Agenda and minutes

Licensing Sub-Committee - Friday, 12th July, 2019 10.00 am

Venue: Committee Room 5 - Civic Centre. View directions

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

None.

2.

Declarations of interest in matters coming before this meeting

Minutes:

None.

3.

To confirm that the items of business marked Part I will be considered in Public and items marked Part II will be considered in Private

Minutes:

It was confirmed that all items would be determined in public.

4.

Matters that have been notified in advance or urgent

Minutes:

It was confirmed that an addendum had been circulated to all parties prior to the meeting.

5.

Street Trading Pitch, Skyport Drive, Harmondsworth pdf icon PDF 99 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Introduction by the Licensing Officer

 

Mr Steve Dormer - Licensing Officer, introduced the report and confirmed that the applicant was seeking to renew his street trading licence for a further six months, to continue selling hot food and drink from a mobile food trailer.

 

However, the licensing authority had concerns as, while the applicant had held a licence to sell hot food and drink from the site for a number of years, recent inspections had shown the trailer to be closed and the site unused. In addition, the facility was falling into a state of disrepair and was unsightly.

 

It was recommended that the application to renew the licence be refused, so that the site could be made available to a trader who would use it regularly.

 

Mr Dormer confirmed that a recent site visit had shown that the trailer had recently been removed.

 

The Sub-Committee sought clarification on when the facility had been closed. In response, Mr Dormer confirmed that an inspection by the Council’s food safety team on 12 June 2018 had resulted in a zero rating and the temporary closure of the facility. The Council’s Licensing team then attempted to visit the site on 26 September 2018, but the site was closed.

 

The food safety team then attempted to visit the site in December 2018, but as the facility was closed, no inspection took place. A further visit from the Council’s Licensing team on 29 May 2019 showed the facility closed and the site apparently abandoned. During various observations of the site during daytime hours from May through to June 2019, the premises had been closed.

 

Mr Dormer confirmed that the applicant had held a licence since 2010,  and no issues relating to trading had been witnessed or evidenced between 2010 and 2018.

 

Representation by the Applicant

 

The applicant, Mr Lakhani, asserted that the facility had been open without issue until June 2018 when, following the food safety inspection, it was closed for repairs. Food safety officers visited the site following completion of the repairs, and approved the site.

 

The site then re-opened on 30 September until 30 November 2018, when it was shut. The site then re-opened again for 7 days in February 2018, after which it was closed until the present date.

 

The Sub-Committee was advised that the reason for closure after November 2018 was due to health issues experienced by Mr Lakhani. In addition, his assistant (a family member) had also experienced issues which had prevented them from working. The applicant suggested that, prior to November, observed closures were on days when Mr Lakhani or his assistant were attending meetings, which included medical appointments.

 

The Discussion

 

All parties discussed the application.

 

The Sub-Committee was advised that, in anticipation of a licence renewal, Mr Lakhani had made a deposit on a new modern unit for the serving of food and drink. The old unit had therefore been removed, and Mr Lakhani had also employed two new assistants who were keen to begin work. Details concerning  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Addendum pdf icon PDF 9 MB