Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: Swansley Room

Contact: Maggie Jennings 

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors JA Hockney and A Riley.

2.

Election of Chairman

Decision:

It was RESOLVED that Councillor RE Barrett be elected Chairman of the Committee for the coming year. 

Minutes:

It was RESOLVED that Councillor RE Barrett be elected Chairman of the Committee for the coming year. 

3.

Election of Vice-Chairman

Decision:

It was RESOLVED that Councillor Dr JR Williamson be elected Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the coming year. 

Minutes:

It was RESOLVED that Councillor Dr JR Williamson be elected Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the coming year. 

 

Sub-Committee Structure

 

Although Councillor Dr JR Williamson had been appointed Vice-Chairman of the Committee, it was agreed that she should retain her Chairmanship of one of the Sub-Committees to determine hearings, unless the Chairman became incapacitated for any length of time and she was required to take on the duties of the Chair. Councillor EW Bullman, having declined the invitation to become Vice-Chairman of the Committee, agreed to be added to the list of Sub-Committees.

4.

Declarations of Interest

Members need only declare an interest in circumstances where there is an item on the agenda that may cause a conflict of interests. 

Minutes:

None received. 

5.

Establishment of Sub-Committee Membership

Details of the individual Sub-Committee membership will be tabled at the meeting for  approval.

Minutes:

Members were requested to approve the combinations of Chairmen and Members for individual Sub Committees as tabled at the meeting. On the advice of the Assistant Solicitor, it was agreed that a full list of all the combinations would be appended to the Minutes of the meeting.

6.

Proceedings of the Committee and Sub-Committees (Additional Item)

Minutes:

Members were advised by the Democratic Services Officer that under the terms of the Licensing Act 2003, the Licensing (2003 Act) Committee was able to determine its own proceedings in terms of notice of meetings, access to information, exclusion of the public, quorum etc. Following a brief discussion and in the interests of consistency with other Council committees, it was agreed that the Licensing (2003 Act) Committee would adopt the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972 and associated legislation, in relation to the conduct of its business.

7.

Procedure at Hearings pdf icon PDF 137 KB

Members are requested to approve the procedure to be followed at hearings. 

Decision:

In conclusion, the Committee AGREED the Hearing Procedure, subject to the amendments made at the meeting. An amended copy of the Hearing Procedure would be appended to the Minutes of the meeting. 

Minutes:

The Committee considered the procedure to be adhered to at hearings and the following issues were raised:

 

·                      The hearings should take the form of a discussion, rather than adversarial and should be as non-confrontational as possible

·                      There should be no declarations of interest voiced at the hearing; these should be filtered out when deciding which sub-committee will attend individual hearings

·                      Hearings should be adjourned, if necessary for approximately 10 minutes to allow photocopying of any newly produced documents

·                      ‘Responsible authorities’ means Police, Fire, Environmental Health Officers, Social Services, Trading Standards, Planning Directorate

·                      ‘Any other representations’ includes residents

·                      Time limit to wait for late appearance of an objector would depend on whether there was another hearing later in the day. If known that the objector would be exceptionally late, the hearing should be adjourned. If carrying on with the hearing without the objector, the Chairman should clearly state at the beginning of the hearing. If the objector subsequently arrives, the Chairman should re-cap, however once the hearing has reached point 6 on the procedure (Applicant’s case), the hearing should be adjourned

·                      If the Sub-Committee felt there were gaps in the evidence, the hearing should be adjourned

·                      Guidance should be given on time restrictions for evidence. This should be decided before the hearing when the complexity of the evidence will be known

·                      In instances where several objectors have requested to speak at the hearing and it is known that they wish to raise identical issues, they will be encouraged to appoint a spokesperson to speak on their behalf

·                      The paragraphs relating to ‘New evidence/information’ and ‘Allocation of time’ will be resolved before the hearing by the Licensing Officer

·                      Petitions will be dealt with under the paragraph relating to ‘Any other representations’

·                      Paragraph 10 relating to ‘Questions from sub-committee’ should be included in the introductory paragraph

·                      Delete Democratic Service Officer from paragraph relating to ‘Legal Advice’

·                      The addition of the right of appeal to be included in the procedure

 

In conclusion, the Committee AGREED the Hearing Procedure, subject to the abovenamed amendments. An amended copy of the Hearing Procedure would be appended to the Minutes of the meeting. 

8.

Personal/Premises Applications Received to date

A verbal update will be given by the Licensing Officer on the number of applications received to date.

Minutes:

The Committee noted that:

 

·                      10 personal applications had been received and that 5 of those applications had been returned as being incomplete. No premises licences had been received.

 

·                      Approximately 365 premises required a licence to sell alcohol; forms for up to 105 of those premises were being processed and approximately 200 personal application forms had been distributed. All forms were available on the Council’s website, and all Council offices

 

·                      All village halls had had written information concerning the new legislation and the Licensing Officer had attended several Parish Council meetings to give an overview of the legislation.

 

·                      In response to Members concern about the possible delay in receipt of applications, which may result in a backlog prior to the expected appointed day of 7th November, the Licensing Officer informed Members that the brewery Greene King had indicated they would be submitting their applications in the very near future.

 

·                      All public houses, restaurants, hotels, Post Offices and take-away establishments would be contacted by the Licensing Officer during the next two months. It was also anticipated that if the Government recognised that only a small number of applications had been received by the end of May/June 2005, the appointed date might be amended to January/February 2006.

 

·                      The Licensing Officer would produce a concise information sheet regarding the new regulations and Members agreed to distribute them to the shops in their villages that sell alcohol.

 

·                      Existing licences would be valid until the appointed day, however if new licences had not been granted, the premises could be closed down.

 

·                      Enforcement of closing times for Take-away establishments would be more rigorous.

 

·                      Clarification had not yet been received from the Government regarding events on village greens. 

9.

Mock Hearing Session pdf icon PDF 79 KB

(Appendices A, B and C are not available electronically) 

Minutes:

The business part of the meeting of the Licensing (2003 Act) Committee concluded at 11.15 and re-convened immediately in order to participate in a mock hearing session relating to the new Licensing Regulations.

Licensing Sub Committee Membership pdf icon PDF 120 KB

Hearing Procedure pdf icon PDF 137 KB