Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Clough was elected Chair for the meeting.

Apologies were received from Councillor O’Rourke.  Councillor Langley substituted.

None declared.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item

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 11^th January 2019.

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 Wednesday 16^th January 2019.

None received.

The procedure was noted.

The Committee’s Legal Advisor informed the meeting that under the Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 Act any person attending a meeting had a statutory right to report on it with the use of audio or video recordings. Objectors in attendance had been notified of this in advance and it was their decision if they wished to speak. It was noted that the objectors’ ability to speak at the meeting was discretionary and their right to anonymity did not overcome the right to record the meeting.

The Committee noted the objections set out in the report and was minded to hear briefly from the objectors. The Licensing Policy Advisor called each objector and Objectors 6, 7, 9, 10, 12 and 13 addressed the Committee. All other objectors were not in attendance. The Licensing Policy Advisor reported the receipt of a late objection. The applicant’s representative confirmed that they were content to allow the objection noting that it was in support of the licence.

Site Visit

It was noted that the Members of the Committee had made a site visit to the premises earlier in the day. The Licensing Policy Advisor summarised the findings of the site visit as follows:-

1. There had not been any significant changes to the dance areas.

2. A problem with dazzle on one of the cameras noted last year, had been resolved.

3. The CCTV system was considered and there were no blind spots.

4. Plans needed to be updated to reflect the removal of the ‘dumb waiters’.

5. A query arose about the frequency of maintenance of the panic alarm.

It was confirmed that a substitution plan was required for the SEV licence.  For the Licensing Act, a minor variation would be required if the SEV licence was approved.

Report

The Licensing Policy Advisor introduced the report stating that there was a presumption to grant unless there were statutory grounds for refusal as set out in the report. The applicant had not made an application to exclude the standard conditions imposed. It was noted that the mandatory grounds for refusal did not apply in this case and so the Committee would consider the discretionary grounds only.

The Council’s Enforcement Team had visited the venue and found no breaches. They had also ‘dip sampled’ CCTV footage and found no breaches. It was noted that neither the Police or the Police and Crime Commissioner had made any comments on the application.

The Licensing Policy Advisor reminded the Committee of the requirement to have regard to the Section 149 of the Equalities Act 2010 and the mandatory and discretionary grounds for refusal as set out in the report.

There followed a short comfort break.

Applicant’s submission

The Applicant’s legal representative addressed the Committee as follows:

1.      He introduced the owners and management team at Central Chambers

2.      He thanked the Sub Committee for inspecting and exploring the venue.

3.      With reference to the question raised on the site visit regarding the panic alarm within the staff  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.