Agenda and minutes

To sign the minutes of the special meeting held on 25 February and the ordinary meeting held on 26 March 2014.

The minutes of the special meeting held on 25 February 2014 and the ordinary meeting held on 26 March 2014 were taken as read and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

No declarations of interest were made by Members.

The Environmental Health Manager presented the report seeking to review the City Council’s current Statement of Licensing Policy which had come into effect in January 2011. There was a legal requirement to review such policy statements every five years and the current policy had to be reviewed by 2016 and it was necessary therefore to commence preliminary work.

Members of the Licensing Committee together with the Portfolio Holder for Environment, Health and Wellbeing, and supported by officers, had formed four working groups and examined the following aspects of the broader licensing agenda:

·    Night-time economy

·    Voluntary tools

·    Standard conditions

·    Regulatory tools

The groups had met between October 2013 and January 2014, with some Members participating in a late-night city centre survey of different licensed premises in December, as well as a number attending a presentation by Best Bar None organised by the Voluntary Tools working group.

The key findings from the groups were:-

·         a desire to promote a vibrant night time economy with a rich mix of entertainment and activity that is welcoming, clean, safe and that accommodating of the wide range of tastes of a diverse population.

·         in response to concern over segmentation caused by concentrations of similar licensed premises that cater in the main for a particular customer type (e.g. young adult male clientele), a wish to see a wider offering to attract a more diverse demography, with a more dispersed spread of premises in the city centre.

·         a wish to see a café culture positively engendered.

·         establishment of a pragmatic, proportionate and enforceable Pool of Conditions that can be commonly used by the licensing committee, responsible authorities and applicants.

·         to establish a Best Bar None scheme within the city.

·         to work towards Purple Flag status for the city

·         review of the Cumulative Impact Policy to make its impact clearer and more accessible to both applicants and responsible authorities.

·         to consider the need to establish Public Spaces Protection Orders which replace the Designated Public Place Orders (DPPO).

It was noted that the reference to the St. James Dispersal Order in Appendix 4 of the report should be deleted as the order had expired.

RESOLVED that:-

(1)  a revised Licensing Policy be drafted addressing the key areas and considerations developed by the working groups in accordance with the timetable set out in the report, with view to the adoption of a revised policy by Council in April 2015;

(2)  the new Licensing Policy should recognise the key aims and considerations developed by the Licensing Committee Members working groups, as set out in the report and summarised above; and

(3)  a draft revised policy be submitted to the next meeting of this Committee on 22 July 2014 for noting.

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 6, 7 and 8 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 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 Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part I, Schedule 12A of the Act.

To consider the report of the Assistant Director Environment.

(Report circulated to Members)

RESOLVED that Mr AE’s application be refused.

To consider the report of the Assistant Director Environment.

(Report circulated to Members)

RESOLVED that Mr SHA’s application be refused.

To consider the report of the Assistant Director Environment.

(Report circulated to Members)

RESOLVED that Mr SH’s application be refused.