Council revokes takeaway’s late night licence
Stafford Borough Council has revoked a town centre takeaway’s late night licence after concerns were raised about how it was being managed.
Peppers in Bridge Street was found to be open outside of the hours allowed in its licence on three occasions, while a door supervisor “did nothing to intervene” when a fight broke out between “several customers” outside the premises earlier this year, the authority’s licensing sub-committee noted at a hearing this month (July).
Improvements were mentioned by the licence holder at the hearing and a request was made to adjourn the proceedings. But sub-committee members rejected the request and the hearing went ahead, going into a private session while evidence was presented.
The takeaway’s late night refreshment licence, which allows it to serve customers after 11pm, was reviewed last year following a request from Staffordshire Police. In November the council’s licensing sub-committee ruled that the premises licence be suspended for six weeks, and said it expected licence holder Khateeb Ullah Khan to use that time to improve management, ensure proper provision of door staff and compliance with CCTV conditions.
The premises licence was not suspended however, pending the outcome of an appeal, a report to the sub-committee said. The appeal is currently continuing in the Magistrates’ Court.
Staffordshire Police made another premises licence review request in May. Police called for the licence to be revoked and the review application was supported by the council’s licensing department.
The report to the committee said: “Staffordshire Police have stated that the operation and current management of the premises are undermining two licensing objectives (the prevention of crime and disorder and public safety) and that there is a lack of legal compliance with the Premises Licence Conditions. The Licensing Manager for Stafford Borough Council states that there is a fundamental concern over the way the premises is managed and that there is a clear disregard for compliance with licence conditions.”
Following the hearing this month the panel resolved to revoke the premises licence “with immediate effect”. Minutes from the hearing stated: “The committee found that the licence holder had failed to comply with the conditions of the premises licence, and that the operation and management of the premises are undermining the licensing objectives relating to prevention of crime and disorder and public safety – in particular that the premises were open and selling late night refreshment outside of the permitted hours on the premises licence on several dates- namely 27 December 2022, 9 April and 10 April 2023.
“The committee found that the licence holder inadequately supervised the area outside the premises, and noted that on 9 April, there was a fight between several customers, and a female customer was seen to kick another female who was lying on the pavement, while the door supervisor looked on and did nothing to intervene. CCTV footage presented by the police showed door staff not wearing yellow high visibility jackets while on duty – and this was apparent on 20 November, 27 November, 27 December 2022, 22 January, 8 February, 19 February, 19 March, 9 April, 10 April, 21 May 2023; this was a breach of the premises licence conditions
“Despite receiving two conditional cautions, a warning letter, a first review of the premises licence, and a police interview, the licence holder did very little to improve his compliance with the premises licence conditions. The licence holder’s focus seemed to be on rejecting the findings of the last Licensing Sub Committee.
“The committee were disappointed to note that the licence holder had not yet joined the Pubwatch scheme. The improvements mentioned by the licence holder at the hearing come too late, and only after numerous failures and breaches of the premises licence.”
Mr Khan was approached for comment following the hearing.
