Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Angelo Weekes welcomed everyone to the meeting and officers and members introduced themselves. The procedure for the conduct of the meeting was outlined.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Phil Graham.

Councillor Angelo Weekes substituted for Councillor Phil Graham.

If you have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest* in an item of business:

§  if it is not yet on the council’s register, you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent;

§  you may choose to declare a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest that is already in the register in the interests of openness and transparency. 

In both the above cases, you must leave the room without participating in discussion of the item.

If you have a personal interest in an item of business and you intend to speak or vote on the item you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent but you may participate in the discussion and vote on the item.

*(a)Employment, etc - Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit or gain.

(b) Sponsorship - Any payment or other financial benefit in respect of your expenses in carrying out duties as a member, or of your election; including from a trade union.

(c) Contracts - Any current contract for goods, services or works, between you or your partner (or a body in which one of you has a beneficial interest) and the council.

(d) Land - Any beneficial interest in land which is within the council’s area.

(e) Licences- Any licence to occupy land in the council’s area for a month or longer.

(f) Corporate tenancies - Any tenancy between the council and a body in which you or your partner have a beneficial interest.

 (g) Securities - Any beneficial interest in securities of a body which has a place of business or land in the council’s area, if the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body or of any one class of its issued share capital. 

This applies to all members present at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

The order of business would be as per the agenda.

That the minutes of the meeting held on the 30^th of January be confirmed as a correct record and the Chair be authorised to sign them.

The Licensing Officer was asked to report any additional updates to the Sub-Committee. In response, the Sub-Committee were informed that supporting documentation had been forwarded to all parties, and that the only other update was the additional document of the Noise Impact Assessment 2023, which was provided to the Sub-Committee for information. There were representations made by residents, however none attended this meeting. The Sub-Committee noted that no other representations were made.

The applicant’s representative presented their key points and stated that the new condition of the premises closing at 2:00 on Fridays and Saturdays would only be applicable for patrons that were already in the premises. This condition would be implemented as an exit only policy. Since 2022, there had been engagement with the licensing authorities and the Police. The Sub-Committee was notified that the Police had conducted an undercover investigation on the premises which highlighted no areas of concern. It was also noted that the premises was closing their doors at 22:00 although conditions enabled them to be operational until 23:30. Only smoking was permitted outside the premises, for up to fifteen people. The premises was classed as a seated food-led venue which had tables screwed to the ground. The premises did not do any food deliveries. The applicant’s representative advised that although the hours sought were not within the hours specified in licensing policy six, for a bar/restaurant and were more appropriate to a nightclub, the aim was to provide a late-night entertainment environment for the wider community. It was also noted that substantial acoustic works had been carried out in accordance with the noise management plans since 2021. An acoustic concrete ceiling had been installed between the venue and the flats, acoustic lobbies had been constructed and there were acoustic seals put on exits. The applicant’s representative advised that they had good relationships with the residents and there had been no complaints on public safety, nuisance and on crime and disorder.

In response to questions reading the nature of the venue, it was noted that the premises was a seated food-led venue where there would be food offerings throughout until closing. The premises would not be a nightclub as there would be no vertical drinking or loud music. The number of people would flow throughout the day, and it would not get as busy where people would need to stand at the bar to have their drink.

In response to a question regarding the use of entertainment, the premises had a small offering of live music which had a lower impact compared to DJs. There premises did not aim to be a sports bar or football type venue. The venue attracted people who wanted to sit and drink from the local catchment area.

There was a Dispersal Policy which was under review. In terms of dispersal of customers, the premises door would close at 10pm to indicate that the premises was winding down, so between 22:00 -23:30pm there was only slight dispersal. The SIA quota was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.