The report of the Head of Planning, Building Control and Licensing is enclosed.

The Hearing Panel considered the report from the Directorof Planning, Building Control and Licensing regarding the above applications.The written papers and oral representations of the parties who attended were also considered, as well as the relevant legislation.

The Applicant and his business partners, Licensing Out of Hours and Greater Manchester Police attended the hearing The Chair used the agreed procedure to conduct the hearing.

The representative of the Responsible Authority who had applied for the review- Licensing and Out of Hours (LOOH) explained to the Panel that the Premises Licence Holder (PLH) had obtained a premises licence for Sky Lounge on the 18^th of September 2023, only 4 months ago. Furthermore, when the PLH attended the hearing to make the application for the premises licence, he agreed to a number of conditions to be attached to his licence and also agreed to reduce the hours applied for. He had agreed that last food orders would be at 8.45pm and the premises would close at 9.30pm. This was evidenced in the bundle through the minutes of that hearing.

The Panel was referred to the original application made by the PLH in the hearing bundle the bundle, which stated that should false information be given that this was considered to be an offence under section 158 of the Licensing Act 2003. The LOOH’s officer told the Panel that the PLH had made false statements when making his application on the 18 September 2023 and had misled the Panel.

The Panel was advised that on the 1 November 2023, the LOOH’s team was first contacted by residents. A summary of complaints was evidenced in the hearing bundle.

The Panel was told that the LOOH team had requested CCTV footage to be provided by the PLH, however he had refused to do so. He was therefore in breach of his licence conditions, which is also a criminal offence under Section 136 Licensing Act 2003.

Furthermore, there had been issues with waste at the premises which resulted in the service of a Prevention of Damages by Pests Act (PDPA) 1949 notice.

The Panel was advised by the LOOH’s officer that the premises had been opening before 11am and closing after 9.00pm, which is beyond the permitted hours.

In addition, there had been an allegation of an assault made to GMP, which is said to have taken place at the premises on a person under the age of 18 years. It was alleged that the wife of the business partner had assaulted a staff member. The worker who alleged she had been assaulted reported that she was paid cash in hand by the business; that there had been drunk males allowed in the upstairs of the premises; that they were smoking shisha inside and that the premises was operating beyond its permitted hours.

The LOOH officer advised the Panel that numerous visits had taken place at the premises. On the 1 November 2023, when officers had attended the premises, staff who were on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.