Agenda item

To consider and determine an application for a Premises Licence made by Trowbridge Town Council in respect of The Civic Centre, St Stephens Place, Trowbridge.

Application by Trowbridge Town Council, for a Premises Licence at Civic Centre, St Stephen’s Place, Trowbridge, BA14 8AH

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 Lance Allen, Trowbridge Town Clerk, in support of the application were:

·               The application before the sub-committee remained as applied for: the request for a premises license follows a history of successful operation of previous premises on the site, and will allow Trowbridge Town Council to deliver its services from one purpose-built site.

·               No complaints had been made when the premises were previously operated by the same Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) and additionally the Council had a track record of success when working in partnership with other organisations to provide events and entertainment in the park.

·               The applicant believed that the new license was the best way to meet licensing objectives

·               The parties involved had met earlier in the day [25.05.11] and he believed that their objections had been overcome

Cllr Allen, the Chairman, and the rest of the panel asked a number of questions on the application. It was confirmed that:

·         The new Civic Hall would provide a venue for conferencing facilities, stage productions inc. Musicals, and a number of side rooms for meetings and functions.

·         An increase in Weddings and wedding receptions was predicted

·         Around 1 outside event per month was envisaged in the summer months – these would include travelling markets with local and foreign produce and the Lions Street fair in local streets, Armed forces and veterans events in the park itself, and the Christmas light switch-on in December.

·          There was no intention to significantly increase the number of outside events from when the Civic Hall site was previously in operation.

·         CCTV would be installed, and form part of the Town Council’s network of cameras, operated in partnership with the Police and the Shires Shopping centre.

·         SIA-certified doorstaff and other controls would regulate the exit of patrons and reduce the opportunity for nuisance.

The Interested Parties were represented primarily by Mr Peter Wilson, who spoke on behalf of residents of Knightstone Court. Key points were as follows:

·         It was confirmed that following the meeting held earlier in the day, the residents of Knightstone Court did not object to the proposal before the licensing sub-committee in principle. 

• The main point of concern was the potential nuisance that could be generated by the proposal and the compound effect of this with existing problems at St. Stephen’s place car park.

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 with the objectors the precise nature of their concerns, and also queried the operators of the site on the impact that use of the Civic Centre for licensable activities would have upon anti-social behaviour at St. Stephen’s place car park. The applicants stated that they believed that disturbances at the car park had increased since the Civic Hall site closed for redevelopment and would decrease once it was in operation as passing traffic and surveillance in the area would increase when it re-opens. It was confirmed that measures were planned to control the exit of patrons from the Civic Hall itself, in order to avoid any nuisance for those living nearby.

The Sub-Committee members sought clarification on some points before retiring to consider the application and were accompanied by the Solicitor for Wiltshire Council and the Democratic Services Officer.

The Sub-Committee then retired to consider the application at 2.40

The Hearing reconvened at 3.00

The Chairman thanked all parties present for attending and reiterated that Wiltshire Council, Trowbridge Town Council, and the Police would maintain their efforts to address the problems of anti-social behaviour at the St Stephen’s place car park which affected the area, noting the nearby residents’ frustration at the situation and previous efforts to resolve it.

The Sub-Committee considered all of the submissions made to it and the written representations together with the Licensing Act 2003, Statutory Guidance and Regulations and the Licensing Policy of the Council and it was

Resolved:

That the Application for a premises license by Trowbridge Town Council in respect of the Civic Centre, St Stephen’s Place, as applied for, with the addition of the following condition:

1)    A CCTV system with recording or monitoring capability shall be installed to cover all floors of the premises used under the terms of the license and shall also cover all entrances. The image quality shall be sufficient to be able to identify individuals. Recordings will be kept for 30 days and be made readily available to any authorised officer of the council or police officer on duty.

Reason: For the prevention of public nuisance and the prevention of crime and disorder.

Informative:

It is the license holder’s obligation to fulfil any other statutory requirement.

Reason for Decision

The sub-committee was satisfied that the conditions set out in the operating schedule, together with the additional agreed conditions 1) and 2), would satisfy the licensing objectives.