The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting, ensured that introductions were made and then briefly outlined the procedure of the meeting.  

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies for absence.  

To note any declarations of interest made by Members, including those restricting Members from voting on the questions detailed in Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act, 1992.  See attached note from the Chief Executive.

There were no declarations of interests made.

To note the rules of procedure which are attached for information.

The Rules of Procedures were noted.

At the request of the Chair, Ms Kathy Driver, Acting Principal Licensing Officer, introduced the report which detailed the application for a review of the premises license for Cornucopia Market, 246 Tredegar Road, London E3 2GP. It was noted that the review had been triggered by the Metropolitan Police. Ms Driver explained that there had been additional letters of support for the Premise Licence Holder, other than those in the agenda, however these were invalid due to lack of information. A supporting statement was tabled at the meeting on behalf of Hewison Street (South) Leaseholders Association which gave reference of the Premises License Holder’s good practice and good character.  Mr. Greeno confirmed that it was clear from this statement that it was made by residents who lived in the vicinity and therefore should have been included with the agenda papers.

At the request of the Chair, Mr Andy Jackson explained that the review related to a series of operations run jointly with Police, Trading Standards and HRMC Customs. It was noted that certain off licences were identified following a review of intelligence from all three agencies. The premise was visited on 21^st April 2010, on entry to the premises, a total of 23 bottles of whiskey were found which displayed counterfeit duty stamps, further examination of the wine on sale revealed that there were 36 bottles of mixed wine which were non duty paid, and these were all seized. There had been no receipts produced for the goods at the time of seizure to prove that they were brought from a wholesaler. The owners were also given 28 days to produce the receipts for the goods seized, however this period had expired and the receipts have not yet been produced. It was noted that the goods seized amounted to total duty evaded of £214.00.

Mr Jackson referred Members to the DCMS guidance which stated that the sale of smuggled tobacco and alcohol should be treated particularly seriously. In this instance where there had been a smaller amount of smuggled goods, a suspension of the licence was sought and the length of suspension was to be decided by the Sub Committee and a suggestion for additional conditions to be imposed on the license was recommended in order to send a powerful message to the premises and to all other off licenses in the area.

At the request of the Chair, Mr David Dadds, Counsel for the Premises Licence Holder explained that these were allegations and not a matter of fact, he referred Members to the seizure notice which had been altered by the Customs Officer, to explain that the Customs Officer was unclear on what was counterfeit and what was not. It was noted that the shop was a successful business with a high turnover, and that alcohol amounted to 30% of its business. He then referred to a number of receipts from wholesalers justifying the counterfeit goods, he stated that all the receipts for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.1

At the request of the applicant and with agreement of all parties, Members Adjourned the consideration of the application. It was agreed that the application would be rescheduled for the Licensing Sub Committee meeting on 26 October 2010.

There was no other business.