Agenda and minutes

Councillor Jonathan Simpson was nominated to serve as Chair of the Panel. There were no other nominations.

RESOLVED –

THAT Councillor Jonathan Simpson be elected Chair of Licensing Panel C for municipal year 2023-24.

To agree the procedure rules for remote meetings.

RESOLVED –

THAT the guidance on remote meetings be noted.

There were no apologies.

There were no declarations of interest.

For reasons of transparency, Councillor Simpson stated that he knew officers involved in Item 8 (Windrush 75) from his broader role in the Council but that he had not discussed the application with them.

Broadcasting of 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 recorded and broadcast live by the Council to the Internet and can be viewed on our website for six months after the meeting. After that time, recordings are archived and can be made available upon request.

If you have asked to address the meeting, you are deemed to be consenting to having your contributions recorded and broadcast, including video when switched on, and to the use of those sound recordings and images for webcasting and/or training purposes.”

Resolved Application

Members noted that Item 7 (The Phoenix Theatre and Bar) had been resolved ahead of the meeting and had therefore been withdrawn.

There were no notifications of urgent business.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 4^th May 2023.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 4^th May 2023.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 4^th May 2023 be approved and signed as a correct record.

Report of the Executive Director, Supporting Communities.

This is an application for a new premises licence under section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003.

This item had been resolved prior to the hearing.

Report of the Executive Director, Supporting Communities.

This is an application for a new premises licence under section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Consideration was given to a report of the Executive Director, Supporting Communities detailing an application for a new premises licence under Section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003 and to information circulated in the supplementary agenda.

The Licensing Officer introduced the report and clarified that it would be a one-day event in a public park. The hours of the licence would be from 1200 to 1900 on 25^th June 2023. He stated that Talacre Gardens was not located in a special policy area and no representations had been made by any Responsible Authorities.

A Member asked whether the application had been correctly advertised. The Licensing Officer said that, to his knowledge, it had been.

The Chair asked if there were any amendments to the application. The Applicant announced that they would be reducing the hours requested, and were now planning to close at 1800.

The Interested Party present, Beverley Gardiner, spoke to her representation. She was the Chair of the Friends of Talacre Town Green and was also speaking on behalf of Celine La Frenier of Talacre Gardens Neighbourhood Watch, who was unable to attend. Points raised by Ms Gardner in her submission included:

·       She only saw the notice of this application four days before the deadline for representations. She did not feel that it had met the requirements for notice to be given of applications and nor did she feel it was clear enough in its language as to what was being proposed.

·       She believed that Talacre Gardens was unsuitable for a music festival, and urged that other, larger, venues be considered.

·       She highlighted that there was a lack of toilet facilities in Talacre Gardens.

·       She was of the view that the erection of structures for bands to perform on was in contravention of the legislation governing town greens.

·       She feared that the installation of these structures and the admission of large numbers of people to Talacre Gardens would damage the soil and the flowers.

·       She raised concerns about anti-social behaviour and public nuisance that had occurred when the World Cup was being shown on large TV screens there.

·       She also expressed concern about public nuisance and commercial use of the park when an Eid event was held there, which led to a large number of people travelling there by car and causing congestion.

·       She disagreed with having an alcohol licence issued for the park, since she feared this would lead to more anti-social behaviour.

·       She said that the area should only be used for lawful recreational purposes rather than for festivals and large events. The purpose of Talacre Gardens was to provide green space for people who lived nearby and did not have their own gardens, and the use of the area for events of a broader nature was in contravention of this.

No questions were asked of Ms Gardner by Members or the Applicant.

Zerritha Brown, Nicky Ezer, Ashleigh Trezise, and Nick Barclay spoke to make the Applicant’s case. Points made in their submission included:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

There was no urgent 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 8^th June 2023 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).