Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chair for Licensing Panel B for the 2022-23 municipal year.

RESOLVED –

THAT Councillor Gio Spinella be elected the Chair of Licensing Panel B for the 2022-23 municipal year.

To agree the guidance on remote meetings for Licensing Panels.

RESOLVED –

THAT the guidance on remote meetings be agreed.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Jenny Headlam-Wells. It was noted that the Panel was quorate with two Members present.

There were no declarations of interest.

Broadcast of the meeting

The Chair to announce the following: “In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record this meeting, I would like to remind everyone that this meeting is being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for at least six months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available on upon request.

If you have asked to address the meeting, you are deemed to be consenting to being filmed and to the use of those images and sound recordings for webcasting and/or training purposes. If you are addressing the Committee your contribution will be recorded and broadcast.”

Any Other Announcements

Broadcast of the meeting

The Chair made the following announcement: “In addition to the rights by law that the public and press have to record this meeting, I would like to remind everyone that this meeting is being broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for at least six months after the meeting. After that time, webcasts are archived and can be made available on upon request.

If you have asked to address the meeting, you are deemed to be consenting to being filmed and to the use of those images and sound recordings for webcasting and/or training purposes. If you are addressing the Committee your contribution will be recorded and broadcast.”

Any Other Announcements

It was announced that Item 10 (Zeo’s application for a Temporary Event Notice) had been withdrawn.

There were no items of urgent business.

To note the terms of reference of Licensing Panels.

The terms of reference were noted.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 18^th November 2021.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 18^th November 2021 be approved.

Report of the Executive Director, Supporting Communities.

This is an application to vary a premises licence under section 34 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Consideration was given to a report of the Executive Director, Supporting Communities regarding an application for a variation to a premises licence under Section 34 of the Licensing Act 2003.

The Licensing Officer outlined the application and stated that 9 representations objecting to the application had been received. The licensing objectives engaged by the application were: the prevention of crime and disorder, the prevention of public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm. The application engaged the Hours Policy and the Premises Policy. She clarified that the premises was not located in a Cumulative Impact Policy Area.

Two Interested Parties, Kate Swann and Michael Eden, addressed the Panel. They made the following points in their submissions:

·       Ms Swann and her husband had bad experiences in their previous home in Westminster from public nuisance from a neighbouring premises and had needed to apply for a review of the premises licence to deal with it;

·       Mr Eden had concerns about noise nuisance from another hotel in the chain (the Bedford);

·       They were concerned about large numbers of people entering and leaving the premises who were not hotel residents and the ensuing noise and other nuisance that could result;

·       They were of the view that 2am was too late for the bar to be open, particularly if a large number of people needed to be dispersed at that time;

·       They had concerns about recorded music being played by DJs which could generate a high volume of noise and change the nature and style of operation of the bar area;

·       They were of the view that granting the licence could be the “thin end of the wedge” which would allow more late-night licences to be granted.

Members asked the Interested Parties if they had any specific complaints relating to the Hotel President. They said they did not.

Piers Warne, the Applicant’s Solicitor, presented the case for the Applicant. He said that it was a well-considered application, which had not been objected to by any of the Responsible Authorities. He asked that the Application be judged on its merits, and not with regard to other premises in the area or chain or any hypothetical concerns about future applications that could be made.

He made the following points in his submission:

·       The primary business of the premises was a hotel and the operators had no intention of creating noise or other nuisance that would disrupt the sleep of hotel guests;

·       The music that would be played would be piano, clarinet and ‘jazzy’ music;

·       Recorded music would be background music at a low volume;

·       There was no intention to have events with DJs;

·       Non-residents of the hotel who attended the bar for drinks tended to be people attending for after-work drinks. They did not want a situation where they had to check at a certain time whether an individual was a hotel resident or a bona fide guest of a resident or a member of the public when they were in the bar, as that could  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Report of the Executive Director, Supporting Communities.

This is an application for a Temporary Event Notice under Section 100 of the Licensing Act 2003.

REPORT TO FOLLOW

This application was withdrawn.

There was no other business.

Should the Panel wish to go into closed session, it will take the following resolution:

THAT the press and public be excluded from the proceedings of the Licensing Panel on 21^st July 2022 during consideration of the respective item on the agenda on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, that were members of the public to be present, there would be disclosure of exempt information as defined in Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) and that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Specifically -

Publicity in respect of item x would be likely to lead to the disclosure of information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings by virtue of Category 5 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).