Agenda and minutes

Under the terms of reference for the Licensing Committee each Sub-Committee is required to elect a Chairman on an ad hoc basis for the duration of the meeting.

            RESOLVED:

That, in accordance with the terms of reference for the Licensing Committee, Councillor P McMillan be elected Chairman for the duration of the Sub-Committee meeting.

(Head of Research and Democratic Services) To declare interests in any item on this agenda.

Pursuant to the Council’s Code of Member Conduct Councillors P McMillan and J Wyatt declared a personal interest in item 8 (Rebels Diner Honey Lane, Waltham Abbey) of the agenda by virtue of knowing the objector and representing  the wards concerned. The Councillors determined that their interests were not prejudicial and they would remain in the meeting for the consideration and voting on the item.

The Sub-Committee and the attendees noted the procedure agreed for the conduct of business and Terms of Reference.

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):

6.                                      Application for a Hackney 1

                        Carriage Driver’s Licence

                                                Mr A Hussain

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.

Confidential Items Commencement: Paragraph 9 of the Council Procedure Rules contained in the Constitution require:

(1)        All business of the Council requiring to be transacted in the presence of the press and public to be completed by 10.00 p.m. at the latest.

(2)        At the time appointed under (1) above, the Chairman shall permit the completion of debate on any item still under consideration, and at his or her discretion, any other remaining business whereupon the Council shall proceed to exclude the public and press.

(3)        Any public business remaining to be dealt with shall be deferred until after the completion of the private part of the meeting, including items submitted for report rather than decision.

Background Papers:  Paragraph 8 of the 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 (as defined in Rule 10) and in respect of executive reports, the advice of any political advisor.

Inspection of background papers may be arranged by contacting the officer responsible for the item.

That the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the item of business set out below, except for some evidence that may fall into the categories below and will be heard in private on the grounds that they would involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined below in the relevant Paragraph of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Local Government Act 1972:

Agenda                                                                                   Exempt Information

Item No            Subject                                                         Paragraph Number

8                      R Holland – Rebels Diner Honey Lane                 1

(Head of Environmental Services). To consider the attached application.

The three Councillors that presided over this item were Councillors Mrs R Gadsby, McMillan and Wyatt.

The Sub-Committee considered an application by Mr A Hussain for a Hackney Carriage Driver’s License.

The Chairman welcomed the applicant and introduced the members and officers present. The Environmental Health Manager informed the Sub-Committee of the circumstances under which the license could not be issued under delegated authority.

The applicant made a short statement to the Sub-Committee in support of his application before answering a number of questions from members of the Sub-Committee.

The Sub-Committee considered the application in private and subsequently decided to grant the license.

            RESOLVED:

That the application to issue a Hackney Carriage Driver’s License to Mr A Hussain be granted.

That the Public and Press be allowed back into the meeting for the remaining items of business.  

            RESOLVED:

That the public and press be invited back into the meeting for the remaining items of business.

(Head of Environmental Services). To consider the attached application.

The three Councillors that presided over this item were Councillors Mrs R Gadsby, P McMillan and J Wyatt. The Chairman welcomed the participants and introduced the members and officers present and then requested that the participants introduce themselves to the Sub-Committee.

In attendance on behalf of the application was Mr Holland, the applicant. Councillor Ms S Stavrou and Ms J Taylor a local resident were in attendance to object to the application. The Chairman outlined the procedure that would be followed for the determination of the application.

(a)               The Application before the Sub-Committee

The Environmental Health Manager informed the Sub-Committee that an application for a street trading consent for the sale of food at Rebels Diner, Honey Lane, Waltham Abbey had been received along with representations from Councillor Mrs S Stavrou, Essex County Council Highways, Waltham Abbey Town Council and one local resident.

(b)               Presentation of the Applicant’s Case

The applicant informed the Sub-Committee that he had reduced his opening times from 6.30p.m. to 5.00a.m. He anticipated that this would address the issues raised in the objections. The applicant commented that the objections made to his application were exactly the same as those made previously. The applicant addressed each one in turn as follows.

(i)                 Waltham Abbey Town Council letter dated 20 April 2007

Mr Holland claimed that there was sufficient room for manoeuvre on the highway  where the van was located even when  there was lorries parked on both sides of the road. He circulated photographs illustrating such circumstances.

In response to the objection that the operation attracted rodents, the applicant presented a report compiled on the issue.  He advised that he had recently changed his pest control company and the latest report confirmed that there was no evidence of rodent activity on the site.

(ii)        Essex County Council Highway Section letter dated 20 April 2007.

In relation to the first point about the indiscriminate parking of customer vehicles stopping the safe passage of traffic,   the applicant claimed that lorries parked near his van for a maximum of 45 minutes.  There had been an on-going problem of lorries parking overnight but the applicant insisted they did not use his burger van and when requested to move on, they had refused. Mr Holland had contacted Essex County Council to discuss these issues. He stated that they had advised him to submit his comments in writing. He had demonstrated a willingness to resolve them with the County.

Mr Holland referred to the claim that the unlawful use of private accesses on the vicinity was severely restrictive both in terms of physical obstruction and the obstruction of the sight lines. He said that there were two access points to the site: one from the Skillets Farm, the other from Mrs Taylor’s property. He claimed that the tabled photographs showed that for  90% of the time the highway was clear. The applicant acknowledged that the pavement had been damaged by heavy vehicles and had been fixed, suggesting that perhaps the installation of bollards  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.