LICENSING
SUB-COMMITTEE 23
August 2001
(2.30
– 6.00pm)
PRESENT: Councillors Knowles (Chair),
Cowell, Dixon, J Rosenstiel and T Schofield
ALSO PRESENT: Councillor M Schofield (Minute Number
01/m/90)
FOR THE
INFORMATION OF THE COUNCIL
01/m/84 MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 14 June 2001 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
01/m/85
APOLOGIES
An apology for absence was received from Councillor Hipkin.
01m/86 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Councillor T
Schofield declared a Code of Conduct (non-financial) interest in minute number
01/m/93 - “Public Entertainment
Licence: Fat Jack’s Public House” - as
he was a ward councillor for the area in which the premises were situated. He remained in the room and took part in the
decision.
Councillor J
Rosenstiel declared Code of Conduct (non-financial) interests, as follows:
·
minute number 01/m/92 - “Public Entertainment Licence: The Boat Race Public House” - as she was a
ward councillor for the area in which the premises were situated.
·
minute number 01/m/96 - “Public Entertainment Licence: CC’s Sports Venue Cafe” - as she served on
the committee of the Red Studio Users’ Group.
·
minute number 01/m/97 - “Public Entertainment Licence: Po Na Na Fez Club” - as she was a ward
councillor for the area in which the premises were situated.
·
minute number 01/m/98 - “Licensing Hours for Nightclubs” - as she
was a ward councillor for the area in which the venues potentially affected
were situated.
In each case,
she remained in the room and took part in the decision.
Councillor
Dixon declared a Code of Conduct (non-financial) interest in minute number
01/m/98 - “Licensing Hours for
Nightclubs” - as he was a ward councillor for the area in which the venues
potentially affected were situated, and was quoted in the report in this
capacity. He remained in the room and
took part in the decision.
01/m/87 PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT LICENCE: HMV LION YARD
The Head of
Environmental Health and Waste Strategy presented a report which recommended
that an application for a Public Entertainment Licence for HMV, Lion Yard
Shopping Centre, to allow 15 music-only events per year between 9.00am and
8.00pm Monday to Sunday, be deferred.
Resolved (with no votes against) that the
application be deferred until the meeting on 18 October 2001, to allow officers
to undertake further investigations.
01/m/88 PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT LICENCE: THE RED BULL PUBLIC HOUSE
The Head of
Environmental Health and Waste Strategy presented a report which recommended
that a temporary Public Entertainment Licence be granted for the Red Bull
Public House, Barton Road, to allow two events between 8.00pm and 11.00pm
Monday to Saturday and between 7.30pm and 10.30pm Sunday, subject to
conditions. He clarified that the
application was for six events per year, and not 12 as originally applied
for. In addition to the letters
attached to the report, further correspondence relating to the application had
been circulated in advance of the meeting and three letters were tabled.
The Police Service
and the Fire Service advised that they had no objections to the application,
subject to the recommended conditions.
The Police Service commented that the premises were well-run, with very
few incidents.
Stuart Jemmeson
attended in support of the application.
He said that there were no public disorder problems related to the
premises. Most of the clientele were in
their 30s or older. Many of the
customers had signed a petition in support of the Licence being granted.
Mrs Patterson, a
local resident, agreed that the public house was well-run. However, she was concerned at the level of
noise that would be generated by loud music.
There had also been incidents of revellers urinating on private property
in the vicinity of the Red Bull.
The Chair stated
that conditions would be imposed to mitigate the effect of loud music on local
residents.
In answer to
questions from members, Mr Jemmeson explained that the two previous events
referred to in paragraph 3.2 of the report had been private parties, and he had
informed the Police that these would be taking place. He believed that the people urinating on private property were
not customers of the Red Bull. He would
not be staging events with live rock bands.
Resolved (with no votes against) that a Public Entertainment Licence be granted
for the Red Bull Public House, Barton Road, subject to the conditions
recommended in the report.
01/m/89 PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT LICENCE: KETTLE’S YARD GALLERY
The Head of Environmental Health and Waste Strategy presented a report which recommended that the temporary Public Entertainment Licence for Kettle’s Yard Gallery, Castle Street, allowing three events of chamber, jazz and classical music to take place, be extended until 15 November 2001 to permit a fourth event, subject to existing conditions.
The Police Service
and the Fire Service advised that they had no objections to the application,
subject to the recommended conditions.
Resolved (with no votes against) that the temporary Public Entertainment Licence for Kettle’s Yard Gallery, Castle Street, allowing three events of chamber, jazz and classical music to take place, be extended until 15 November 2001 to permit a fourth event, subject to existing conditions.
01/m/90
PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT LICENCE:
NEWNHAM CROFT PRIMARY SCHOOL
The Head of Environmental Health and Waste Strategy presented a report which recommended that a full Public Entertainment Licence be granted for Newnham Croft Primary School, Chedworth Street, to allow up to 10 events per year between 6.00pm and 11.00pm Monday to Saturday, subject to conditions. The Licence had previously been granted on a temporary basis, allowing two events. In addition to the letter attached to the report, further correspondence relating to the application had been circulated in advance of the meeting
The Police Service
and the Fire Service advised that they had no objections to the application,
subject to the recommended conditions.
George Brewster, a
local resident, said that, at past events, loud music, a considerable increase
in traffic, and late night conversations being held on the street by people
leaving the premises had all caused unreasonable disturbance. The school should be used as a school, and
not as a place of entertainment, which was being imposed on local people, with
no benefit to them.
Councillor M
Schofield, a ward councillor, said that the school was situated in a cul-de-sac
and some of the houses were very close to the school. It was reasonable of the local residents to expect that late
night entertainment events would not be held at a school. Part of the problem was that the management
of events appeared often to be left to the school’s caretaker, rather than
someone in a more senior position.
In response to
members’ questions, the Head of Environmental Health and Waste Strategy said
that, at the events his staff had monitored, the sound levels had been
satisfactory when the windows and doors had been kept closed; the events had
been managed by a School Governor. The
new head teacher was keen to address some of the problems experienced by local
residents in the past. Some of these
problems may have occurred at private parties, for which a Public Entertainment
Licence had not been required.
The Chair said
that she had concerns about the management of events and about smoking in
buildings used predominantly by children.
It was unfortunate that nobody from the school was present to answer
these points. She felt that it would be
sensible to defer the application to allow answers to these points to be
provided. Councillor J Rosenstiel added
that there was a particular concern about the management of events being held
by outside organisations hiring the school’s premises.
Resolved (with no votes against) that the application be deferred until the meeting on 18 October 2001, to allow further information to be provided by the applicant.
01/m/91 PUBLIC
ENTERTAINMENT LICENCE: THE ALMA PUBLIC
HOUSE
The Head of
Environmental Health and Waste Strategy presented a report which recommended
that the temporary Public Entertainment Licence for the Alma Public House,
Russell Court, be extended for a further temporary period until 13 December
2001, subject to conditions. He pointed
out that this recommendation had been included in section 4 of the report, but
had been inadvertently omitted from section 2, “Recommendations”. In addition to the letters attached to the
report, further correspondence relating to the application had been circulated
in advance of the meeting.
The Police
Service and the Fire Service advised that they had no objections to the
application, subject to the recommended conditions. The Police Service commented that the premises were well-run.
Ryan Trbojevich
attended in support of the application.
He explained that, owing to family circumstances, it had not been
possible to organise any events during the period of the temporary Licence, and
so no monitoring had taken place. He
would endeavour to organise some events before 13 December, which would give
the Sub-Committee an opportunity to assess whether the Licence should be
granted on a permanent basis.
Anne Anderson,
a local resident, acknowledged that the current landlord was doing a good job,
but said that she had suffered disturbance from people leaving the Alma late at
night. She also felt that, as the
premises were in a residential area, their location was not suitable for a
Public Entertainment Licence. She
complained that she and many other local people had not been informed personally
by letter of the application, and suggested that the Council should write about
an application to anyone who had previously made written representations
regarding the granting of a Licence to a particular establishment.
Catherine
Cooke, a local resident, stated that the Alma was being well-run by the current
landlord, and the extension to the temporary Licence should be granted as it
had not yet been possible to hold any events.
However, she felt that it was an unsuitable venue for live music. She also complained that she had not been
informed directly about the application.
Mr Barton, a
regular customer of the Alma and former musician, said that its clientele were
responsible people, mainly aged in their 20s or 30s. The musicians who would perform there would respect the feelings
of local residents and do their best to minimise the effect on their amenity.
Resolved (with no votes against) that the temporary
Public Entertainment Licence for the Alma Public House, Russell Court, be
extended for a further temporary period until 13 December 2001, subject to the
conditions recommended in the report.
01/m/92 PUBLIC
ENTERTAINMENT LICENCE: THE BOAT RACE
PUBLIC HOUSE
The Head of
Environmental Health and Waste Strategy presented a report which recommended
that the Public Entertainment Licence for the Boat Race Public House, East
Road, be renewed, having been granted on a temporary basis in February 2001
until 23 August 2001.
The Police
Service and the Fire Service advised that they had no objections to the
application, subject to the recommended conditions.
Resolved (with no votes against) that the Public
Entertainment Licence for the Boat Race Public House, East Road, be renewed,
subject to the existing conditions.
01/m/93 PUBLIC
ENTERTAINMENT LICENCE: FAT JACK’S
PUBLIC HOUSE
The Head of Environmental
Health and Waste Strategy presented a report which described an application for
a full Public Entertainment Licence for Fat Jack’s Public House, Histon Road,
to allow four events per week, Thursday to Saturday between 8.00pm and 11.00pm,
and Sunday between 7.30pm and 10.30pm.
The Licence had initially been granted on a temporary basis, allowing
three events. The report recommended
that a temporary Licence be granted until 13 December 2001, allowing two events
per week, subject to conditions. The
Head of Environmental Health and Waste Strategy added that condition 5
recommended in the report should be deleted.
In addition to the letter attached to the report, further correspondence
relating to the application had been circulated in advance of the meeting.
The Police Service
advised that there had been a number of complaints of noise and disturbance
from the premises. Police officers had
been called to the premises twice during August 2001.
The Fire Service
advised that push-bars and self-closers would need to be installed on the fire
exit doors. With that proviso, it had
no objections to the application subject to the recommended conditions.
Mr Price attended
in support of the application. He
offered explanations for the occasions on which Police officers had been called
to the premises. He added that he was
installing double-glazing and a porch at Fat Jack’s, so as to reduce the noise
problems, and would employ stewards at events.
He had a petition signed by customers of the premises supporting the
application, which was also supported by the brewery, Whitbread.
Gill Rees Gluza, a
local resident, said that noise from the premises was extremely loud at times,
and she had felt threatened on occasions by incidents at the premises. There had been no improvement in
sound-proofing or stewardship.
Rosie Cox, a local
resident, complained of noise and disturbance caused both by music from the
premises and by people leaving the premises late at night.
Emma Godfrey-Wynn,
a local resident, said that the premises were situated in an inappropriate area
for a Public Entertainment Licence. She
had organised a petition signed by local residents against the Licence. (This had been circulated to members in
advance of the meeting.)
The Chair stated
that she was concerned at the potential disturbance to neighbours and that
monitoring should take place; it would therefore be inappropriate to allow two
events per week at this stage. She
stressed that the sound insulation work must be completed before any events
were held.
Resolved that a temporary Public Entertainment Licence
be granted for Fat Jack’s, Histon Road, until 13 December 2001, to allow two
events only to take place, for monitoring purposes, subject to:
a)
seven days’
notice of each event being given to the Head of Environmental Health and Waste
Strategy; and
b)
the conditions
recommended in the report, with the exception of conditions 1 and 5.
01/m/94 PUBLIC
ENTERTAINMENT LICENCE: THE CASTLE
PUBLIC HOUSE
The Police Service
and the Fire Service advised that they had no objections to the application,
subject to the recommended conditions.
Resolved (with no votes against) that a Public Entertainment Licence be granted for the Castle
Public House, St Andrew’s Street, to allow events to be held Tuesday to
Thursday, subject to the conditions recommended in the report.
01/m/95 PUBLIC
ENTERTAINMENT LICENCE: THE RED LION
PUBLIC HOUSE
The Police Service
and the Fire Service advised that they had no objections to the application,
subject to the recommended conditions.
Barry Smart
attended in support of the application.
He said that he was keen to address the concerns of local residents and
was happy to talk to them. The Chair
suggested that he should contact the local residents’ association.
In view of the
concerns of local residents, the Sub-Committee felt that it would be
inappropriate to grant a permanent Licence at this stage.
Resolved (with no votes against) that a Public
Entertainment Licence be granted for the Red Lion Public House, Mill End Road,
on a temporary basis until 13 December 2001, to allow events to be held Monday
to Saturday 8.00pm – 11.00pm and Sunday
8.00pm – 10.30pm, subject to the conditions recommended in the report
with the exception of condition j.
01/m/96 PUBLIC
ENTERTAINMENT LICENCE: CC’S SPORTS
VENUE CAFÉ
The Head of Environmental
Health and Waste Strategy presented a report which recommended that a Public
Entertainment Licence be granted for CC’s Sports Venue Café, Sturton Street, on
a temporary basis until 13 December 2001, subject to conditions. The Licence had previously been granted on a
temporary basis until 23 August 2001.
In addition to the letter attached to the report, further correspondence
relating to the application had been circulated in advance of the meeting and a
letter was tabled at the meeting.
The Police Service
and the Fire Service advised that they had no objections to the application,
subject to the recommended conditions and to the replacement of a bulb in an
emergency light.
David Edmunds, who
was now the applicant in place of Lee Syrett, attended in support of the
application. He confirmed that the
light bulb had already been replaced.
In answer to a question from the Chair, he said that he had mistakenly
sent a letter to local residents advising them that the premises could hold 250
people; in fact, they could only hold 200 people and he would be correcting
this in a newsletter.
Resolved (with no votes against) that a Public
Entertainment Licence be granted for CC’s Sports Venue Café, Sturton Street, to
allow events to be held between 9.00am and 11.00pm Monday to Saturday, subject
to the conditions recommended in the report.
01/m/97 PO NA NA FEZ CLUB
The Head of
Environmental Health and Waste Strategy presented a report which recommended
that the Public Entertainment Licence for the Po Na Na Fez Club, Market
Passage, be renewed on a temporary basis until 18 October 2001. A variation to the Licence, to allow the
Club to stay open until 3.00am Monday to Saturday, had previously been granted
on a temporary basis in February 2001 until 23 August 2001.
Simon Harrow
attended in support of the application.
He said that the 3.00am Licence had greatly reduced the level of
anti-social behaviour both inside and outside the premises. Experience had shown that customers left
gradually over the course of the hour after 2.00am, rather than in one large
crowd at 2.00am. Customers had found
this arrangement to be much more satisfactory.
No alcoholic drinks were sold after 2.00am or consumed after
2.30am. The only costs had been to his
company, in terms of employing staff for longer and taking on extra security
staff to ensure that no alcohol was consumed after 2.30am.
Resolved (with no votes against) that the Public
Entertainment Licence for the Po Na Na Fez Club, Market Passage, be renewed,
subject to the conditions recommended in the report.
01/m/98 LICENSING HOURS FOR NIGHTCLUBS
The Head of
Environmental Health and Waste Strategy presented a report which reviewed the
opening hours of clubs at night which were licensed for public entertainment in
the city centre, taking into account the views of interested parties, who had
been consulted. He tabled an additional
proposal for inclusion in paragraph 7.1 of the report, as follows:
“j) Applications
will be refused where the proposed hours of opening conflict with any
applicable planning condition.”
A letter relating
to the item had been circulated in advance of the meeting.
Simon Harrow of
the Po Na Na Fez Club attended to speak on the item. He said that he disagreed with the proposal to allow clubs to
open until 3.00am on only one night per week.
He felt that this would be confusing to customers, and his Club was
currently allowed to stay open until 3.00am Monday to Saturday, which was
proving very successful in terms of reducing anti-social behaviour. In other cities he was aware of, clubs were
permitted to stay open until 3.00am on all nights of the week. There were only five nightclubs in Cambridge
city centre, and so it was not necessary to stagger the 3.00am opening.
The Police Service
confirmed that it would not be in favour of there being any alcohol sales
beyond 2.00am.
Councillor J
Rosenstiel suggested that clubs could be allowed to take it in turns on a
yearly basis to stay open until 3.00am.
Councillor J
Rosenstiel asked for further details on the point made by the City Centre
Manager in the report that staggered closing times had resulted in “fewer
incidents and less disturbance when used elsewhere” (paragraph 4.1.6). The Head of Environmental Health and Waste
Strategy said that he would look into this and report back.
The Chair stressed
that the officers must ensure that the next round of consultation was carried
out at a time when university students and staff were available to comment, and
not during a vacation period.
Resolved (with no votes against) that the proposals
for extending club hours be approved in accordance with section 7 of the
report, with the following addition to paragraph 7.1:
“j) Applications
will be refused where the proposed hours of opening conflict with any
applicable planning condition.”
01/m/99 PUBLIC
ENTERTAINMENT LICENCE: TRANSFER OF NAME
The
Sub-Committee noted the transfer of licensee’s name in respect of the Haymakers
Public House, as shown on the agenda.
01/m/100 EXCLUSION
OF THE PUBLIC
Resolved (with
no votes against) that the public be excluded from the meeting for the next
items on the grounds that if they were present there would be disclosure to
them of information defined as exempt from publication by paragraphs 7 and 14
of Part I of Schedule 12a of the Local Government Act 1972.
01/m/101 THE STANDING OF
AN INDIVIDUAL’S HACKNEY CARRIAGE VEHICLE LICENCE
The Head of Transport Services presented a report which requested the Sub-Committee to review the standing of an individual’s Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licence, in the light of a complaint submitted by 10 people. He also reported a written request from the individual that the case be deferred, as she was on holiday and so unable to attend the meeting.
Resolved (with no votes against) that consideration of the report at agenda item 18 be deferred until the meeting on 18 October 2001.
01/m/102 THE STANDING OF INDIVIDUALS’ HACKNEY
CARRIAGE VEHICLE LICENCES
The
Head of Transport Services presented reports which requested the Sub-Committee
to review the standing of the Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licences of four
individuals, in the light of a complaint submitted by 10 people. The Chair decided that the four cases should
be considered simultaneously, as they all related to the same complaint.
Two of the
individuals concerned attended, addressed the Sub-Committee and answered
questions.
Two of the
people who had submitted the complaint attended, addressed the Sub-Committee
and answered questions.
Resolved that
1) The individual named in agenda item 19 be given a written warning.
2) The individual named in agenda item 20 be given a written warning.
3) The individual named in agenda item 21 be given a written warning.
4) No further action be taken in relation to the individual named in agenda
item 22.
5) The Environment Committee be asked to review the conditions attached to
Hackney Carriage Vehicle Licences.
The meeting
ended at 6.00pm.
CHAIR