northlincs.gov.uk

Licensing (Activities) Sub-Committee – 1 August 2014

Chairman:  To be appointed
Venue:  The Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Ashby Road, Scunthorpe
Time:  10 am

AGENDA

1. Appointment of Chairman.

2.  Declarations of personal or personal and prejudicial interests, and significant contact with applicants, objectors or third parties (lobbying), if any.

3.  Licensing Act 2003 – Notice of Hearing

(i)  Application for variation of a premises licence, The Light, Oswald Road, Scunthorpe, DN15 7PU

4.Any other items which the chairman decides are urgent by reason of special circumstances which must be specified. 

MINUTES

PRESENT: –  Councillors Allcock, Oldfield and Rowson.

Councillor Ali attended the meeting in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 1.37 (b).

The sub-committee met at the Civic Centre, Scunthorpe.

1177  CHAIRMAN – Resolved – That Councillor Allcock be and he is hereby appointed chairman for the meeting.

Councillor Allcock thereupon took the chair.

1178  DECLARATIONS OF DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTERESTS, PERSONAL OR PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS AND SIGNIFICANT CONTACT WITH APPLICANTS, OBJECTORS OR THIRD PARTIES (LOBBYING) – There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests and personal or personal and prejudicial interests.

1179  (5)  LICENSING ACT 2003 – APPLICATION FOR VARIATION OF A PREMISES LICENCE, THE LIGHT, OSWALD ROAD, SCUNTHORPE, DN15 7PU – The Director of Places submitted a report advising members of an application for variation of a premises licence for The Light, Oswald Road, Scunthorpe, DN15 7PU.

Details of the application were outlined in the report, together with the application and representations from Humberside Police, the Licensing Authority, and Environmental Health (Commercial).

The Director in his report reminded the sub-committee that the options available to it under the Licensing Act 2003 when considering such applications were:

To modify the conditions of the licence;

To reject the whole or part of the application.

The Sub-Committee received applications and agreed to vary the procedure to (i) extend the time limits for presentations to one hour for each party and to (ii) enable the applicant to summarise their presentation after the objectors.

The applicant’s representative, Humberside Police’s representative and Licensing Officer, the Licensing Authority, and Environmental Health (Commercial) addressed the sub-committee and responded to questions.

Following the summary of the case, the meeting was adjourned for deliberation by members and then reconvened when the decision of the sub-committee was stated as follows: –

Resolved: The Licensing (Activities) Sub-Committee has listened to all representations carefully today, and taken into account the guidance issued under Section 182 of the Licensing Act (2003), the council’s Licensing Policy, the council’s Cumulative Impact Policy, and to the promotion of the four licensing objectives.

The decision of the Licensing (Activities) Sub-Committee is to reject the whole of the application as applied for.

Reasons

1. The Sub-Committee believes that the applicant has failed to demonstrate that the extension of the licensable hours, including the terminal hour up to 6 a.m. would not negatively impact on the Cumulative Impact Zone.  The evidence provided by Humberside Police demonstrates that this is already a vulnerable area with a significant crime rate, and justifies the local authority’s reasoning for the implementation of a Cumulative Impact Policy.

2. The additional hours will have a negative effect on the migration of the public during the early hours within the Cumulative Impact Zone.  Also, the extension of hours will attract additional members of the public to the Cumulative Impact Zone at very sensitive times of the morning.  The undermining of the Cumulative Impact Policy also undermines the Crime and Disorder Licensing Objective.

3. The existence of the Road Transport Regulation Order providing a barrier across the highway during the early hours on a Friday and Saturday demonstrates existing issues with public safety.  The extension of hours will add to this problem and undermine the Public Safety Licensing Objective.