Agenda and minutes

To receive any disclosure of interests from Members and Officers in matters to be discussed.

Note: Councillors are reminded of their obligations to declare disclosable pecuniary interests, personal and/or prejudicial interests in accordance with legislation and the Council’s Code of Conduct.

No disclosures of interest were declared

(Report LR547)

The Chairperson welcomed all those present to the meeting:

Applicant & Representatives

Piers Warne - TLT Solicitors (representing applicant)

Mark and Penny Thornhill (Managers and Designated Premises Supervisor)

Other Persons who have made written representations:

Susan Lynn Thomas (representation on pages 43 – 46)

Jan Harrison (representation on page 47)

Tiffany Hung (on behalf of Sally Ting and Andy Hung – representation on pages 48-50)

The Interim Licensing Manager introduced the report which set out an application for a variation to a Premises Licence under Section 34 of the Licensing Act 2003 for The Roebuck Inn, 57 Stockbridge Road, Winchester. The premises were described as a public house with a garden located on the Stockbridge Road, Winchester. 

The application was seeking a change to the layout by adding an external bar/servery to be used between 1200 and 2100 hours each day and to add conditions to the licence as set out in section 5 of the report. Notably, the application proposed to amend an existing condition to read ‘No deliveries or collections from the premises shall take place before 0700 or after 1600 hours each day’. The full application was set out in Appendix 1 to the report. 

The Sub-Committee were advised that no representations had been received by Responsible Authorities. However, conditions were agreed with Hampshire Constabulary on behalf of Greene King Retailing Limited, via their legal representatives during the consultation period and these were also set out in Section 5 of the report.  Six written representations had been received from ‘Other Persons’, all against the application. These representations primarily related to the licensing objectives of the prevention of public nuisance and public safety and were set out in full in Appendix 2.

In conclusion, the Interim Licensing Manager advised the Sub-Committee that, if minded to approve the application, there were conditions to consider, as set out in Section 5 of the report, which the Sub-Committee could amend as appropriate to promote the licensing objectives.

At the invitation of the Chairperson, Mr Warne addressed the Sub-Committee on behalf of the applicant and responded to questions.

Mr Warne made reference to the contents of the letter he had submitted, as set out in Appendix 6 to the report and outlined the success of the premises since the new managers, Mr and Mrs Thornhill had taken over in April 2021. He clarified that following menu changes, this had resulted in an increase to food deliveries. Mr Thornhill addressed the sub-committee and summarised his previous experience in the hospitality industry and set out how he ran the premises as an operator. Mr Warne clarified that the car park had been removed from use as it was not being utilised by customers for the purposes it was intended.

In relation to the external area and the proposed bar/servery, Mr Warne clarified that use of the external space was important to the running of the business. The bar/servery would prevent queuing at the main internal bar area, improve safety  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.