Now contains additional information as submitted by the applicant and a resident objector.

The Hearing Panel considered a report the Director of Planning, Building Control and Licensing.  The written papers of the parties that were submitted and the oral representations of the parties who attended the hearing were also considered.  The hearing was conducted in line with the established procedure for premises applications.

In reaching its decision, the Panel has also considered the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy, the Licensing Act 2003, the Regulations made there under and the Guidance issued by the Secretary of State under Section 182 of that Act as well as the licensing objectives.

The Panel heard from the Applicant’s representative that, following discussions with GMP, the application had been modified in respect of the licensable hours sought, with conditions to be added should the Premises Licence be granted.

The Applicant explained that the premises would effectively operate as a restaurant until 10pm and then be converted to a late-night venue with events running from 11pm.The kitchen area of the premises would be upgraded to offer a wider range of food options should the licence be granted.

The original application was for the premises to open seven days a week with licensable activities continuing until at least 2am.  However, after objections received from the Responsible Authorities, local councillors and local residents, this was changed to five days a week with the premises closing at 10.30pm on Mondays and Tuesdays. The Applicant advised that Salsa and Latin Dance classes would be taking place on Wednesdays and Thursdays whilst Sundays would be exclusively set aside for private functions to be held. Fridays and Saturdays would be theme nights and entry to the premises would be by ticket invitation only. To assist the Panel an event breakdown sheet was produced showing all ticketed events for the rest of the year. All events would be organised by bona fide and professional promoters. The Applicant stated that they understood the concerns of local residents and indicated that they did want to engage with them, keep them updated as to the events that were taking place at the premises and address any concerns that they may have.

The Applicant then referred to the licensing objectives and explained in detail how the premises would uphold these. He referred to the substantial number of conditions and those offered following discussions with GMP. He stated that placing these on its licence demonstrated a willingness on the part of the premises to work with the community and uphold the licensing objectives. The Panel was advised that the premises had only opened recently in November 2023 and that no complaints had been raised since such time, a point accepted by Licensing Out Of Hours (LOOH) team. The Applicant noted that there had been issues with how the premises had been managed previously but re-iterated that it would be run differently as a late-night venue with organised events being held rather than being run as a nightclub. The Premises indicated that they had a zero-tolerance drugs policy and the manager indicated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.