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

The Committee considered carefully the representations of GMP including the CCTV evidence and the representations made on behalf of the Premises Licence holder.  The Committee was concerned about the series of incidents which occurred between  22 August 2018 and 1 January 2019 and in particular the incident at New Year which led to a patron being stabbed outside the premises following an altercation which had taken place inside the premises. 

The Committee shared the concerns of GMP about the clientele which is being attracted to the premises.  The Committee carefully considered the conditions put forward by the parties and was satisfied that if implemented these conditions should remedy the problems which led to the incidents which occurred.   

The Committee was concerned about the use of glass bottles in the VIP area , it was noted some of these bottles were large and could be used as weapons or could be dangerous if broken accidentally by patrons.  Therefore the Committee considered it appropriate to amend the conditions to ensure there was always a member of staff present in the VIP area to facilitate full adherence to the conditions.  The Committee considered that in the absence of a member of staff patrons may be more likely to pour their own drinks of drink from glass bottles.

The Committee considered it appropriate to amend the licence as set out above, as it was satisfied  that the operation of the premises subject to the implementation of these conditions would not undermine the Licensing Objectives,  Therefore the Committee further determined it was no longer necessary for the licence to be suspended therefore it was appropriate to lift the suspension which had been imposed on 4 January 2019.

Decision

1.    To remove the DPS.

2.    To lift the suspension of the Licence subject to the following conditions. 

Conditions

Annex 3

1.    Any area where customers have legitimate access shall be sufficiently illuminated for the purposes of CCTV. CCTV shall be operation at any time a person is in the premises.

a.    All CCTV recorded images shall have sufficient clarity/quality/definition to enable facial recognition. CCTV shall be kept in an unedited format for a minimum period of 28 days.

b.    CCTC shall be maintained on a regular basis and kept in good working order at all times. CCTV maintenance records shall be kept with details of contractor used and work carried out to be recorded.

c.    Where CCTV is recorded on to a hard drive system any DVDs subsequently produced shall be in a format so it can be played back on a standard personal computer or standard DVD player. Where CCTV is recorded on to a hard drive system, the hard drive system shall have a minimum of 28 day roll over recording period.

d.    Any person left in charge of the premises shall be trained in the use of any such CCTV equipment and able to produce/download/burn CCTV images upon request by a person from a responsible authority. Plans indicating the position of CCTV cameras shall be submitted to the responsible bodies within one week of the granting of a licence requiring CCTV. Where the recording is on a removable medium (i.e. compact disc, flash card etc.), a secure storage system to store those recording mediums shall be provided.

2.    When the premises operates after midnight then SIA registered door staff shall be employed at the premises on the ratio of 1:100 from opening until 30 minutes after the premises closes to ensure persons arriving and leaving do so without causing incidents of disorder or public nuisance. On all other days the need for door staff shall be risk assessed by the Designated Premises Supervisor and employed when the risk assessment deems it necessary or when informed by Greater Manchester Police of the need for door staff. When employed at the premises door staff shall wear Hi Viz clothing both inside and outside the premises.

3.    The Challenge 25 policy shall be implemented in full and appropriate identification shall be sought from any person who appears under the age of 25. The only acceptable forms of identification shall be passport, photo driving licence and those carrying the PASS logo.

4.    Staff training shall include the Challenge 25 policy and its operation. In particular staff shall be trained to take such action as is necessary to prevent the sale of alcohol to persons over the age of 18 where those customers are engaged in the distribution of alcohol to persons under the age of 18.

5.    The training shall be given to a new member of staff before they commence paid employment and all staff shall be retrained quarterly. Training shall also include drugs and drunkenness.

6.    An incident book shall be implemented and open to inspection by an authorised officer from GMP or Manchester City Council.

7.    Upon notice given by the City Centre Licensing Unit of Greater Manchester Police the premises shall agree not to sell alcohol for an agreed specified period when high profile events are being held in or around the City Centre of Manchester.

8.    Noise from music shall be controlled to a level that does not cause nuisance.

9.    A member of staff shall monitor customers smoking outside the premises on a regular basis and ensure noise is kept to a minimum so as not to cause nuisance.

10.  The location of the smoking are shall be at the front of the premises on Queen Street.

11.  By way of a dispersal policy the management shall:

a.    Provide local taxi numbers shall be displayed inside the premises. These shall have a ring back facility.

b.    Reduce the volume of the music during the wind-down period.

c.    Request that the door supervisors use their best endeavours to remind patrons to leave in a quiet and orderly manner.

12.  An ID Clubscan or equivalent (to the same standard) shall be in operation at the premises. All customers' identification documents shall be checked via the system before being allowed access to the premises. Any person refusing to comply shall be refused access to the premises.

13.  Drinking Vessels.

a.    With the exception of the V.I.P area as marked on the plans, all drinking vessels used in the venue shall be Polycarbonate.

b.    All drinks in glass bottles are to be decanted into Polycarbonate containers or Polycarbonate carafes prior to being served, with the exception of any bottles of 70cl or above which are to be secured to the table or dispensed only by a member of staff. Staff shall clear all empty bottles promptly from the tables. Customers shall not be permitted to leave their table carrying any such bottle or drink directly from the bottle. There shall be a member of staff in the VIP area at all times customers are present in the VIP area.

c.    Notwithstanding (a) and (b) above, with the written agreement of GMP, a copy of which shall be held at the premises reception, glass drinking vessels may be used for private or pre-booked events within the premises.

14.  Only door staff from an ACS accredited company shall be employed at the premises.

15.  A dress policy, which must be agreed with GMP, shall be implemented at the premises. Any person who is dressed in a manner which falls outside the policy shall be refused entry.

16.  A Nitenet radio shall be carried by a member of door staff at all times whilst the premises are open.

17.  There shall be an annual training day for staff which reviews the licensing law and Premises Licence Conditions. The date is to be notified to GMP.

18.  NEW- All SIA registered staff working at the premises shall wear high visibility vest/tabard/armband/recognised uniform whilst the premises is in operation so they can be readily identified.

19.  NEW- SIA registered staff working at the front entrance of the premises (to include id clubscan operator and cashier) shall wear and utilise body worn cameras whilst the premises is in operation.

20.  NEW- There shall be a minimum of 1 SIA registered door staff stationed at each of the entrances to the VIP area.

21.  NEW- Training files for all staff shall be retained and held by management on the premises and shall be available for inspection upon request by an authorised officer.

22.  NEW- Training of all staff shall ensure the premises operates in line with the company operating procedures.

23.  NEW- There shall be a metal detecting search arch, comprising of a fixed structure at the entrance which must be passed through, installed at the premises and operated at such times as agreed with the GMP. Every patron entering the premises to use the licensing facilities shall pass through the metal detecting search arch unless otherwise agreed with GMP. Any customers who refuse to pass through the metal detecting search arch will not be allowed entry to the premises.

24.  NEW- There shall be a dedicated search captain employed at the premises to supervise the searching of customers at all times when the premises are open.