Subway Warminster decision

8.40.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 13th Jun 2008

A hearing was held on Friday (13th) at the district council offices into a request by Subway Warminster for a license to sell hot food and drink from 11pm into the early hours of the morning.

The law is slightly strange - you only need a license if you're selling hot food and drink after 11pm. If you only intend to offer cold refreshments you can open whenever you like without requiring permission.

Subway have been open for a couple of months in Warminster, and would like to increase their hours to take in the late night trade. They say they would normally stay open for about an hour after the local pubs and clubs close, but the maximum hours applied for were to 3am weekdays and 5am weekends.

The police were concerned about the potential for anti-social behaviour at the premises, and produced a log of incidents at other take-aways catering for the late night trade.

Despite the assistance of military police where appropriate they were often overstretched and unable promptly to respond to every incident, some of which tipped over into violence or criminal damage.

.

The decision of the hearing was to permit Subway to open until 1am on Sunday to Thursday nights, and to 2am on Friday and Saturday nights. They must provide CCTV coverage inside and outside the premises, door staff must be present on Friday and Saturday nights, and from midnight they must operate as a takeaway only, so customers can't eat or drink inside the shop as they might do during normal opening hours.

.