Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

No apologies were received.

To elect a Chairman for the Sub-Committee.

Cllr L Kennedy was duly elected Chairman of the Sub Committee.

An application has been received from the Home Office (Immigration Enforcement) for a premises licence to be reviewed under the Licensing Act 2003. The premises is Belluno, Italian Restaurant, Newton St Cyres, Exeter, Devon, EX5 5DA

The licensing authority (Mid Devon District Council) must hold a hearing to determine the application.    

An application had been received from the Home Office (Immigration Enforcement) for a premises licence to be reviewed under the Licensing Act 2003.  The premises was Belluno Italian Restaurant, Newton St Cyres, Exeter, Devon, EX5 5DA (Belluno).

The Chairman introduced the members of the Sub Committee and the officers present and explained the process of the Hearing.

Cllr J Cairney declared that he had a restaurant in Crediton and that he had eaten in Belluno several times.

Cllr A Cuddy declared he also had a license for several bars.

The Licensing Sub Committee agreed that the meeting should be heard in public session.

The Licensing Specialist Lead outlined the contents of the report as follows:-

·         The licence was obtained in 2018 by the licence holder of the premises, Kirton Ventures Limited, who owned the freehold and leased the premises to Belluno Bar and Grill Limited. 

·         Mr Haqif Derti was the director of Belluno Bar and Grill Limited and the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) since August 2018.

·         The statutory guidance specified that licensing authorities should look to the police as the main source of advice on crime and disorder but the police had indicated that they had no concerns regarding the premises.

·         An application to review the premises licence was received by the Council on 14 June 2023.

·         The supporting documents submitted by the Home Office (Immigration Enforcement) contained records made by Immigration Officers arising from an enforcement visit at Belluno conducted on 9 December 2022.

·         The application to review was copied to all of the responsible authorities and no representations were received from those.

·         The Licensing Act 2003 (the Act) allowed other persons to make representations – none had been made.

·         The Council had received three letters from the public in response to the process of which two were in support of the application.  They had not been accepted as relevant representations as they did not relate to the crime and disorder licensing objective for which the review had been called.  One representation was negative but the person wished to remain anonymous and therefore it was not included.

·         The licence holder’s legal representative, Isca Legal LLP, had responded to the application on their and Mr Derti’s behalf and their submissions and supporting documents were included with the report.

·         During the period of the premises licence to date there were no concerns of there having been any crime and disorder at the premises.

·         The Sub Committee was advised that the following steps may be taken:-

i)             Do nothing

ii)            Issue a warning

iii)           Modify the conditions of the premises licence

iv)           Suspend the licence for a period not exceeding three months

v)            Remove the Designated Premises Supervisor

vi)           Revoke the licence

In response to the Licensing Specialist Lead’s summary, the legal representative from Isca Legal LLP asked the Sub Committee to note that an important change had been introduced by Belluno in the way that they recruited staff.  This had now been outsourced to a firm of accountants.

The officer for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.