Councillor Ellery was elected as Chairman for the meeting.

To receive apologies for absence, including notifications of any changes to the membership of the Sub-Committee.

It was reported that the membership of the Sub-Committee had been amended for this meeting by including Councillor Chris Lewis instead of Councillor Atiya-Alla.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of a Sub-Committee held on 29 September 2022.

The Minutes of the meeting of the Sub-Committee held on 29 September 2022 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To consider a report on the determination of a new Personal Licence.

Members considered a report on an application for a Personal Licence.

Written Representations received from:

Oral Representations received from:

Decision:

That Miss Joanne Louise Hayden’s application for a Personal Licence be refused.

Reasons for Decision:

Having carefully considered all the written and oral Representations, Members resolved unanimously to refuse the application, noting that Miss Hayden’s conviction was not yet spent, and in the absence of a persuasive argument or justification that would give them just cause to depart from the legislation regarding relevant convictions, when considering the suitability and responsibility of a Personal Licence Holder.

Members further noted that Miss Hayden was sentenced by the Crown Court which indicated, in their opinion, the seriousness of the offence and the likely scale of the production of a controlled drug, despite Miss Hayden’s assertion that she was not aware of or the scale of the production on her premises and that she could not smell the controlled drug.  Members concluded that the pungent nature of the controlled drug in question, would have been overwhelming and found cause to doubt Miss Hayden’s account in this regard.

In conclusion, Members could not be satisfied on the written and oral evidence before them, that Miss Hayden was an appropriate person to hold a Personal Licence at this stage and in granting this application, would in their opinion, risk the ‘Prevention of Crime and Disorder’ Licensing Objective being undermined.