Agenda and minutes

The Democratic Services Officer read out the procedure.

There were none.

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest,  (as defined in Part 2, A and B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officeror a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

There were none.

There was none.

These were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Chair will draw attention to the procedure to be followed for Agenda Item 8.

The Chair drew attention to the procedure to be followed for the next item of business.

The Committee is asked to consider passing the following resolution:

“that having been satisfied that the public interest would be better served by not disclosing relevant information, in accordance with the provisions of Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business and the reporting of the meeting be prevented under Section 100A(5A) because of the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended.   

RESOLVED that, the Committee having been satisfied that the public interest would be better served by not disclosing relevant information in accordance with the provisions of Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public shall be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business and the reporting of the meeting be prevented under Section 100A(5A) because of the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended.   

The Public Protection Officer reported that Mr J R had informed him that he was not fit enough to attend the hearing. He circulated a DBS certificate in respect of Mr J R and a witness statement from him.

After deliberation, the Sub-Committee RESOLVED to defer the hearing of this matter to the meeting of the 5^th January 2016.

Reasons

Members had to determine what action to take against a licensed driver having obtained a caution during the course of his Hackney Carriage/Private Hire Driver’s Licence.  In doing so they took account of the Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act, Human Rights Act, case law and Council Policy. Members also took account of the applicant’s written and oral representations.

The Licensee failed to attend and whilst the Licensee had consented to the matter being dealt with in his absence Members, were concerned about the circumstances of the matter and deferred the matter for his attendance.

The Sub-Committee will return to public session for the next two items of business.

The Chair will, if required, explain the procedure to be followed for the next item of business.

Applicant: The Bell Inn Ltd, represented by Arron Whan (General Manager and Designated Premises Supervisor)

Other Persons: Diane Piper and Sylvain Filluzean, represented by Cllr P Turner; Ms Rhoda Turner

The parties confirmed that they had received and understood the procedure to be followed for the hearing.

The Public Protection Officer summarised the report. He said that the applicant was seeking to vary the premises licence by:

• extending the hours for the sale of alcohol, live music and recorded music
• extending the opening hours
• adding the provision of late night refreshment
• removing the condition prohibiting the playing of live music in the garden
• removing the conditions attached to the Public Entertainment Licence

Relevant representations had been received from local residents relating to the licensing objective of the prevention of public nuisance. He invited the Sub-Committee to determine the application.

Mr Whan stated the case for the applicant. He said that the Bell is unique. It is the largest community buyout pub in the country. It is a host to grassroots music and arts and a venue for shows, plays and poetry events. Staff are paid well over the minimum wage and local suppliers are used. The Bell had to turn a profit in an increasingly harsh market while maintaining a 300-year old building. The Bell had been at the centre of the community for a long time. Bath would be worse off if it had to close.

The Principal Solicitor advised Mr Whan that as the premises were located in the Cumulative Impact Area, there was a presumption that the application would be refused, unless he could demonstrate that it would not significantly add to the cumulative impact already being experienced. It would therefore be helpful if he would explain in greater detail the measures he had put in his operating schedule, and explain why he considered that the application would not have a detrimental effect.

Mr Whan said that a lot of noise was caused by customers leaving to move on to other establishments. A later closing hour would reduce noise nuisance by allowing customers to disperse over a longer period. He believed that more noise in Walcot Street emanated from Club XL rather than from the Bell. The staff at the Bell did their best to keep doors closed and to encourage customers to leave quietly. There would be further staff training to make sure that staff encouraged customers to leave quietly. Bands were being asked to finish earlier, so that there would be less disturbance for local residents. CCTV would be installed.

A Member asked Mr Whan to explain why the variation application sought a closing hour of 01:30 on Fridays and Saturdays when under the current licence the closing time for the Function Room on Saturdays was 02:30. He replied under the existing licence there was a separate closing hour for the lounge of 02:30. The Principal Solicitor advised that on the premises map supplied with the application the lounge was included within the area  ...  view the full minutes text for item 102.