Agenda and minutes

To appoint a Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Cole was appointed Chair for this meeting.

Councillors are reminded of the need to declare personal and prejudicial interests, including the nature and extent of such interests, in relation to business on the agenda, before any discussion takes place on the item. Councillors requiring clarification should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer prior to the day of the meeting.

No declarations of interest were made by Members.

To pass the following resolution:-

RESOLVED that, under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for items 4 to 8 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph(s) of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

RESOLVED that, under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the consideration of the following items on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part I, Schedule 12A of the Act.

To consider the report of the Head of Environmental Health Services.

(Report circulated to Members)

The Principal Licensing Officer advised that the application be deferred as further information was awaited.

RESOLVED that the application be deferred.

(Report circulated to Members)

To consider the report of the Head of Environmental Health Services.

(Report circulated to Members)

The Principal Licensing Officer presented the report on Mr C, the holder of a Hackney Carriage Driver licence, to determine if he was a fit and proper person to hold such a licence. The police had provided information which called into question whether he was a fit and proper person as he had been convicted of the offence of common assault.

Mr C attended the meeting and spoke in support of his application. Following an incident between his daughter and her then boyfriend he had called the police to report the matter. As there had been a delay in the police arriving he had gone himself to the boyfriend’s house to remonstrate with him and his family. Mr C had put the boyfriend in a head lock to calm him down and had subsequently been charged with common assault. Mr C felt that it had been his duty as a father to confront the boyfriend to seek an explanation for his behaviour. Mr C was sorry for his actions and has not been in any trouble since.

Mr C has held a Hackney Carriage Driver’s licence for over 20 years.

The Licensing Solicitor asked how he would deal with aggressive passengers. Mr C stated that he would not engage in an argument or physical contact and that he would simply wait for the passenger(s) to leave the car.  The offence related to a domestic issue and was different in his mind.

The Sub Committee retired to make its decision in the presence of the Licensing Solicitor and the Member Services Officer.

RESOLVED that no action would be taken in respect of this incident and the licence to drive a Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicle be remain in place but issued a strong warning as to future conduct.

(Report circulated to Members)

To consider the report of the Head of Environmental Health Services.

(Report circulated to Members)

The Principal Licensing Officer advised that Mr A was not in attendance. It was felt that the application should be deferred to enable Mr A to attend the hearing.

RESOLVED that the application be deferred.

(Report circulated to Members)

To consider the report of the Head of Environmental Health Services.

(Report circulated to Members)

The Principal Licensing Officer presented the application for a licence to drive a Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicle by Mr R who had been convicted of driving with excess alcohol. Mr R had submitted a letter giving details of the incident.

Mr R attended the meeting and spoke in support of his application. Mr R was seeking a licence to supplement his income to help support his family. The incident followed his consumption of two pints of lager in a pub in Shrewsbury whilst watching a football match. The twelve month disqualification had been reduced to nine months after completing a Drink Driver Rehabilitation course which Mr R had found very beneficial. Mr R added that he had stopped drinking five years ago.

The Sub Committee retired to make its decision in the presence of the Licensing Solicitor and the Member Services Officer.

RESOLVED that the application for a licence to drive a Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicle be granted subject to a strong warning that the licence was at risk in the event of any future offences and subject to the production of a second reference to the satisfaction of the Principal Licensing Officer.

 (Report circulated to Members)

To consider the report of the Head of Environmental Health Services.

(Report circulated to Members)

The Principal Licensing Officer presented the application for a licence to drive a Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicle by Mr I who had been convicted of a number of offences.  Mr I had submitted a letter explaining his circumstances.

Mr I attended the meeting and spoke in support of his application. Mr I had applied for a licence in order to operate on a self-employed basis. With regard to his convictions, Mr I stated that the last one had been five years ago and that he was now a changed person and a family man. Mr I wished to look to the future and provide for his family.

The community order had been made on conviction for instrument falsification but, following a breach of the order, Mr I had been sentenced to custody for nine months. The offence of possessing a bladed article arose when Mr I purchased a fishing knife as a souvenir on holiday in Devon. Mr I was found in possession of this during a routine vehicle check. 

The Sub Committee retired to make its decision in the presence of the Licensing Solicitor and the Member Services Officer.

RESOLVED that the application for a licence to drive a Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicle be granted.

(Report circulated to Members)

(The meeting commenced at 9.30 am and closed at 10.35am)

To consider the report of the Head of Environmental Health Services.

(Report circulated)

In attendance were:

Mr Ali Anvari (AA)                                : Applicant and owner, EX4

Gemma                                               : Assistant Manager Eden Lounge

Mr Tim Selley (TS)                              : Solicitor, Crosse and Crosse

Ms Hannah Tapp

Responsible Authority – Devon and Cornwall Constabulary:

Superintendent John Vellacott (Supt V): Commander for the Exeter area

Mr David Campbell (DC)                       : Counsel for the Police

Sergeant Neil Harvey (Sgt NH)

John Bean

Lesley Carlo   

Interested Parties:

Mr Mark Honeysett (MH)                        : Local resident (manager of Walkabout)

Ms Sarah Wesley (SW)                         : Local resident

Rev Andrew Sails (Revd S)                   : Mint Methodist Church

The hearing was convened under the Licensing Act 2003 to consider the variation sought to the EX4 premises licenses in order to allow the performance of dance and to extend opening hours. The Chairman introduced the Sub-Committee Members and Officers. The Licensing Solicitor explained the procedures to be followed.

The Application

TS advised that the application for variation had been submitted by Holbrick Ltd and that the application for an extension of hours would not be pursued today.

The issue related to activities planned for the first floor - the Eden Lounge.

TS advised that a revised operating schedule had been served on the police. This had not been served on the Licensing Authority.

The Sub Committee adjourned to consider whether any prejudice arose from the lack of service of the revised operating schedule on the Licensing Authority and the Interested Parties as well as some of the agenda papers.  The Sub-Committee determined that having allowed all parties the opportunity to consider the revised operating schedule (which was similar to the original) the hearing could proceed without prejudice to the parties.  All Interested Parties would have been informed of the hearing, which had been appropriately advertised in the local press with a notice displayed within the premises. The agenda had been made available on the internet prior to the meeting.

The hearing reconvened

AA gave evidence that he was the current owner of the premises on which he had spent a significant amount of money since opening in 2007. The basement of the premises is used as a nightclub on Fridays and Saturdays and is available for private functions.  The ground floor is a bar.   The application was for the top floor only.

The premises had 3 separate entrances – one for each floor.

The Eden Lounge would be over 21’s only with a Challenge 25 policy.  There would be waited service.  There were 16 - 18 CCTV cameras installed providing 24 hour coverage with tapes kept for 30 days.

There were 7 door staff. There would be 2 at the bottom of the stairs leading to the Eden Lounge and 2 at the top.  The manager of the Eden Lounge was a personal licence holder as was the general manager.

The premises no longer held cheap drink promotions.

TS stated that the revised operating schedule largely repeated the conditions of the earlier version. It reflected the four licensing objectives with conditions added to tighten  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.