Decision - Lebanese Grill - Licensing Panel (Licensing Act 2003 Functions)

New premises license application

Licensing Act 2003 – Licensing Panel Hearing Notification of the Determination of Panel. Licensing panel hearing held virtually via Teams on Thursday 6th August 2026 in respect of the application for a new premises licence for premises known as Lebanese Grill, 62 Queens Road, Brighton, BN1 3XD The Panel has read all the papers including the representation and information in support of the application and has listened to the submissions made at the hearing. It has had regard to the statutory guidance and the Statement of Licensing Policy. This is an application for a new premises licence for the provision of hot food and drink for dine in and home delivery. Late night refreshment is applied for from 23:00 to 01:00 with the premises open to the public until 01:30. The premises falls within the City Safety Area (CSA). The CSA has the same borders as the previous Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ). The CSA continues to be an area of special concern to the licensing authority because of the high levels of crime and disorder and public nuisance experienced within it. 1 representation was received from a neighbouring business on the basis of the licensing objectives of the prevention of public nuisance and the prevention of crime and disorder. A set of conditions has been agreed between the applicant and the Licensing Authority and Sussex Police. These are at Appendix C of the papers. They include no customer collection; service limited to dine-in customers and home deliveries after 23:00 hours, BCRP membership, staff training and display of notices stating operational rules, SIA risk assessment and conditions for the prevention of public nuisance. The person making the representation from the business did not attend the panel but his representation was taken into consideration by the panel. The panel heard from the applicant's representative, Graham Hopkins, about the application and key features. The premises would operate as dine in after 23:00 and had about 25 covers inside and a home delivery service would also be permitted. There was no sale of alcohol and it was submitted that allowing customers to sit and eat late at night could potentially reduce intoxication levels. The applicant had pre-consulted with the responsible authorities and agreed a comprehensive set of conditions and thus there were no representations from those authorities. Mr Hopkins took the panel through the conditions. He confirmed that the sole representation was from a neighbouring business and not a resident, and that the motive may be connected to a review application his client had previously submitted which was not progressed. The representation lacked evidential basis but, in any event, he submitted that all the issues raised would be addressed by the conditions that had been agreed and that little weight should be attached to the representation. He submitted the application complied with the Matrix approach and would promote the licensing objectives. The panel has considered this application on its individual merits and in terms of the policy and the concerns raised by the representation. The panel considers that the application has been well presented and thought through with extensive agreed conditions to be applied to the licence. The panel appreciates that the applicant and his agent have worked hard to come to agreement with the responsible authorities so that their concerns about the location and operation of the premises were dealt with and therefore no representations were made by them. The panel considers that the concerns raised in the local business representation are appropriately addressed by the set of conditions agreed. The panel considers that the application as presented will promote the licensing objectives and therefore grants this application with all the conditions agreed with the responsible authorities to attach to the licence.

The witness statements support Lebanese Grill's application for a Late Night Refreshment Licence without alcohol at 62 Queens Road, Brighton. The statements describe the premises as responsibly managed and clean, and state that granting the licence would not undermine the licensing objectives.