Agenda item

The report of the Licensing Team Leader.

The Chair introduced all parties in attendance and outlined the procedures to be followed.

The Licensing Act (Hearings) Regulations 2005 stated that the Authority must allow parties an equal period of time in which to present their evidence. It was agreed that the maximum time limit for each presentation would be 10 minutes.

The Licensing Team Leader presented the report, highlighting the background of the report and representations received.

The Applicant addressed the Sub Committee and stated that they wanted to encourage growth to Ibstock High Street by providing more jobs for people in the local area and attracting more people. She added that they had started to sell coffee and cake and had thought about offering pizza due to the closure of a nearby restaurant, Papa’s Pizzeria.

The Applicant stated they were unlikely to be open every day, as she was in the process of finding what was right for customers. She noted there were no representations from the Responsible Authorities, and that a private road was shared between neighbouring properties which would be enforced by a private road notice. Concerns were raised about the toilets which were accessible from a shared road. It was stated that Challenge 25 would be in place, and that the toilets were to have emergency exits.

The Applicant confirmed that public safety measures were to be in place which included fire risk mitigations, blocked access to the toilet from the shared road, and imposed time limits further down the High Street. It was also acknowledged that the communication between neighbours could have been improved.

In response to a question from a member, the Applicant confirmed that there would be a maximum limit of 25 people in the premises at a time who would be provided with live entertainment in the form of live music and film. It was noted that CCTV would have been installed so the number of people in the premises could have been monitored, and that the music would not have been played loudly.

The Interested Parties addressed the Sub Committee. They expressed concern over the inappropriate use of the seating area, highlighting that it was noisy, as there had been occasions where they heard banging outside the front door, and they mentioned there was a lack of communication between themselves and the Applicant which added to their frustration. They also recalled instances where children had walked down their driveway, but this had since been addressed and resolved by the Applicant. They stated they would not have purchased their house had they known the neighbouring property would have become a pizza restaurant.

The Applicant apologised for the lack of communication and added that she intended to facilitate a two-way conversation going forward. She commented that, although she originally thought the area in question was to be used for seating, she did not think that was likely due to the cost implications.

Concerns were raised by the Interested Parties over the playing of live music. The Licensing Team Leader commented that, since the introduction of The Deregulation Act 2015, businesses did not require a licence for the playing of live music, recorded music, films or plays between 8:00am and 11:00pm.

The Licensing Team Leader declined a closing speech.

As part of a closing speech, the Interested Parties reiterated the points they had made previously.

As part of a closing speech, the Applicant reiterated the points they had made previously.

The meeting adjourned at 3:21pm.

The meeting reconvened at 3:52pm.

The Chair read out the decision notice, highlighting that the points raised by the Interested Parties could not have justified a full refusal of the licence, adding that there had been no representations made by the Responsible Authorities.

RESOLVED THAT:

The licence be granted, subject to the condition that the business opened from 12:00pm-9:30pm. It was recommended that CCTV be installed, and that a WhatsApp group be used to ensure communication was improved between the Applicant and Interested Parties.