Agenda and minutes

To agree the procedures for the operation of hybrid meetings.

RESOLVED –

THAT the guidance on hybrid meetings be agreed.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Lewis, Mason, Simpson, and Taheri.

Apologies for lateness were received from Councillors Apak and Callaghan.

No such declarations were made.

Webcasting of the Meeting

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

If you are seated in the chamber it is likely that the Council’s cameras will capture your image and 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 unless you have already indicated that you do not wish this to happen.

If you wish to avoid appearing on the Council’s webcast you should move to one of the galleries.”

Any Other Announcements

Broadcasting of the meeting

The Chair announced that the meeting was being broadcast live to the internet and the broadcast would remain available for six months, after which it could be made available on request. Anyone addressing the meeting was deemed to be consenting to having their contribution recorded and broadcast and to the use of those recordings for webcasting and/or training purposes.

Committee Membership

At the meeting of Council that took place on Monday 22^nd November 2021, Councillor Eslamdoust stepped down from the Licensing Committee and Councillor Lorna Russell was appointed.

A deputation was heard from David Kaner, representing the Covent Garden Community Association, in relation to the Interim Statement of Licensing Policy, as set out in his written submission. 

Members then asked questions of the deputee and the Head of Community Safety and Public Protection then responded to the deputation.

Another deputation was then heard from Dr Alyson Thompson, a resident of Neal’s Yard and representative of the Covent Garden Community Association, in relation to Camden streateries, as set out in her written submission.

Members then asked questions of the deputee and the Head of Community Safety and Public Protection then responded to the deputation.

The Chair thanked both deputees for their attendance.

There was no urgent business.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 27^th July 2021.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 27^th July 2021.

RESOLVED –

THAT the minutes be approved and signed as a correct record.

Report of the Director of Community Safety

This report sets out the details of the consultation responses to Camden’s Statement of Licensing Policy.

The report presents a draft Interim Statement of Licensing Policy 2022-2027 (at Appendix A) and asks Licensing Committee Members to determine whether the draft policy should be agreed.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Community Services.

The Head of Community Safety and Public Protection introduced the report. He explained that much of the policy was a continuation of the previous policy due to the sustained impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, three important areas had been updated, namely, women’s safety, the promotion of equality and diversity and concerns surrounding alcohol related harm.

Members acknowledged that Licensing Officers and premises license holders had performed well despite the difficult circumstances arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, which had an unprecedented impact on the evening and night-time economy.

The increased focus on women’s safety in the interim policy was a change welcomed by Members and they were pleased that a question on this issue was to be added to the application process. Members also considered that existing licence holders should be apprised of the importance of women’s safety and it would be useful for Members who served on Licensing Panels to have training in this area.

The Committee was concerned that one of the consultation responses had indicated Councillors were biased when making decisions on licence applications. Members wished to emphasise that decisions were made based on licensing grounds only and each application was considered on its own merit. Members stated it might be useful to provide figures on how many applications had been declined by the Licensing Panels.

Responding to Members’ questions, the Head of Community Safety and Public Protection made the following comments:

·       There had been no concerning data or reports regarding shadow licences, and the amount of direct action taken was relatively low. However, when incidents had occurred robust action was taken.

·       Future draft policies would include tracked changes, as appropriate, so Members could more clearly see proposed changes.

·       When undertaking a consultation, it was not usually expected that such a small number of responses would be received. However, on this occasion the low response was explained by the interim policy being a continuation of the previous policy.  There would be a full policy review in 12 to 18 months and the consultation for this review would be developed to maximise engagement and responses.

·       The changes that had been made to the policy were also reflected in changes to procedures. For example, the Licensing Team had undertaken work to embed the new measures into pre-application advice when given. Furthermore, Licensing Panel reports would be strengthened to include clearer advice on whether applications had met the updated standards.

·       Due to the increased concern about environmental issues and the climate emergency, discussion had taken place with other authorities to explore how environmental concerns could be included within licensing policy, in the context of the statutory guidance. Development of a wider evening and night-time economy strategy was underway, and the environment was an area that was being considered during this process.

RESOLVED –

 i.               THAT the consultation responses to the proposed Interim Statement of Licensing Policy be noted; and

ii.               THAT the Interim Statement of Licensing Policy be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Report of the Director of Community Services

This report sets out further context on the development of the Sex Establishments Policy and outlines a number of recommendations for consideration by Licensing Committee Members.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Community Services.

The Head of Community Safety and Public Protection introduced the report.

The Committee was concerned that whilst it had made a clear decision at the meeting of the Committee that took place on 29^th October 2019, no progress had yet been made with the Sexual Entertainment Venue Policy.  Members felt that the decision had been made in direct response to overwhelming feedback from the consultation that took place in 2019. Furthermore, certain Members felt that they had been excluded from discussions that had taken place regarding the proposed changes to the policy.

In response to these concerns, the Head of Community Safety and Public Protection advised that the Covid-19 pandemic had had a significant impact on progress, due to factors such as staff redeployment and changing guidance. Advice had been sought from legal counsel, but this process had taken considerable time.

The Head of Community Safety and Public Protection stated that the recommendations within the report reflected the need for the Council to gather as much information as possible to make progress with the policy.

The Borough Solicitor further responded to Members concerns by informing the Committee that the decision taken on 29th October 2019 to recommend that Council amend the Sexual Entertainment Venue Policy, which was at the time said to be subject to legal advice, could not have been taken without first conducting a consultation exercise. Therefore, Council could not have approved this change. Before making such a significant change to policy, the Committee should first gain an understanding of why other local authorities, who had previously indicated they wished to pursue a similar approach, ultimately did not proceed.  The report that was before members also explained the other steps which would have to be taken.

Responding to further comments made by Members, the Borough Solicitor apologised that the legal advice obtained following the meeting in 2019 had appeared not to have been circulated to members of the committee, he had thought it had. In future, he would personally ensure that a proper dialogue was maintained with Members of the committee

Members agreed that to make progress a decision needed to be made on the Committee’s next steps. Therefore, Councillor Apak moved a set of recommendations in the form of a motion, as follows:

That the Licensing Committee reaffirms its current concerns about the impact of Sexual Entertainment Venues on the local community and:

1. Agrees to undertake further engagement with the named local authorities - namely Blackpool, Bristol and Sheffield, or any other relevant local authority, to obtain detailed information in relation to the advice and decisions taken by them.

2. Agrees that the Chair and Vice Chair of the Licensing Committee together with officers conducts a number of fact-finding visits to the relevant authorities in order to further clarify the advice and/or decisions made by the authorities concerned.

3. Resolves to receive regular updates from officers, the Chair, and Vice Chair as appropriate

Members were mostly  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Report of the Director of Community Services

This report outlines the process that the Council is required to follow to propose three locations for formal designation via the provisions outlined within the London Local Authorities Act 1990 (as amended). The proposed designation is linked to the proposed development of the Streatery schemes developed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Community Services.

The Head of Community Safety and Public Protection introduced the report.

The Committee was informed that the statutory legislation did not allow for the renewal of temporary licenses, issued under the Pavement Licence Scheme within the Business & Planning Act 2020, on a rolling basis. Given the generally positive feedback on the streatery scheme, it was proposed that several of the twelve streatery locations would benefit from designation as licensed streets to enable them to operate on a permanent basis.

The proposed locations were Belsize Village, Earlham Street, and Neal’s Yard.

The consultation timeframe complied with the guidance set out in the London Local Authorities Act 1990, however if Members were so minded to, they could extend the consultation period, as appropriate.

It was clarified that in the report the Belsize Village Streatery was erroneously referred to as the Belsize Park Streatery.

In response to a question, the Head of Community Safety and Public Protection advised that should any streatery sites be granted designation for street trading purposes, conditions would be applied to any licence if granted  to ensure the areas were well managed and that there was sufficient space for pedestrian access.

Members sought clarification on why the three locations identified in the report had been selected for designation. The Head of Community Safety and Public Protection explained that the temporary licences were granted at different times, and the three proposed sites were granted temporary licenses first therefore these licenses would expire earliest. Proposals for the other sites would be bought before the Committee for formal consideration, when appropriate.

Whilst the Belsize Village Streatery, for example, had received overwhelming support and had clear benefits to the community, some Members were concerned that Neal’s Yard Streatery was not as suitable as some of the other locations, and were, therefore, supportive of the formal consultation process.

It was noted that the proposed timeframe for the consultation ended during the festive period, therefore, Members stated that the consultation period should be extended to 14^th January 2022. Therefore, it was

RESOLVED –

THAT the proposal for designation of streets for street trading purposes at the three named sites be approved for a formal consultation process, commencing on 1^st December 2022 and concluding on 14^th January 2022.

ACTION BY:  Head of Community Safety and Public Protection

There was no such business.