Agenda item

To consider the report of the Director of Service Delivery, (copy enclosed).

The Chairman sought confirmation that all present were in possession of and had read the report of the Director of Service Delivery along with Appendices A to C.  He drew the Committee’s attention to the Aide Memoire found on page 2 of the meeting pack that outlined the procedure to be followed during the meeting.

This was followed by a brief presentation of the report by the Licensing Officer. 

The Chairman then called on the applicant Mr Durham to make his opening statement.  In his opening statement Mr Durham advised that following discussions with the Police and the Licensing Department that he would reduce the proposed closing times from 10pm to 9:30pm.  The applicant confirmed he would not be calling any witnesses.

Following the opening statement and in response to questions raised Mr Durham clarified a number of points, including:

·                 the location of the site and its current set up;

·                 that the site was operating under a contract with the Council until the end of September 2021;

·                 it was planned that the trailer would be removed when the premise was not open, although at present this was not happening due to an access issue which was being resolved with the Council;

·                 through Temporary Event Notices, the site had been operating since 1 July 2021 and Mr Durham advised that 80% of sales were from soft drinks, coffee and food;

·                 the premises would open at 08:30am with alcohol sales from 11:00am;

·                 apart from the lighting in the trailer there was no other lighting on the site.

In response to a discussion regarding closing at dusk and the possible conditioning of this, the Lead Legal Specialist and Monitoring Officer advised that the definition of dusk was very unclear and that a specific closing time should be given.

The Lead Specialist: Community advised the Committee that there had been no anti-social behaviour or Environmental Health concerns raised in respect of the site.  The Licensing Officer confirmed that no complaints relating to the licensing of the premises had been received.

There was some discussion regarding the licensable area and Members were provided with details of a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) that the Council was looking to put in place for the Riverside Park.  The Lead Specialist: Community clarified that if agreed the PSPO would cover the whole of the Riverside Park area, including the licensable activity area, and appropriate enforcement action could be taken if the Order was breached.  The Lead Legal Specialist and Monitoring Officer drew Members’ attention to the letters of representation received and how they gave no evidence of any public order issues that could be considered and explained the Government guidance in respect of the requirement for an evidence base.

There being no further questions Mr Durham made a closing statement. 

The Chairman thanked everyone present for their contributions and advised that the meeting would now close.  The Committee would then consider the evidence and representations made before reaching its decision.  All parties would be notified of the decision within five working days of this hearing.

There being no other items of business the Chairman closed the meeting at 11:15am.