To consider an application for the Review of a Premises Licence in respect of Favourite Chicken and Pizza, 10 St Mary’s Butts, Reading, RG1 2LN.

The Assistant Director of Planning, Transport and Regulatory Services submitted a report on an application by Thames Valley Police for the review of a Premises Licence in respect of Favourite Chicken & Pizza, 10 St Marys Butts, Reading, RG1 2LN.

The report stated that Thames Valley Police had requested a review of the Premises Licence due to serious concerns that the premises was failing to support the licensing objectives.

The report explained that these concerns were based on the number of violent incidents that had occurred in and around the premises, which included large scale fights, possession of drugs, a stabbing and use of a Taser to arrest an individual. The most recent of these incidents had taken place on 21December 2019 where a large-scale disorder had occurred outside the premises.  Inspection of the premises had also found a number of management failures, which had not been remedied despite written requests from Licensing officers.  A copy of the review application form was attached to the report at Appendix JC1.

The report stated that during the 28-day consultation period, representations had been received from Reading Borough Council Licensing Team which were attached to the report at Appendix JC2.

A copy of the current licence was attached at Appendix JC4 and authorised the following licensable activities:

Hours for the Provision of Late-Night Refreshment

Monday to Sunday                           2300 hours until 0500 hours

Hours the Premises is Open to the Public

Monday to Sunday                           0900 hours until 0530 hours

The following additional documents were attached to the papers:

Appendix JC3          Letters of Support for the premises Licence Holder;

Appendix JC5          Additional Information supplied by Thames Valley Police;

Appendix JC6          Additional Information Supplied by Premises Licence Holder.

The report stated that in determining the review application the Licensing Authority had a duty to carry out its functions with a view to promoting the four licensing objectives, as follows:

• The prevention of crime and disorder;
• Public safety;
• The prevention of public nuisance;
• The protection of children from harm.

The report further stated that in determining the application the Licensing Authority must also have regard to the representations received, the Licensing Authority’s statement of licensing policy and any relevant section of the statutory guidance to licensing authorities.  Furthermore, in determining the application, the Licensing Authority could take such of the following steps as it considered appropriate and proportionate for the promotion of the licensing objectives:

• Take no further action
• To issue formal warnings to the premises supervisor and/or premises licence holder
• Modify the conditions of the licence (including, but not limited to hours of operation of licensable activities)
• Exclude a licensable activity from the scope of the licence
• Remove the designated premises licence supervisor
• Suspend the licence for a period not exceeding three months
• Revoke the licence

(Where the Sub-Committee took a step mentioned in the third and fourth bullet points above it may provide that the modification or exclusion was to have effect for a period not exceeding three months or permanently.)

The report set out paragraphs 1.2 to 1.5, 1.7, 1.8, 9.12, 9.13, 9.42, 9.43, 11.1, 11.2, 11.10, 11.16 to 11.19 and 11.25 from the Secretary of State’s Guidance to the Licensing Act 2003 issued in April 2018.  The report set out paragraphs 1.5, 1.6, 2.19, 3.2, 3.7, 4.15, 5.13, 5.15, 7.1, 7.2, 7.4, 9.12, 9.13, 9.15, 9.16, 9.18, 9.20 and 9.21 of the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy.

Simon Wheeler and Natalie Cox from Thames Valley Police were present at the meeting and addressed the Sub-Committee on the review application.

Robert Smalley, Licensing Enforcement Officer attended the meeting and addressed the Sub-Committee on behalf of Reading Borough Council as a Responsible Authority.

William Donne, Silver Fox Licensing Consultants, Jon Payne, Licensing Lawyers, Mohammed Saleem, Premises Licence Holder and Kamal Saleem, the manager of Favourite Chicken & Pizza, attended the meeting and addressed the Sub-Committee.

Peter Narancic, Senior Licensing Enforcement Officer, presented the report at the meeting and asked the Sub-Committee to note that the date quoted on the report had been superseded due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and that the date on which the application was heard was 16 July 2020

The Sub-Committee noted that there had been breaches of the current conditions attached to the Licence and considered that a reduction in the hours of operation and the amendment of existing and addition of new conditions would enable the Premises Licence Holder to promote the four Licensing Objectives, in particular the prevention of Crime and Disorder and ensuring public safety.  The Committee also noted that the premises was in an area that had the highest rate of Crime and Disorder in the town centre and acknowledged that there had been incidents both within and outside the premises.

Resolved –

That, in order to promote the four licensing objectives and having regard to the oral and written representations made, the Secretary of State’s guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 (April 2018) and the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy, the Premises Licence in respect of Favourite Chicken & Pizza, 10 St Marys Butts, Reading, RG1 2LN, remain in force with reduced opening hours

Having heard all of the representations the Sub-Committee considered that the changes in the operating hours were such as to reduce the risks of incidents occurring that would breach the four Licensing Objectives.

The current hours for licensable activities and conditions attached to the licence would be removed and replaced by the new hours and set out below:

1.       Hours for licensable activities

Hours for the Provision of Late-Night Refreshment

Monday to Sunday                     2300 hours until 0200 hours

Hours the Premises is Open to the Public

Monday to Sunday                     0900 hours until 0230 hours

2.       Conditions

Replace (a) with (1) below:

(a)      The Premises Licence Holder shall ensure the premises digitally recorded CCTV system camera shall continuously record whilst the premises are open to the public and the recordings shall be kept available for a minimum of 31 days with time and date stamping.  Data recordings shall be made immediately available to an authorised officer of Reading Borough Council or an officer of Thames Valley Police together with facilities for viewing upon request.  Recorded images shall be of such quality as to be able to identify the recorded person.

(1)      The Premises Licence Holder shall ensure the premises digitally recorded CCTV system camera shall continuously record whilst the premises are open to the public and the recordings shall be kept available for a minimum of 31 days with time and date stamping.  Data recordings shall be made immediately available to an authorised officer of Reading Borough Council or an officer of Thames Valley Police together with facilities for viewing upon request, subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act.  Recorded images shall be of such quality as to be able to identify the recorded person in any light.  At least one member of staff on the premises at any time during operating hours shall be trained to access and download material from the CCTV system.  CCTV signs shall be displayed in public areas.

Replace (d) with (2a, 2b and 2c) below:

(d)      The premises shall have two SIA (Security Industry Authority) approved door supervisors on a Thursday night’s trade, Friday night’s trade and Saturday nights trade from 0000 hours until the last customer has left at closing time;

(2)(a) The premises shall have FOUR SIA approved door supervisors on a Thursday night’s trade, Friday night’s trade and Saturday nights trade from 2300 hours until the last customer has left at closing time;

(2)(b) The premises shall have TWO SIA approved door supervisors on a Sunday night’s trade, Monday night’s trade, Tuesday night’s trade and Wednesday nights trade from 2300 hours until the last customer has left at closing time;

(2)c)   The Premises Licence Holder shall risk assess the requirement to increase the number of SIA approved door supervisors Monday to Sunday whenever late-night refreshment is taking place, which should show cognisance of local events such as Fresher’s Week, Bank Holiday weekends, Christmas and New Year’s Eve as non-exhaustive examples.  The risk assessment must be in writing and available immediately upon request to authorised officers of Reading Borough Council and Thames Valley Police.

Replace (e) with (3) as below:

(e)      The Premises Licence Holder shall keep and maintain a register of door supervisors.  The register shall show the following details:

(i)       The name, home address and registration number of all door supervisors working at the premises;

(ii)      SIA registration number;

(iii)     Date and time the door supervisor commenced duty – countersigned by the duty manager;

(iv)     Any occurrence or incident which undermines the licensing objectives must be recorded giving names of the door supervisor involved and the date of the occurrence;

(v)      Date and time the door supervisor finished work countersigned by the duty manager;

(vi)     The door supervisor register must be kept at the licensed premises and be available for inspection by Thames Valley Police or an authorised officer from Reading Borough Council;

(3)      When employed, a register of door supervisors shall be kept.  The register shall show the following details:

(i)       Full SIA registration number and name;

(ii)      Date and time the door supervisor commenced duty – countersigned by the duty manager;

(iii)     Date and time the door supervisor finished work countersigned by the duty manager;

(iv)     Any occurrence or incident of interest involving crime and disorder or public safety must be recorded giving names of the door supervisor involved;

(v)      A record will be kept on site of all monthly SIA checks that are made via the register of licence holders via the www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk website to check the validity of all door staff licences.  A scan, photocopy or photographic image of the SIA badge held by each door supervisor shall be recorded and retained in a register along with an ID photo of the individual to ensure that the badge is held by the “correct” person.  All records to be retained for twelve months in line with (vi) below;

(vi)     The door supervisor register shall be kept at the licensed premises and be available for inspection by an authorised officer from Reading Borough Council or Thames Valley Police upon request, and shall be retained for a period of twelve months;

Replace (f) with (4) as below:

(f)      The Premises Licence Holder shall ensure that all door supervisors whilst employed at the premises shall wear “high-visibility” arm bands to incorporate displaying their SIA badge;

(4)      The Premises Licence Holder shall ensure that all door supervisors whilst employed at the premises shall wear hi-visibility tabards in bright green, yellow or orange in order that they can be clearly visible and identifiable at all times to the public and via CCTV both internally and externally.  When tabards are worn, hi-visibility arm bands must also be worn that incorporate displaying SIA badges.  If hi-visibility full sleeved jackets are worn the PREMISES LICENCE HOLDER must ensure that all door supervisor badges are also displayed via an easily visible arm band of a different hi-visibility colour to the jacket that is being worn.

Add conditions (5) to (16) below:

(5)      While Door Supervisors are employed at the premises ALL Door Supervisors working at the premises will be deployed with digitally recording Body Worn \video (BWV).  The BWV will be used to record any incidents which occur both inside and outside of the premises involving customers either entering, exiting or gathering in the vicinity of the premises or in any queue that impact any of the four licensing objectives.  Data recordings shall be made immediately available to an authorised officer of Reading Borough Council or Thames Valley Police together with facilities for viewing upon request, subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act.

(6)      All SIA door supervisors employed at the premises will be trained in respect of a Door Supervisors Operational Policy which must be written and provided by the Premises Licence Holder and a signed training record to confirm the same will be maintained for production to authorised officers of Reading Borough Council and Thames Valley Police upon request.

(7)      The Premises Licence Holder  shall ensure that a written operational policy relating to the safe removal of persons from the premises and/or its immediate vicinity by staff and door supervisors shall be put in place, actively operated and included within the Door Supervisors Operational Policy.  The Policy shall be in written format and made available upon request to an authorised officer of Reading Borough Council and Thames Valley Police.  This shall include, but not be limited to:

(i)       persons who have been identified by staff as being vulnerable or at risk;

(ii)      Persons who are refused entry to the premises or refused service within the premises;

(iii)     Persons who are ejected from the premises.

(8)      The Premises Licence Holder shall ensure that upon induction, all door supervisors employed at the premises receive as a minimum standard written training in a) control and restraint techniques and b) legal training covering the powers and policies relevant to their role.  Refresher training shall be provided every six months and signed records shall be produced upon request to authorised officers of Reading Borough Council and Thames Valley Police.  Written records for both induction and refresher training are to be kept for a minimum of two years of the date of training.

(9)      The Premises Licence Holder shall participate, as far as is practicable, in the Local Town Safe Radio scheme when the premises are open for licensable activities.

(10)    The Premises Licence Holder or nominated representative shall keep and maintain all right to work documents for all staff members.  Right to work documents shall be kept at the premises and produced to an authorised officer of Reading Borough Council or Thames Valley Police upon request.

(11)    Clearly legible and suitable noticed shall be displayed at all exits requesting customers to respect the needs of local residents and to leave the premises and area quietly.  Staff shall be available to assist in the dispersal of customer at the cessation of licensable activities each evening.

(12)    The premises shall implement, operate and maintain a policy to manage dispersal of customer from the premises.  The policy shall be in written format and all staff should be trained in how to operate it. The policy shall be produced to an authorised officer of Reading Borough Council or Thames Valley Police upon request.

(13)    All packaging and utensils for use by customers shall be made of biodegradable or recyclable materials;

(14)    Staff shall actively discourage and disperse persons who congregate outside the premises so as to minimise disturbance to local residents;

(15)    Children under the age of 18 years shall not be permitted on the premises after 2300 hours.  The Premises Licence Holder or duly nominated representative shall put in place processes for identifying customers under the age of 18 and written signed training provided to all staff and door supervisors detailing how to deal with any potential conflict arising from the refusal of service.

(16)    Staff employed shall undergo training in relation to the Licensing Act 2003 regarding late night refreshment upon induction.  This shall include, but not be limited to understanding the four licensing objectives.  Such training sessions are to be documented and refreshed every six months.  All training sessions are to be documented in English.  Records of training shall be kept for a minimum of one year and be made available to an authorised officer of Reading Borough Council or Thames Valley Police upon request.

I         The prevention of crime and disorder

II        Public safety

III       The prevention of public nuisance

IV       The protection of children from harm.

Replace (g) with (17) as below:

(g)      All incidents which impact on any of the licensing objectives shall be recorded in a register kept at the premises for this purpose.  The names of the person recording the incident and those members of staff who deal with any incident shall also be recorded.  Where known, any offenders name shall also be recorded.  Such records shall be retained for a period of one year and be made available for inspection by an authorised officer of Reading Borough Council or an officer of Thames Valley Police.

(17)    An incident book/register shall be maintained to record all incidents of crime and disorder occurring at the premises.  The register shall record a description of the incident, a description of any persons involved in the incident, any person recording the incident and details of whether the police were called.  This book/register shall be available to an authorised officer of Reading Borough Council or Thames Valley Police upon request.