Agenda, decisions and minutes

1.1  Cllr Smyth was duly elected as Chair.

2.1  There were no apologies received.

3.1  There were no declarations of interest

4.1  The  minutes of the hearing held on 13 December 2022 were approved as a true and accurate record of proceedings.

5.1  The Chair outlined the hearing procedure to be followed.

RESOLVED:

This application was approved under delegated powers.

RESOLVED: This application was approved under delegated authority.

The decision

The Licensing Sub-Committee, in considering this decision from the information presented to them within the report and at the hearing today and having regard to the promotion of the licensing objectives:

• The prevention of crime and disorder

• Public safety

• Prevention of public nuisance

• The protection of children from harm

The Licensing Sub-Committee after carefully considering the evidence presented to them at the Review by the Applicant and the Designated Premises Supervisor who represented the licenced premises decided to modify the hours and conditions on the premises licence to prevent public nuisance, the Sub-committee made the following determination:

Modified hours for licensable activity:

Late Night Refreshment

Monday to Saturday   23:00 - 23:30

Supply of Alcohol

Monday to Saturday   11:00 - 23:30

Sunday    11:00 - 22:30

Opening Hours of the premises

Monday to Saturday   11:00 - 00:00

Sunday    11:00 - 23:00

- Non-standard hours on the premises licence to remain the same.

Modified conditions:

And the following conditions to be added to the premises licence

·  Removal of the picnic bench on the 1st floor balcony nearest to 111 Mortimer Road with measures to be put in place to prevent customer use of the resulting space.

·  Remove one of the picnic benches nearest to 111 Mortimer Road. with measures to be put in place to prevent customer use of the resulting space.

·  Staff to be trained in crowd control techniques, conflict resolution, and noise management.

·  All kitchen extraction fans in the backyard shall be switched off between

22:30 and 08:00.

·  No deliveries or other activity are permitted in the backyard of the premises between 22:00 to 08:00.

Reasons for the decision

The Licensing Sub-committee took into consideration that there were no representations received from the Responsible Authorities and no representations from other local residents. The Sub-committee took into consideration that there were 22 representations received in support of the premises and against the review.

The Sub-committee considered each point requested by the Applicant and a list of enforceable conditions to be added to the premises licence were agreed by the premises licence holder to maintain the licensing objectives.

The Sub-committee took into consideration the long history of noise

complaints experienced by the Applicant and the impact on his day to day life.

The Sub-committee carefully considered the Applicant's representations

and his proposals to resolve the issues.

The Sub-committee heard the Applicant’s representations about issues with the premises function room, the first floor conversion of balconies and five outside drinking areas. The Sub-committee noted that Applicant had no complaint about how the premises operated inside the premises. The Applicant contended that there was not enough trained staff, and  8 picnic tables were brought in, creating a beer garden that was not there previously. The Applicant made representations that on 25.06.22 there was drunk shouting from the balcony, and the Applicant had concerns about the premises having no tables and chairs licence.

The Sub-committee heard that the Applicant felt the premises licence had been breached by operating beyond their  ...  view the full decision text for item 7.

7.1  The sub-committee heard from the Principal Licensing Officer, the Applicant and the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS)/Licensee. The sub-committee noted the additional information submitted by the Applicant and DPS. It was noted that the applicant, a local resident, had brought the review on the grounds of the prevention of public nuisance.

7.2  During the course of submissions and a discussion of the application, the following points were noted:

·  The Applicant raised concerns about public nuisance from unmanaged noise from the five outside drinking areas especially the front balcony and the indoor function suite.

·  The Applicant  had lived at the premises since 2007 when there was one outside drinking area. He reported that many of his neighbours were relatively new and had not experienced the historic issues that he had.

·  Further concerns were raised in relation to: the lack of management of the function suite and balcony public safety; obstruction of the public highway which prevented him from accessing his property; drunk and disorderly behaviour; trading without a pavement licence which was granted under emergency Covid legislation; a number of breaches of the licence; no planning permission for the balcony area; lack of adequate sound proofing and the change of nature of the business from a local pub to a party venue.

·  The Licensee had run the premises since 2010 and had been a personal licence holder since 2006.The business was described as a gastro pub, with Sunday being its busiest day. He refuted claims of unauthorised expansion and stated that having spoken to neighbours they were in support of how the pub was managed.

·  In response to concerns raised, the DPS stated that soundproofing had been installed; group bookings were vetted; there was no exclusive hire of the upstairs function room; there was signage advising patrons to keep noise to a minimum; deliveries took place after 8am; an offer was made to build a wall between the Applicant's balcony and that of the premises.

·  It was noted that the police had not submitted any representation and had not attended the premises for any disorder offence. The Environmental Health Authority(Noise Pollution Team) had previously confirmed that no noise complaints had been received other than that of the Applicant. Environmental Enforcement had not submitted representation

·  The DPS confirmed that there was security on Friday and Saturday nights part of their responsibility was to patrol outside areas. Additionally, the on duty manager patrolled the premises throughout their shift and glass collectors could report any issues to the on duty manager.

·  The DPS confirmed the premises shared a party wall with four apartments and one business, with which there were no issues.

·  Pavement Licence Regulations had extended Pavement Licences to September 2023.  Following a dispute about ownership of the land on Mortimer Road to the front of the premises, it was confirmed that the DPS  applied for a tables and chairs licence having been initially unaware that the land was Council owned. The DPS reported that outside trading had been taking place prior to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.