Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

It was confirmed that all items were Part I and would be considered in public.

None.

Introduction by Licensing Officer

Stephanie Waterford, Licensing Officer at London Borough of Hillingdon, introduced the report relating to an application for the renewal of a temporary street trading licence outside "One Pound Plus", 37 Station Road, West Drayton.  The application had been made by the premises occupier, Mr Gurbajan Singh.

The applicant sought to renew the licence to display household goods in a one metre shop front display outside the shop.  The licence had been held since March 2014.

It was noted that a letter dated 27 October 2016 from the applicant's representative, Mr Indranil Chakraborty, had been circulated as an addendum.

The application had been put before the Sub-Committee due to the receipt of one representation made in relation to the application, which stated concerns in relation to the application.

The Committee was invited to determine the application, and either grant, refuse, or amend the application as applied for.

Representation by the Applicant

Mr Singh's representative, Mr Chakraborty, addressed the Sub-Committee.  The issues Mr Chakraborty raised in his representation were:

·           The applicant endeavoured to contain his display within the permitted area but acknowledged that on occasions he had exceeded the one metre permitted by a few inches when, for example, the display moved when it was windy.  There was a wide footpath and movement of a few inches would not block pedestrian access.  The applicant was reliant upon others to tell him if the display had moved.

·           The display was colourful and attractive.

·           Mr Singh was experienced in managing the display to minimise disruption if a customer wished to buy goods at the bottom of the display.  He did not leave goods on the pavement when rearranging the display.

·           Thieves operated in the area and had stolen from the applicant's shop.

·           Profit margins were small and Mr Singh worked very hard to run his business.  If the licence were revoked, Mr Singh would lose his business as he could not compete against large businesses in the area.

·           It was a difficult location to run a business from as there were no loading bays and the applicant had paid over £600 in parking fines received for leaving his vehicle outside the shop to load and unload.

·           Mr Chakraborty and Mr Singh stated that a man and a woman had come to the shop, claiming to be from the Council's Street Trading Department, and ordered Mr Singh to pay fines for exceeding the permitted size of his display.  In response to this, officers advised that the Licensing Department had not issued any fines to Mr Singh during the past twelve months, and that officers would not visit premises to demand money.  The Chairman advised that this issue was not a material consideration for the application to be determined, but should be investigated further outside of the meeting.

·           Mr Chakraborty stated that the representations made by the objector, Councillor Dominic Gilham, were based on hearsay rather than fact.  The allegations that the applicant had been dumping trade waste  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.