Agenda, decisions and minutes

RESOLVED that Minutes of meetings of Licensing Committee held on 13 March, 14 March and 4 April 2024 be confirmed as accurate records.

No interest was declared at the meeting.

DECISION NOTICE

1.    Merkur Slots UK Limited has applied for the grant of a new Bingo Premises Licence at 53 Sydenham Road, SE26 5EY (“the Premises”).

2.    The application was for the grant of a Bingo Premises Licence Mondays to Sundays 24 hours a day.

3.    Relevant representations were received seventy-nine local residents on the grounds that granting the application would not meet the objective of upholding 2 of the 3 licensing objectives, namely 1) to prevent gambling from being a source of crime & disorder and 2) to protect children & other vulnerable persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling. .

4.    The Licensing Committee held a hearing on 14 May 2024 to consider the application.  A solicitor spoke on behalf of the Applicant.  A resident, Councillor for the Sydenham Ward (representing a number of residents who had made written representations) and a representative from the Sydenham Society attended to make oral representations to the committee.

5.    In making its decision the Committee has considered all of the papers contained in the report pack together with the submissions and evidence presented by all parties at the hearing.  The committee has also considered the Council’s own Statement of Licensing Policy, Guidance and Codes of Practice issued by the Gambling Commission  and has ensured that its decision is reasonably consistent with the licensing objectives.

6.    The Committee’s decision is to grant the application subject to the following:

a.     an amendment to default condition 18.24 to read “Bingo facilities in bingo premises may not be offered between the hours of midnight and 9am” removing the wording “However, there are no restrictions on access to gaming machines in bingo premises”.

b.    The addition of the following conditions:

                                          i.    The Premises to close between the hours of midnight to 9 a.m. Mondays to Sundays

                                        ii.    The premises shall not provide gambling facilities between the hours of midnight and 9 a.m. Mondays to Sundays

7.    The reasons for the Committee’s decision are as follows:

a.    The Committee was concerned by the representations raised by local residents in connection with the third licensing objective, persons from being harmed or exploited by gambling.  The Committee referred to its own Statement of Licensing Policy to consider the definition of “vulnerable person”, paragraph 6.2, and accepted the representations did relate to categories of people who could properly be identified as vulnerable persons in the local community.

b.    A range of representations were made concerning the impact the granting of the application for 24 hours would have particularly on vulnerable people in the community.  The Committee remained concerned that the Premises would present a risk to vulnerable people in the community and in particular after midnight when other licensed premises in the area would be closed.  The Committee heard evidence and read in the hearing pack that the Premises would offer customers coffee and tea when visiting and again operating 24 hours a day would make the Premises attractive to vulnerable customers where all other licensed, and non-licensed,  ...  view the full decision text for item 3.

3.1     The Committee received a report presented by the Safer Communities Officer in relation to an application for a new premises licence to operate a “Bingo” facility at 53 Sydenham Road, SE26 5EY.

3.1.1   In considering the report, the Committee noted the following:

·            That the application was advertised in accordance with the relevant regulations.

·            That 79 representations were received from interested parties on grounds of the following licensing objectives:

o      To prevent gambling as a source of crime and disorder; and

o      To protect children and other vulnerable persons from harm or exploitation by gambling.

·            That no objection was received from any responsible authority.

3.2     The Committee invited the agent of the applicant to make a submission and he advised Members to consider the following when deciding on the application:

·            Written witness statements submitted with the application.

·            The requirements under Section 153(a) to (d) of the Gambling Act 2005 as follows:

(a)     in accordance with any relevant code of practice under section 24,

(b)     in accordance with any relevant guidance issued by the Commission under section 25,

(c)      reasonably consistent with the licensing objectives (subject to paragraphs (a) and (b)), and

(d)      in accordance with the statement published by the authority under section 349 (subject to paragraphs (a) to (c)).

·            The discretion by the Committee to consider any additional conditions and in so doing, Members should consider the track record of the applicant who had been operating as a gambling operator for several years with no problems, and currently was providing service in about 230 locations across the country.

3.2.1    In response to questions raised, the agent for the applicant advised the Committee as follows:

·            That it would be impossible to expect a gambling operator in the country to always prevent deviations from licensing conditions.  Thus, the focus should be on how operators deal with deviations when they occurred. 

·            That the evidence submitted with the application under consideration demonstrated that deviations were dealt with by the applicant expeditiously and thoroughly.  Hence, there had been no reviews of any of the business premises because licensing authorities had been satisfied with the applicant’s actions in that regard.

·            That the application to operate a 24-hour gambling service from the proposed site was because the applicant identified a need and took steps to meet the demand as part of the night-time economy in the local area.

·            That there had been no evidence of problems occurring because of a large hourly footfall as experience suggested that only a trickle of customers would visit the applicant’s 24-hour gambling premises across the country at varying periods during the day and at night time. 

·            That although there was nothing to suggest that the applicant had direct discussions with residents and local amenity groups about the application under consideration, it was clear in the Officer’s report that there were considerable consultations with the responsible authorities, including the Metropolitan Police.  In addition to that, a public notice was published within the statutory timeframe. 

·            That as legislation made no mention of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.