Agenda, decisions and minutes

Resolved:  That Cllr Mason be elected to act as Chair of the meeting.

The Chair introduced those participating in the hearing: the Sub-Committee Members, the Applicants (Paul Waddingham and Angela Waddingham) and the Senior Licensing Officer.  The Legal Adviser and Democracy Officer were also present.

At this point in the meeting, Members are asked to declare:

·        any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests

·        any prejudicial interests or

·        any disclosable pecuniary interests

which they may have in respect of business on this agenda.

Members were invited to declare at this point in the meeting any personal interests not included on the Register of Interests, or any prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests, that they might have in the business on the agenda.  No interests were declared.

To consider excluding the Press and Public during the sub-committee’s deliberations and decision-making at the end of the hearing, on the grounds that the public interest in excluding the public outweighs the public interest in that part of the meeting taking place in public, under Regulation 14 of the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005.

Resolved:  That the Press and Public be excluded from the meeting during the Sub-Committee’s deliberations and decision-making at the end of the hearing, on the grounds that the public interest in excluding the public outweighs the public interest in that part of the meeting taking place in public, under Regulation 14 of the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005.

Meeting reconvened remotely in private session at 10:30 hrs. on 17 August 2020.

PRESENT:Councillors Mason (Chair), Galvin and Melly

RESOLVED: That the Sub-Committee accepts Option 1 and the conditions of the licence are modified as follows:  

1.

2. A digital colour CCTV system will be installed to cover the premises and recorded coverage will include all areas (including outside areas) to where public have access to consume alcohol.

·        It will be maintained, working and recording at all times when the premises are open.

·        The recordings should be of good evidential quality to be produced in Court or other such hearing.

·        Copies of the recordings will be kept available for any Responsible Authority for 28 days. Subject to Data Protection requirements.

·        Copies of the recordings shall be made available to any Responsible Authority within 48 hrs upon request. Subject to Data Protection requirements.

·        Copies of the recordings will display the correct time and date of the recording.

·        It is the responsibility of the management to ensure that there are sufficient members of staff available during the hours of operation to be able to download evidence from the CCTV system at the request of the police or responsible authority. Subject to Data Protection requirements.

3. Documented staff training will be given regarding staff’s obligation under the Licensing Act 2003 in respect of the:-

·        Retail sale of alcohol

·        Age verification policy

·        Conditions attached to the Premises Licence

·        Permitted Licensable activities

·        The Licensing objectives and

·        The Opening Times of the venue.

Such records shall be kept for a minimum of one year and will be made available immediately upon request from any Responsible Authority.

4. A Refusals Register and Incident Report Register will be kept. Such documents will record incidents of staff refusals of alcohol sales to under-age or drunk people as well as incidents of any antisocial behaviour and ejections from the premises.

·        Such records shall be kept for at least one year. (For the avoidance of doubt, the one year period relates to each respective entry in the log book and runs from the date of that particular entry):

·        The records will be made available immediately upon a reasonable request from any responsible authority.

5. A noise management plan shall be submitted to the Local Authority for approval no later than 3 months from the granting of the variation of the premises licence. Once agreed the noise management plan shall be implemented and adhered to thereafter by any occupant.

The full reasons for the Sub-Committee’s decision will be included in the detailed Decision Letter which will be provided to the Applicant and Representors within 5 working days of this decision.

There is a right of appeal for the Applicant and the Representors to the Magistrates’ Court  ...  view the full decision text for item 21.

Members considered an application by Waddo’s Pub and Grub Company Ltd for a Variation of a Premises Licence in respect of The Walnut Tree, 73 Heworth Village, York, YO31 1AN.

In considering the application and the representations made, the Sub-Committee concluded that the following licensing objective was relevant to this Hearing:

The Prevention of Public Nuisance

The Sub-Committee took into consideration all the evidence and submissions that were presented, and determined their relevance to the issues raised and the above licensing objective, including:

1. The application form.

2. The papers before them.

3. The Senior Licensing Officer’s report and her comments given at the Hearing. The Senior Licensing Officer outlined the report and the annexes, noting the details of the application submitted and the conditions agreed by the Applicant with the North Yorkshire Police (Annex 4) and Environmental Protection (Annex 5) should the variation be granted. She advised that the application had been amended since submission of the report, with the Applicant now seeking to vary the hours for the supply of alcohol to 08:30-00:30 on Saturdays only and sales from the outside bar to 12:00-21:00 daily. She noted that the premises were not located within the cumulative impact assessment area and that there were no relevant Planning issues. She drew attention to the three representations received in objection to the application, as set out in Annex 7, noting that two of the representations (nos. 1 and 2 in the papers) had since been withdrawn following mediation and should therefore be disregarded. Finally, she advised the Sub Committee of their options in determining the application.

4. The representations made by Paul Waddingham on behalf of the Applicant in writing and at the hearing.

Mr Waddingham explained that, since taking over the Walnut Tree in 2017, he had relied upon Temporary Event Notices (TENs) in order to increase his opening hours during major sporting events, including the World Cup. With the Rugby World Cup coming up and delays in re-opening due to the coronavirus pandemic, he had made the decision to apply for a permanent variation to the licence, on the terms set out in the report. On reflection, he had decided to reduce the additional hours sought, since the aim was to cover sporting events on Saturdays, and provide more opportunity to serve customers outside during the Covid-19 restrictions. The beer garden always closed at 9pm and children were not allowed on the premises after that time. He added that he had been operating these hours successfully under a TEN since 4 July. To help moderate the noise levels, he would not allow customers to gather in the car parking area at the side of the premises.

In response to questions from the Sub-Committee, Mr Waddingham confirmed that:

·        The address of the remaining Representor was 300-400 yards from the premises.

·        The provision of off-sales was not an objective of the application.

·        [The Senior Licensing Officer clarified at this point that the government had exempted off-sales from licensing requirements until September  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.