Agenda, decisions and minutes

Nominations for a Chairman of the Licensing Sub Committee were sought and it was

Resolved:

To elect Councillor Desna Allen as Chairman for this meeting only.

To receive any apologies for absence and to note any substitutions.

There were no apologies.

The Chairman explained the procedure to be followed at the hearing, as contained within the “Wiltshire Licensing Committee Procedural Rules for the Hearing of Licensing Act 2003 Applications” (Pages 5 – 14 of the Agenda refers).

The Chairman gave details of the exits to be used in the event of an emergency.

To receive any declarations of disclosable interests or dispensations granted by the Standards Committee.

Before the commencement of the meeting, Cllr Dennis Drewett declared a non-pecuniary interest in the application by virtue of being a member of the National Trust and that his wife was a volunteer for the National Trust at another of their properties.  Cllr Glenis Ansell also declared a non-pecuniary interest in the application by virtue of being a member of the National Trust.

In response to a query from Cllr Jemima Milton, the Solicitor for Wiltshire Council confirmed that membership of the National Trust would not of itself affect the ability of a Councillor to consider an application for a premises licence for a specific site.

To consider and determine an Application for a Premises Licence by National Trust (Enterprises) Ltd in respect of The National Trust Estate, High Street, Avebury, Wiltshire, SN8 1RF.  The report of the Public Protection Officer (Licensing) is attached.

Application by National Trust (Enterprises) Ltd in respect of The National Trust Estate, High Street, Avebury, Wiltshire.

The Licensing Officer, Hannah Hould introduced the purpose and scope of the application, the premises to which it related and the key issues for consideration.

During the consultation period, twenty one relevant representations were received from 17 local residents, one from the Parish Council, one from Avebury Society and two from Responsible Authorities – namely Wiltshire Police and Wiltshire Council Environmental Health.

Following the publication of the Agenda the Licensing Officer was notified that the Applicant had supplied Wiltshire Police with a set of conditions which they felt addressed each of the four Licensing Objectives (page 129 of Agenda and page 3 of Agenda Supplement) and subject to the Sub Committee granting any licence with these conditions attached they have no objection to the application.  Similarly the Environmental Health Team had agreed a set of conditions with the Applicants and wished to withdraw their representation in anticipation of the inclusion of these conditions on any licence granted.

In accordance with the procedure detailed in the agenda, the Applicant, the Responsible Authorities and those who had made a Relevant Representation were given the opportunity to address the Sub Committee.

Key points raised by Jon Payne from Laceys Solicitors and Eva Stuetzenberger (Visitor Engagement and Enterprise Manager and Designated Premises Supervisor) on behalf of the Applicant were:

·         The application was consistent with other National Trust estates in the country and this was a modest application for these premises.  It was an a model adopted by other similar National Trust properties;

·         The Applicants wished to enhance the visitor experience for Avebury whilst having consideration of their conservation objectives;

·         The Applicants wished to have more flexibility to hold small scale events that were suitable for certain parts of the estate.  They proposed to hold three types of events – Events with pre-booked tickets, sign up and join in on the day events and open public events;

·         It was the policy of the National Trust to move away from large scale events and hold regular small scale activities.  They were not intending to hold an event like “Avebury Rocks”;

·         They wished to provide non-alcoholic late night refreshment to patrons during the Summer Solstice (which they had been doing previously under a Temporary Events Notice).  They had decided to include this within this application to avoid the need to continually apply for a Temporary Events Notice;

·         The National Trust’s overarching aim was the conservation of the site and village of Avebury and not for financial gain; and

·         The National Trust had applied for around 140 Premises Licences, some of which were very similar to this application and the Trust had never had any significant problems – their record was exemplary and was a responsible body with a good track record of efficiently running premises.

The Sub Committee Members asked questions/raised issues with the Applicant and the following issues were addressed:

Q         I am confused by your application and not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.