Visitors and members of the public who are unfamiliar with the building and procedures are advised that:

(a)      The fire alarm is a continuous loud ringing. In the event that a fire drill is planned during the meeting, the Chair will advise of this.

(b)      Exit routes from the chamber are located on each side of the room, one directly to a fire escape, the other to the stairs opposite the lifts.

(c)      In the event of the alarm sounding, leave the building via the nearest safe exit and gather at the assembly point on the far side of the car park. Do not leave the assembly point or re-enter the building until advised to do so. Do not use the lifts.

(d)      Anyone unable to use the stairs should make themselves known during this agenda item.

The Chair outlined the emergency evacuation procedure.

The Chair opened the meeting and asked those present to introduce themselves.

Councillors should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their families or friends.

The Chair will ask Members if they have any disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) or disclosable non-pecuniary interests (DNPIs) to declare in respect of items on the agenda. Members with a DPI in an item must leave the room for that item and may not participate in the debate or vote. 

Aside from disclosable interests, where a fair-minded and informed observer would think there was a real possibility that a Member might be biased or predetermined on an item, the Member should declare this and leave the room while that item is considered.

Members who are in any doubt about interests, bias or predetermination should contact the monitoring officer for advice prior to the meeting.

Helen Ward, the Senior Lawyer (Contentious), declared an interest as she was a Monitoring Officer for Kent Medway Fire and Rescue Authority.

Councillor Lee-Anne Moore declared an interest as she worked in a public house in Queensborough.

To review the premises licence for The Royal Hotel, 29 Broadway, Sheerness, ME12 1AB.

The Licensing Team Leader clarified that there were an error, in paragraph 3.2 on page 4 of the report, which stated that on the 6 May 2025 the Director of The Charles Royal Hotels Ltd, Mr Ramesh Rajathurai applied to vary the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) and appoint himself in that role. This date was incorrect and should read the 6 March 2025.

The Licensing Team Leader introduced the report which asked Members to consider a review of premises licence granted under the Licensing Act 2003 made by Chief Inspector Vanessa Foster on behalf of Kent Police in respect of The Royal Hotel, 29 Broadway, Sheerness, ME12 1AB. The Licensing Officer reminded Members that the review had been requested for failing to promote the following licensing objectives: the prevention of crime and disorder; the protection of public safety; and, the prevention of public nuisance.

The Licensing Team Leader referred to the review application as set out at Appendix II of the report. She explained that as part of the review, the Applicant requested that the Sub-Committee to consider revoking the premises license.

She reported that when the review application was received there was the statutory 28-day consultation period during which the responsible authorities, as well as interested parties, had the opportunity to comment on the application. In this case, the Kent Fire and Rescue Service representative had made comments on the grounds of failure to promote the public safety licensing objective, and this was set out at Appendix III of the report. Additional information provided by the Kent Fire and Rescue Service representative was set out at Appendix IV of the report.

The Licensing Team Leader said Kent Police Licensing provided supporting documents, CCTV and audio files which had been circulated to Members and the Premises License Holder. Some of this evidence related to incidents that were part of ongoing Police investigations. These documents were marked as confidential and were exempt from public disclosure by reason that they contained information under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, there was information relating to any action taken or to be taken in connection with the prevention, investigation or prosecution of crime.

The Chair asked the Kent Police Licensing Officer, PC 11250 Andre Smuts to present his statement.

The Kent Police Licensing Officer outlined their reasons for calling for the review he said Kent Police had lost faith that the new owners were capable of operating  the premises, due to instances of assault, drug use, and license breaches since taking on the hotel. He explained the six incidents that were set out in the report.

The Kent Police Licensing Officer reported that the Premises Licence Holder had not responded to contact made by the Police and the previous Premises Licence Holder concerning an incident in December 2024.  He outlined the six incidents from 14 December 2024 until 21 May 2025 that were set out in his supplementary pack. 

At this point, following a request from Kent Police to show some CCTV evidence, Members took a vote on whether to inspect the CCTV footage in closed session.

Resolved:

That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Schedule of 12A of the Act:

1. Information relating to any individual.
2. Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual.

The Kent Police Licensing Officer showed Members the CCTV footage.

The Chair then asked Members to vote on whether the meeting should revert back into open session. This was agreed by Members.

The Kent Police Licensing Officer continued to present his statement referring to his supplementary pack which had been circulated to all interested parties.

He reported that a number of incidents had been reported to the Police by residents. He explained that in his view the Premises Licence Holder had not taken appropriate steps in response to the incidents, and had not notified the Police.

The Kent Police Licensing Officer considered that the Premises Licence Holder demonstrated a lack of cooperation with the Police.  He stated that the Police had, prior to instigating the Review, provided informal advice to the Premises Licence Holder, including onsite meetings  to provide guidance, including on the use of SIA door staff, which had not been actioned until after the Review had been instigated.

He mentioned that training and training records historically were not satisfactorily being complied with. He said that there was no signage restricting the sale of alcohol to customers that were already intoxicated with alcohol.

The Kent Police Licensing Officer reported regarding allegations of drug use in the premises, they considered that there was credible evidence of persons at the premises in possession of drugs and they were satisfied on the balance of probabilities that drug paraphernalia had been found at the premises.

At this point, following a request from Kent Police to show some CCTV evidence, Members took a vote on whether to inspect the CCTV footage in closed session.

Resolved:

That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Schedule of 12A of the Act:

1. Information relating to any individual.
2. Information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual.

The Chair invited Members of the panel and all parties to ask questions to the Police.

The Premises Licence Holder’s representative asked regarding outcomes of the Police investigations.

In response, the Kent Police Licensing Officer was unable to provide any information regarding outcomes of the incidents contained in the Review because he was not involved with the investigations. He explained to Members that he  ...  view the full minutes text for item 584.

The meeting was adjourned from 12.55 pm until 1.50 pm.