd Cheadachd (Alba) 2005, Earrann 84A
Iarrtasan airson èisteachd ath-bhreithneachail air ceadachd togalaich

9.1  Licence holder: David Smillie
Premises: Volunteer Arms, 47-49 High Street, Fort William, PH33 6DH

There had been circulated Report No HLB/022/19 by the Clerk together with an application by Police Scotland for a premises licence review under section 36 3(b) of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.  A report by the Licensing Standard Officer had also been circulated.

Sergeant Bruce Gray, read out the terms of the grounds of the Police Scotland request for a premises licence review.  There had been 40 incidents of note recorded within a six month period on the Police Scotland licensing database  innkeeper, those involving late hours had been highlighted in bold in the letter.  He thereafter requested variations to the licence as set out in his letter of 1 February 2019.

Mr Martin Smith, solicitor for the premises licence holder, tendered papers and these were circulated to Members.  Mr Smith clarified details in relation to the licensing intervention plan and confirmed that the Police were aware that staff would be undertaking SIA training in February of this year.  This was one of the busiest bars in Fort William and incidents of note from the police were in response to calls to the Police from the licensed premises in Fort William itself.  Mr Smith, reinforced that Mr Smillie had not been unwilling to sign the licensing intervention plan, he had merely requested time to consult with his solicitor prior to signing.  The licensing intervention plan objectives had been undertaken by Mr Smillie and his client would have been willing to discuss the plan for any further action to be taken.  In relation to the Police requests to view the CCTV, Mr Smith explained that it would be helpful if the Police arranged a time to view these and then arrangements could be made to have sufficient staff available to allow a staff member to assist with the CCTV. 

Mr Smith advised that Mr Smillie, proposed as an alternative to Police Scotland’s recommendation, a reduction in the opening hours namely Thursday 11:00 hours to 01:00 hours and Friday and Saturday 11:00 hours to 02:00 hours; a reduction in the capacity from 170 to 120 patrons and a premises licence holder to be on the premises from 17:00 hours until closing time on Fridays and Saturdays, the days and times when problems had been highlighted.

The Licensing Standards Officer stated that incidents in the Volunteer Arms were not new, it was a very popular, busy bar and there would be some incidents throughout the year, although forty incidents in six months was quite high.  Mr Smillie was very capable of managing the bar and undertaking staff training.  A dedicated floor steward inside the premises would also be beneficial. 

In response to questions from Members, the applicant and his solicitor responded as follows:-

• the first licensing intervention plan had resulted in an improvement and providing the practical issues could be addressed, particularly in relation to the CCTV plan, the new licensing intervention plan would have been workable and would have made an improvement;
• it was a current condition of the licence that the premises licence holder is aware of the number of people in the premises at any time and clickers were currently used following a head count at 10.00 pm to ascertain numbers; and
• training was undertaken in terms of the legislation and a member of the Highland Licensing Forum undertook substantial training.

The Licensing Standards Officer and Police Scotland advised that they would be supportive of the changes to the licence as outlined above.

The Board thereafter AGREED:

1. that the statutory grounds for review under section 36(3)(b) of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 (“the Act”) had been established in that there are grounds relevant to one or more of the licensing objectives as articulated at section 4(1) of the Act;
2. that it was necessary and appropriate for the purposes of the licensing objectives, specifically (1) preventing crime and disorder, (2) securing public safety, and (3) preventing public nuisance, to make a variation of the licence as follows:

• Restrict the on sales late opening hours attached to this licence by reducing the on sales closing time on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as detailed below:

           On sales:

           Thursday     11:00 hours to 01:00 hours
           Friday          11:00 hours to 02:00 hours
           Saturday     11:00 hours to 02:00 hours

• Reduce the capacity of the premises from 170 patrons to 120 patrons allowed in the premises at any time.
• From 17:00 hours to the on sales closing time on Friday and Saturday, the premises licence holder will ensure that a designated person who is the holder of a personal licence is present on the premises.
• After 21:00 hours on Friday and Saturday where the premises is open until later than 01:00 hours the following day, the premise licence holder will ensure that there are a minimum of three stewards all holding a licence granted under Section 8 of the Private Security Industry Act 2001 working at the premises, with one steward dedicated to the internal floor area of the premises.

The meeting ended at 11.30 am.