Agenda, decisions and minutes

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

Resolved

To elect Councillor Trevor Carbin as Chairman for this meeting only.

The Chairman will explain the attached procedure for the members of the public present.

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 1 – 6 of the agenda refer).

All those present at the meeting introduced themselves.

There were none.

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

There were none.

To consider and determine a licensing application in respect of The Rose & Crown, 57 East Street, Warminster, BA12 9BZ.

Application by Punch Taverns Plc for a Premises Licence at The Rose & Crown, 57 East Street, Warminster, BA12 9BZ

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

In accordance with the procedure detailed in the agenda the Applicant, the Responsible Authorities and the Interested Parties were given the opportunity to address the Sub-Committee.

Key points raised by Mr Wormald of Punch Taverns Plc on behalf of the Applicant were:

·              That the Rose & Crown pub had previously received no complaints regarding noise or disturbance resultant from its activities and events;

·              Events have recently been hosted under Temporary Events Notices, and that the premises had now used their quota of these;

·              That the area subject to the application – the Function Room – had been used under licence until 2000, and has since been used to a minimal extent; and

·              That the Applicants have agreed with the Environmental Health Officer’s recommendations and would be willing to meet his suggested conditions to mitigate negative impacts if application approval were subject to these.

Key points raised by the Responsible Authority (Mr Sharp, Environmental Health Officer, Wiltshire Council) were:

·              That he had tried to contact the Solicitors for the Applicant to raise his concerns, but had not been able to do so and so had submitted his representation to the application;

·              On hearing that the Applicant’s were willing to accept his suggested conditions (that there should be no live or recorded music provided externally at the premises and that all windows and doors shall remain closed save for access and egress during the provision of regulated entertainment) he was satisfied that the public nuisance licensing objective would be met; and

·              That there had been no noise complaints to the Environmental Health Team in relation to these premises.

Key points raised by the Interested Parties (Mr Pulford, Mrs Abbott, Lady Newson-Smith and Councillor A Davis) were:

·              That the pub was in a residential area and any amplified music that was played in the function room would be too loud for the residents;

·              The noise created by the band practicing in the function room could be heard by residents;

·              The noise from live music playing under the existing licence;

·              There was no allocated parking for the pub and often side streets surrounding the area were used by patrons of the pub;

·              The patrons leaving the pub are often noisy cause disturbance to the residents; and

·              Residents are being affected by anti social behaviour.

The parties were given the opportunity to ask questions of the Applicant, Responsible Authority, Interested Parties and Wiltshire Council officers.  A debate ensued in which the Sub-Committee discussed the current use of the premises, impact of noise nuisance on local residents, antisocial behaviour associated with the premises, public relations policy of the landlord and planned future use of the premises.

The Sub-Committee members sought clarification over some points before retiring to consider the application accompanied by the Solicitor for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.