Agenda item

Members: C Carr (Chairman), D Hicks and C Hampson.

The Committee considered a report of the Senior Licensing Officer regarding an application for the grant of a Premises Licence in respect of The Impeccable Pig, Front Street, Sedgefield (for copy see file of Minutes).

A copy of the application and supporting information had been circulated together with additional information from the Applicant and Mr Williams on behalf of Mrs Williams, other person.

At this point it was confirmed by Councillor C Carr and Mr M Carr, other person that they were not related and therefore there was no conflict of interest which would prevent the Councillor from determining the application.

Mr Carr asked the Sub-Committee to consider a location plan which he wished to refer to. Mr Hamer, the Applicant’s Agent objected to the late submission which he considered would be unfair to his client as he had not been given an opportunity to consider the new information.

The Sub-Committee decided that the plan submitted by Mr Carr should not be taken into account but noted that it was already included in the Bundle and could be referred to in Mr Carr’s own submissions.

Mr Hamer advised that his client wished to reduce the hours for licensable activities from 1.00am until 12 midnight on Fridays.

Mr Carr was invited to address the Sub-Committee. He began by stating that the building was in a conservation area which he believed contributed to the attraction of the premises, and in an area that was now over-commercialised. Mr Hamer had said that he had stated that there were ‘no hours attached’ but he had not; he had meant that a closing time of 12 midnight and 1.00am did not mean that customers would leave at that time as there was no drinking up time specified. The size of the building had increased considerably and there were 96 residential properties around the site. The Applicant’s statement that eating hours were changing was not reflected in other local hotels and restaurants. Mr Carr provide examples of the closing hours of other venues in the area.

The premises may have 10 rooms but the main area was a brasserie capable of hosting 200 people and Mr Carr was therefore of the view that it was not primarily a hotel.

All customers had to enter and exit onto Front Street and the village green. There were issues with another premises in the village including the slamming of taxi doors and the over-ordering of mini-buses. He also felt that customers would not be as thoughtful about reading notices asking them to respect neighbours late at night. The last public transport service left the village at 11.30pm.

Mr Carr concluded by wishing the venture success but hoped that the proposed hours could be reduced.

Councillor Wills addressed the Sub-Committee on behalf of the Town Council and residents of Sedgefield. She advised that there had been an increase in events in and around the village accompanied by live/recorded music, some of which were outdoors. The Town Council had seen a huge number of complaints as a result.

She appreciated that there was now more focus on eating out and the Town Council was not averse to the venture. The Town Council had been tolerant of the issue of parking on the village green by construction vehicles for almost a year.

Councillor Wills referred to the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and explained that the Town Council’s main concerns were in relation to the licensing objective ‘prevention of public nuisance’. They accepted that the applicant had removed live/recorded music outdoors but noted that plays and dance, indoors and outdoors, had been retained.

It was clear that the building was not sound-proofed and Councillor Wills asked how noise levels would be controlled to ensure that noise was regulated.

The Applicant had stated that there was parking for 10 vehicles but the registered village green was to the front and could not be used for extended parking.

Members were informed that the Town Council managed the nearby Parish Hall which had been the subject of noise nuisance in the past. The Town Council had mitigated against this and with this in mind, and in light of their own experience, she requested that the hours be restricted to 12 midnight in line with other premises in the locality, and for all activities to be indoors.  Councillor Wills asked if the applicant proposed to address the issue of potential noise now as opposed to waiting until noise nuisance occurred.

In response to a question from Councillor Carr, Councillor Wills advised that the Town Council had contacted the Licensing Authority about noise and the Senior Licensing Officer confirmed that letters had been sent to the Town Council and other parties in relation to this. Councillor Wills advised that they may have been received too late for consideration by a Council meeting.

Mr Williams was invited to address the Sub-Committee on behalf of his mother. He explained that his mother’s bedroom backed onto the former Hope Inn which was a party wall, and pointed out the position of the room on the location plan in the Bundle. The impact of noise had been felt when the function room of the Hope Inn was used and this room had now been integrated into the building to form one large space. He was concerned that acoustic insulation had been overlooked and did not think this would be difficult to sort now as opposed to finding out that there were problems when the business was operating.

He had contacted the Licensing Authority with regard to payment of the works to reduce noise, and advised that he had not asked the Applicant to pay for insulation of his mother’s property, but for noise mitigation in the premises.

At this point the Chairman advised that in view of what had been said to this point an attempt at mediation by the parties prior to the Sub-Committee may have been useful. Therefore the hearing would adjourn to allow all parties to try to reach agreement. In doing so he asked that consideration be given to:-

·         Bottles to be emptied before 8pm and not before 8am

·         A drinking up time

·         The hours for all licensable activities

·         Closing windows and doors after a certain hour

·         Noise mitigation

·         Delivery times

·         Parking provision.

Prior to adjourning, Mr Adamson, the Applicant stated that there was no intention for music or entertainment outdoors, there would only be background music indoors and the village green would not be used as a car park. He wanted to work with the Town Council and the residents to reach agreement.

All parties retired at 11.45am.

After re-convening at 12.15pm the Senior Licensing Officer advised of the agreement reached, as follows:-

·         All licensable activities to end at midnight

·         All outdoor activities removed from the application

·         Live music to be restricted to 8 live events per year

·         All windows and doors to be closed by 10.00pm

·         Bottle emptying and deliveries to take place between the hours of 8.00am and 8.00pm

·         Drinking up time to be included in the licensed hours

The Solicitor added that it had also been agreed that sound equipment would be installed in Mrs William’s property following completion of the works to the premises, and a time be arranged for testing with the relevant parties present.  

At 12.25pm the Sub-Committee Resolvedto retire to deliberate the application in private. After re-convening at 12.30pm the Chairman delivered the Sub-Committee’s decision. In reaching their decision the Sub-Committee had considered the report of the Senior Licensing Officer and additional information provided by the Applicant and Mr Williams, the verbal and written representations of the Applicant’s Agent, the Applicant and other persons, and the agreement reached between the parties. The Members had also taken into account Section 182 Guidance issued by the Secretary of State and the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy.

Resolved:

That the application for the grant of a Premises Licence be granted as follows:-

12.2   TheadditionalconditionsaddedbytheApplicantfollowingmediationwiththe

EnvironmentHealthnoiseteam:

Prevention of Public Nuisance

i    Live andrecorded music outdoor will not be partofthePremises Licence.

12.3   TheCommittee alsoconsideredtheconditions suggestedwithintheOperation Scheduleandbelieveit wasnecessaryto imposetheconditionsontheLicence as follows:

General

i    The premises will havea namedDesignatedPremisesSupervisor.

ii   Therewill always be someoneonthe premises witha Personal License. iii       Appropriatesignagewill be displayedexternallyandinternallyto include:

  CCTVimages arebeing recordedfor your safety.

  Proofofage– Challenge 25.

  Pleaserespectourneighbours whenleavingthepremises.

  Drugs Policy.

  Restrictedtimes whendrinks arenotpermitted outsidethepremises

 The Smoke free (Premises  and  Enforcement)  regulations  2006  –   External Signage

Admissionandsupervisionofchildrenunder the age of 16.

iv     Inrespectoftraining,theManagerandDutyManagerswillbetrainedin formal qualificationsto Personal Licenselevel.

v      All staffwill receivetrainingwill include:

Companyinduction.

Health& Safety.

FireSafetyandEvacuationProcedures.

FoodSafety& Hygiene.

TheSaleofAlcohol– The Licensing Law andChallenge25.

ConflictManagement.

vi  Thestafftraining recordswill be heldontheCompanyintranet.

The Prevention of Crime and Disorder

i.      ThepremiseswillbepartofthelocalPub Watchschemeandthemanagerwill attendscheduledmeetingsandsharerelevantinformationtothePoliceandlocal licensedpremises.

ii.    A policy fortheuseoftoughened or plasticdrinkingglasses for outside consumptionofdrinksmay be establishedfollowingcompletionof arisk assessmentwhere national sportingeventsaretelevised.

iii.     Onoccasions thatsecurity operativesareemployedthey willbelicensed by the SIA.  Securitystaffwillberequiredto signin anda record of their licensewill be recordedincludinglicensenumber andexpiry date.

iv.    Inadditionto providing accommodationthe primary functionofthe premises is forthesale of foodanddrink.  Atable andseating planwill beavailablepriorto opening.

v.     Drugawarenesstraining will beprovidedforallstaff.A record will bekeptofthe date andname ofpersontrained.RecordswillbemadeavailableforInspection by the police or licensingauthority.

vi.    TheApplicantwillmaintain thelong-standingrelationshipwithLocalPoliceand communicateona regular basis.

vii.    Inrespectofthepreventionofillegaldrugsandweaponsbeing broughtintothe premises,thepremises will operatea ZeroTolerancePolicywhichwill cover:

Notices will be displayedwithintheentranceto the premises.

All staffwillbetrainedandmadeawareoftherequirementto callthePolice ifa customer is suspected of beingin possessionof drugs or weapons.

A policyforseizing,retaininganddocumentinganydrugsorweaponsfound witha clear audittrail anda processfor surrenderingthem tothePolice.

    Regular,recordedtoiletchecks will becarriedwhilethe premisesare open.

Drugawarenesstrainingwillbeprovidedforallstaff.A recordwill be kept of the dateandname of person trained.  Recordswill bemadeavailable for inspection by thepolice or licensing authority.

viii.   CCTVwillbeinstalledinsideand outsidethepremises.  Thecameraswillcover all internalareasaccessibleto thepublicandareasimmediately outsidethe premises.Thedateandtimesettings on thesystemwill be correct.

ix.    CCTVrecordingswillbein realtimeandonharddrivewith theavailabilityto copy disksfor otheragencies suchas thepolice.

x.     CCTVrecordings will be keptfora minimum periodof 31days.

xi.    Management andSupervisorswillbetrainedin the maintenanceandoperation of the CCTV systemwitha recordkept ofthedateandnameofpersontrained.

xii.    RecordswillbekeptatHQ andcanbeavailable forinspectionby thepoliceor licensingauthority.

xiii.   AtrainedDuty Managerwillbeonduty tooperate theCCTVsystemwhenever the premisesareopen.

xiv.   Customerswillbeencouragedtoleavethepremisesquietlyandrespectlocal residents.Signagewillbedisplayedinsideand outsidethepremises.

xv.   Theconsumptionofdrinkswillbeprohibitedoutsidethepremises at specified times.

xvi.   Regular,recordedchecksoftoiletsandoutsideareaswillbecarriedout.  Any anti social or suspicious behaviour will be reportedtotheDutyManager.

PublicSafety

i.      AFireRisk Assessmentwillbecarriedout priorto openingandthiswillspecify thepermittedoccupancyofthepremises.

ii.     Maintenancerecordsandcertificatesforthe followingequipmentwillbekeptin thepremisesFire LogFile:

    FixedElectricalWiringInstallationandPAT

    Gas Certificatesfor kitchenandheatingequipment

    FireAlarmtest/maintenancerecords.

    EmergencyLightingandilluminatedsignage

    Kitchenextractioncleaning

iii.     Kitchen equipment andrefrigerationwillbeservicedby thecompany nominated contractor.

iv.    ThePremisesarecoveredby CCTVbothinternally and externally.  Thesystem will record on hard drive andcopieswillbemadein the eventofan accident or incident.  Thesecopieswill beheldwiththeGroupHealthandSafetyManager

along  with  the  completed  Accident  &  Incident  Report  Forms  and  Witness

Statements.

v.     TherewillbecompliancewithTheSmoke-free(PremisesandEnforcement) Regulations 2006.

vi.    Externaldesignatedsmokingareaswillbeprovidedandwillbecheckedand maintainedatregular intervals.

ThePrevention of PublicNuisance

i.      AFireRisk Assessmentwillbecarriedoutpriorto openingandthiswillspecify thepermittedoccupancyofthepremises.

ii.     The premises will provideinformationonlicensedlocal taxi providers.

iii.     “WinddownPeriod”   Therewillbeagreedwinddownperiodbetweentheendof licensableactivities for non-residentsandclosureofthepremises.

iv.    Customerswillbeencouragedtoleavethepremisesquietlyandrespectlocal residents.Signagewillbedisplayedinsideand outsidethepremises.

v.     Alastadmissionpolicywill be adopted.

vi.    Regularrecordedcheckswill bemadeoftheoutsideareas,fore.g.,glass collectionandlitter collectionand emptying of ashtrays.

Protection of Children from Harm

i.      Childrenundertheageof16willbepermittedin thepremisesifaccompanied and supervised by anadultbetweenthespecifiedhours.

ii.     ClearsignagewillbedisplayedadvisingcustomersoftheChildAdmission

Policy.

iii.     Managers,DutyManagers and staffwill be trainedinthe premisesadmissionof childrenpolicyandsignedrecords will be availablefor inspection.

Thefollowingcondition be added tothe License:

i.      Alloutdooractivitiesaretoberemovedfromtheproposedactivitiesandtherefore remain as indooronly.

ii.     Inrespectofthe provisionoflive music,this will be limitedto 8events per year.

iii.     Inrespect oftheall of thehoursproposedforthelicensableactivities this will be reducedfrom01.00hrsto 00.00hrs.

iv.    TheApplicantproposesthattheclearingawayofglassesandbottlesdoesnot

takeplace after thehours of 20.00hrsor beforethehours of 08.00hrs.

v.     Inrespectofdeliveries,thesewillbecontrolledandtakeplacebetweenthehours of 08.00hrsand 20.00hrs.

vi.    TheApplicantproposes thatthewindows and doors would beclosedafter the hours of 22:00hrs.

vii.    AnoisesurveywillbecarriedoutwithinMrs Williams’ property uponcompletion of theconstructionworkwhereby thesound equipmentwillbeplacedat high volume.Soundequipmentwill bein place to monitorand measurethelevelsto determinewhetherthisis suitable.Thetimingwillbeagreedbetweentheparties, anominated expertwould beappointed and wherenecessary thereasonable costs areto beborne equallybetweentheparties.

viii.   The drinking up timefornon-residentsis tobeconcludedby00:00hrs.