Agenda item

Report of the Environmental Health Team Manager

Before the item was considered Councillor A V Smith reminded Members that another visit to Ashby to observe the evening economy had been arranged for Friday, 6 December as the previous sessions had been very successful.  Councillor A V Smith encouraged Members to attend, especially those who did not attend previously.

The Environmental Health Team Manager presented the report and referred Members to the additional map of Ashby circulated at the meeting.  He explained that the coloured points on the map indicated to three licensed premises, the Plough Inn, the Royal Hotel and the Wetherspoons, which were currently outside the boundary of the policy and need to be considered for inclusion.  It was of his opinion that the Royal Hotel should not be included as it was too far out of the boundary.  Councillors J Geary and M Specht agreed with the Environmental Health Team Manager and also suggested that the Royal Hotel be excluded.

The Legal Advisor commented that when considering the Plough Inn, it was important to remember that it was not currently within the boundary and never had been.  As it was not a hotspot for problems the Committee would need evidence to support why it would need to be included.

In response to a question from Councillor J Geary, the Environmental Health Team Manager explained that although the Wetherspoons had no issues, the reason it needed to be considered was due to the Police’s request that it be included because of its size, level of footfall and type of clientele.  Councillor P Hyde felt strongly that it was premature to include the Wetherspoons at this point based on assumptions and the Committee should wait for statistics to be released before making a decision.  The Legal Advisor suggested that as the policy would not be considered by Council until January, Officers request that the statistics on the Wetherspoons over the Christmas period be available to help make the decision.

Members agreed that the Wetherspoons premises be excluded from the boundary subject to further input from the Police to be considered by Council in January as part of the formal adoption of the Policy.

The Environmental Health Manager asked Members for their opinion on the proposed reduction to the cumulative impact operating hours from 24 hours a day to between 8.00pm and 6.00am.  In response to a question from Councillor J Geary, the Legal Advisor explained that the Police would like the hours to remain 24 hours a day.  He explained that the reason for the proposed change was so that small cafe’s, for example, could apply to sell alcohol during lunch time as they currently would be refused.  As premises such as this would be closed during the evening when problems usually occur, this approach was unfair.  The Environmental Health Team Manager referred Members to page 84 of the report which detailed the comments submitted by the Police.

Members agreed to continue to consult and notify in accordance with the legislation and statutory guidance.  In addition, to continue to notify Parish Councils of application, as recommended within the report.

In response to a question from Councillor T Neilson, the Environmental Health Team Manager explained that the policy did refer to a cultural strategy as it did previously because the strategy no longer existed.  

RESOLVED THAT:

The report be noted and comments made by the Committee considered.