Agenda and minutes

(Director of Governance) To declare interests in any item on this agenda.

There were no declarations of interest pursuant to the Council’s Member Code of Conduct.

(Director of Governance) To note the agreed procedure for the conduct of business, as attached.

The Sub-Committee noted the agreed procedure for the conduct of business.

(Director of Neighbourhoods) To consider the attached report.

(Director of Neighbourhoods) To consider the attached, additional Appendix in conjunction with the previously published report.

The three Councillors that presided over this item were Councillors Sartin (Chairman), Hughes and Surtees. The Chairman welcomed the participants and requested that they introduce themselves to the Sub-Committee. In attendance on behalf of the application were: Mr M Spicer, Campus Facilities Manager at the Acting School; and Mr M Newman, the Solicitor representing the Premises. In attendance and objecting to the Application was Mr E Pace, a local resident. The Chairman then introduced the Members and Officers present, and outlined the procedure that would be followed for the determination of the application.

(a)        The Application before the Sub-Committee

The Licensing Manager informed the Sub-Committee that an application to vary a Premises Licence had been received in respect of the East 15 Acting School in Rectory Lane, Loughton, along with representations from interested parties. The application had requested permission to vary the site area during the redevelopment of student facilities, with the server/bar area to be temporarily relocated to the new part of the building. There were no requested changes to the times and dates for the licensable activities.

The Licensing Manager stated that the application had been sent to the responsible authorities and had been properly advertised at the premises, as well as in a local newspaper. Seven representations had been received from local residents, relating to the Prevention of Crime & Disorder, Public Safety, the Prevention of Public Nuisance, and the Protection of Children from Harm.

(b)        Presentation of the Applicant’s Case

Mr Newman informed the Sub-Committee that East 15 was an internationally renowned Acting School which was considered one of the top five Acting Schools in the country. This application was a temporary measure whilst construction works were undertaken and it was noted that there had been no representations from the responsible authorities, including Essex Police.

The School acknowledged the concerns that had been raised by local Residents, and the School had proposed a further four conditions to be added to the Licence to allay the concerns of Residents. These included an Incident Log to be kept at the Premises, clear signage requesting students to respect local residents and neither make unnecessary noise or litter, and customers to be advised verbally whilst on the Premises.

Mr Newman drew the attention of the Sub-Committee to the Supplementary Agenda which had been published as this included a statement from Ms A Buckell, the Catering & Bar Manager at the Premises regarding the Firework display at the School. Two points from Ms Buckell’s statement were highlighted:

            (i)         the display had been put on by a professional company and the       School had hoped for a large turnout but in the end only 30 students            attended; and

            (ii)        the start of the display was slightly delayed as there were shows      happening in the Dance Studio, but it lasted slightly more than 15 minutes        and was completed by 8.00pm.

(c)        Questions for the Applicant from the Sub-Committee

In response to questions from the Sub-Committee, Mr Spicer stated that ‘Challenge 21’ was already in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

(Director of Neighbourhoods) To consider the attached report.

The three Councillors that presided over this item were Councillors Sartin (Chairman), Hughes and Sunger. The Chairman welcomed the participants and requested that they introduce themselves to the Sub-Committee. In attendance on behalf of the application was Mr R Banks, a Licensing Consultant acting on behalf of the Premises. The Chairman then introduced the Members and Officers present, and outlined the procedure that would be followed for the determination of the application.

(a)        The Application before the Sub-Committee

The Licensing Enforcement Officer informed the Sub-Committee that an application had been received for a Premises Licence at the Light Tree Bistro situated at 262 High Road in Loughton, along with representations from interested parties. The application had requested permission for the Premises to supply alcohol from 1200 to 2300 on Mondays to Sundays, play Live Music from 1800 to 2200 on Mondays to Sundays, play Recorded Music from 0800 to 2300 on Mondays to Sundays, and be open to the public from 0800 to 2330 on Mondays to Sundays. Eleven conditions had also been attached with the Application to form part of the Operating Schedule.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer stated that a representation had been received from Essex Police, with two further suggested conditions for the Application. These had been agreed by the Applicant and the objection from Essex Police had been subsequently withdrawn. A further objection had been received from a local resident in Habgood Road regarding the possible permission to play loud music until 2300 at weekends, which they felt would result in unacceptable noise pollution.

(b)        Presentation of the Applicant’s Case

Mr Banks stated that the Premises was a small café on the ground floor of a terrace in the High Road, with bi-fold opening doors. The floors above the café were residential flats, and the surrounding area was a mixed residential, commercial and shopping region. The café currently had 30 covers inside the Premises and 16 covers on the patio area at the front of the Premises. The café currently served breakfasts, lunches and evening meals, together with cakes and pastries, and the aim of the Application was to allow the Premises to serve wine to customers with their evening meals and play background music throughout the day.

Mr Banks pointed out that the Premises had had a number of Temporary Event Notices recently and there had been no objections from any of the flats above the café regarding any of the events. There would be an experienced Designated Premises Supervisor on site who was the Manager of the Premises.

(c)        Questions for the Applicant from the Sub-Committee

Mr Banks informed the Sub-Committee that there was no intention of Live Music being performed regularly at the Premises; the Application was mainly to allow the occasional live singer or instrumentalist to play at the Premises. There was no room at the Premises for a band to set up and perform, and there were no plans for such events. There would definitely not be any Live Music outside the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 33.

Exclusion

To consider whether, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press should be excluded from the meeting for the items of business set out below on grounds that they will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the following paragraph(s) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended) or are confidential under Section 100(A)(2):

The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, which came into effect on 1 March 2006, requires the Council to consider whether maintaining the exemption listed above outweighs the potential public interest in disclosing the information. Any member who considers that this test should be applied to any currently exempted matter on this agenda should contact the proper officer at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

Background Papers

Article 17 - Access to Information, Procedure Rules of the Constitution define background papers as being documents relating to the subject matter of the report which in the Proper Officer's opinion:

(a)        disclose any facts or matters on which the report or an important part of the report is based;  and

(b)        have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report and does not include published works or those which disclose exempt or confidential information and in respect of executive reports, the advice of any political advisor.

The Council will make available for public inspection for four years after the date of the meeting one copy of each of the documents on the list of background papers.

The Sub-Committee noted that there was no business which necessitated the exclusion of the public and press.