Agenda and minutes

The Sub-Committee Resolved:- that Councillor Clough be elected Chair for the duration of the meeting.

The Chair welcomed all parties to the hearing and requested that all parties introduce themselves.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Jama.

There were no declarations of interest received.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item *Democratic Services Officer check time limit for your particular Committee*

Any member of the public or Councillor may participate in Public Forum.  The detailed arrangements for so doing are set out in the Public Information Sheet at the back of this agenda.  Public Forum items should be emailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk and please note that the following deadlines will apply in relation to this meeting:-

Questions - Written questions must be received 3 clear working days prior to the meeting.  For this meeting, this means that your question(s) must be received in this office at the latest by 5 pm on *name deadline date*

Petitions and Statements - Petitions and statements must be received on the working day prior to the meeting.  For this meeting this means that your submission must be received in this office at the latest by 12.00 noon on *name deadline date*.

There was no public forum received.

To seek consideration of an application for the renewal and variation of the Sexual Entertainment Venue (SEV) licence in respect of premises trading as Jack of Diamonds, 46 West Street, Bristol, BS2 0BH.

It was reported that the Sub-Committee had visited the site that morning and the following points had been noted and questions for the applicant had arisen from that visit, as follows:-

• CCTV cameras were gradually being replaced with HD cameras as they needed replacing
• CCTV had been installed in all booths
• There was a question as to whether the door to the dancers’ changing area were covered by CCTV or whether this was a blind spot
• There was question as to the purpose of the curtain poles above the booths
• There was a query as to why the boiler room was unlocked and whether this area would normally be locked and if not normally locked could be a potential blind spot on the premises
• It was noted that there were 3 toilet cubicles, 2 in operation and 1 out of order and locked shut
• It was noted that since the previous visit the shower was now clean and in demonstrable working order
• It was noted that there was a flat roof accessible from the door of the management office, which required a fenced area, there was therefore a question  as to how access was controlled to this area
• There was a question as to whether the toilet facility in the changing area was just for the use of performers

The Sub-Committee considered the report of the Director of Neighbourhoods and City Development presented by the Licencing Policy advisor and the proposed variation detailed at para.6.  It was noted that no mandatory grounds for refusal applied. 

The Licensing Enforcement Officer outlined the observations of the Licensing Enforcement Team as detailed from para.13 of the report, with regards to a number of issues identified in respect of compliance with the premises licence issued under Licencing Act 2003.  Officers advised that members of the Sub-Committee give strong consideration to the views of the Police and Licensing Enforcement officers in respect of visits to the premises, and renewal and variation of the licence.

As there were no questions from councillors or the applicant the Licensing Enforcement officer left the meeting.

The Sub-Committee’s Licensing Policy Advisor advised that there was CCTV footage in respect to Annex 3, condition 48 of the premises licence, as referenced by the Licensing Enforcement officer and asked the Sub-Committee if it was minded to view footage in a closed session of this meeting.

The Sub-Committee agreed to view the CCTV footage in a closed session.

The Sub-Committee Resolved:- That under s.100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it (they) involve(s) the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph(s) 7 (respectively) of Part 1 of schedule 12A of the Act.

The Sub-Committee’s Licensing Policy Advisor advised that whilst the footage was required to be viewed in exempt session as the individuals in the footage had not given their consent for the footage to be screened, the discussion around the footage could be heard in open session. The Sub-Committee resolved to return to open session.

The Sub-Committee Resolved:- That the press and public be readmitted to the meeting.

The Sub-Committee noted the following breaches evident from the CCTV footage:

• 00:12:00 – shots taken by performers and transferred to mouth of customer
• 00:12:37 – as above
• 00:13:41 – ice cubes placed down trousers of customer
• 00:14:43 – and other numerous incidents, whipping with belt
• 00:16:02 – performer encourages customer to touch her bottom
• A Member noted a customer in the bottom left of the screen using a phone or electronic device.

In addition, the Police noted:

• That a performer pulls the customer’s hair
• That there was repeated touching
• That a performer lies across the customer’s lap

The Chair asked the applicant’s legal representative to address the Sub-Committee and the following points were raised:-

• Mandatory grounds for refusal did not apply
• There was little impact on the surrounding area or for people with protected characteristics
• On discretionary grounds the policy expected that the character of a locality was considered
• The premises did not attract people in large numbers
• The premises had been a longstanding venue of this type for at least 8 years.
• The clientele was mainly male and it was not uncommon to have limited numbers in attendance.
• Nuisance/risk of nuisance: Times of operation were limited and confined to Thursday-Saturday.
• There were no vulnerable premises in the near vicinity, however there were sex shops, massage parlours and a public house nearby.
• The premises had been deliberately adapted and configured for purpose, self-contained with a private driveway. It was open plan in nature, with comprehensive coverage of CCTV and facilities for smokers and performers.
• With reference to the applicant’s suitability, there had been no suggestion that Mr Dulmeer had been convicted of an offence, or held any relevant convictions.
• The Licence Holder is Select Money Tree Limited and Mr Dulmeer is sole director of the company.
• Mr Dulmeer had experience of managing similar premises in Shoreditch and was based in London.
• It was noted that the LGMPA provides that Local Authorities may adopt their own conditions for premises of these nature, and there could be a degree of variation between local authorities.
• A manager had been employed at the premises until November 2016. The premises had been held by Select Money Tree Limited for circa 18 months and Mr Dulmeer would visit once or twice a month.
• In respect of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.