Agenda and minutes

To agree the procedure rules for remote meetings.

RESOLVED -

THAT the guidance on remote meetings be agreed.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Lorna Greenwood. Councillor Jonathan Simpson was in attendance as substitute.

There were no declarations.

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.”

Webcasting

The Chair announced that the meeting was being broadcast live to the internet and would be capable of repeated viewing and copies of the recording could be made available to those that requested them. Those participating in the meeting were deemed to be consenting to being filmed.

Supplementary Papers

The Chair also announced that a supplementary agenda had been published, which included additional information from the Premises Licence Holder and a list of additional conditions proposed by the Licensing Responsible Authority. 

There was no urgent business.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 14 September 2023.

Consideration was given to the Minutes of the previous meeting.

RESOLVED -

THAT the Minutes of the meeting that took place on 14^th September 2023 be agreed and signed as an accurate record.

Report of the Executive Director Supporting Communities.

This is an application to review a premises licence under section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Consideration was given to a report of the Executive Director Supporting Communities detailing an application to review a premises licence under Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Dennis Viechweg, Licensing Officer, summarised the report and explained that the application to review the licence had been lodged by a local resident because they did not believe licensing objectives, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm were being upheld.

Chris Roberts outlined the application for review and presented the Panel with a series of photograph and video evidence in support of the application. Chris Roberts made the following key points:

• The application for review had been a last resort, following a series of complaints and unsuccessful attempts at resolution with the management of the premises.
• On several occasions (some of which had been recorded and submitted as evidence), pub staff had emptied bottles into bottle bins, as late as 00.15hrs.
• The outside area had been very poorly managed late in the evening, and patrons were rowdy and noisy, and it appeared that pub staff did little to intervene.
• The residents did not want the licence to be revoked or suspended but had drawn up a list of proposals for the Panel to consider.

Responding to questions Chris Roberts advised: 

• The pub entrance was accessed from Tolmer’s Square, rather than Hampstead Road.
• Residents had made several complaints, mainly related to noise nuisance, and were of the view that these had not been adequately addressed by the Licence Holder.
• It was not clear if patrons frequently purchased alcohol for consumption off the premises, as most patrons were seen drinking from open containers in the outside area, rather than sealed containers which could be consumed away from the premises.

Afshar Ahmad (Licensing Team Leader) on behalf of Licensing Authority Responsible Authority spoke in support of the application for review and summarised the representation as set out in the agenda and highlighted a list of additional conditions that had been proposed, set out at page 3 of the supplementary agenda, and could be applied to the licence if the Panel were so minded.

Afshar Ahmad reported that there were corrections to the proposed conditions within the Licensing Responsible Authority’s representation, as follows:

Proposed condition 2 should state: “That the premises, as well as the internal CCTV already installed, also install CCTV to cover the outside of their premises. All such recorded footage shall be securely retained for a minimum of 31 days and recordings to be made available to council and or responsible authority officers on request.”

Proposed condition 4 should state: ‘No drink should be allowed outside the venue after 21:00hrs and all persons wishing to smoke shall leave their drinks inside to smoke outside.’

Responding to questions, Afshar Ahmad provided the following clarifications:

• Whilst Esther Jones, Licensing Team Leader had sent a letter to the Licence Holder on 25^th May 2023 outlining various suggestions and measures, it was unclear if the Licence Holder had yet adopted any  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

There was none.