Agenda item

The report of the Public Protection Team Leader (Licensing) providesinformationfollowing the recent Cumulative impact area survey carried out for the Salisbury area and asks the Committee to consider the adoption of a special licensing policy.

Linda Holland (Public Protection Team Leader) presented a report which provided information following the recent cumulative impact area survey which was carried out for the Salisbury area.  The report asked the Committee to consider the adoption of a special licensing policy.

The Committee had heard from 4 members of the public (as detailed under minute number 28 above) and copies of letters/emails from the following were circulated at the meeting and these are appended to these Minutes:

·         Letter from Cllr John Lindley, Salisbury City Council, 28 May 2014

·         Email from Dominic Imms, Cambridge Wine Merchants, 29 May 2014

·         Email from Cllr Matthew Dean, Salisbury City Council, 28 May 2014

·         Email from David Andrews, VisitWiltshire, 30 May 2014.

In response to the statements made during the public participation, Naji Darwish (Head of Service – Public Protection) stated that:

·         The CIZ is a tool for the Licensing Committee to be able to manage licences in a better, more efficient way;;

·         At present, if no objections are received to an application then the licence has to be granted.  If there was a CIZ in place this would still be the case.  A CIZ allows the Committee to consider the impact of multiple licensed premises on the community at large;

·         The imposition of a CIZ to Salisbury would not mean that all applications within that area are declined, it would ask for a greater quality of application to be submitted, e.g. CCTV, the use of plastic glasses and better staff training, etc; there is no intention to restrict – just to stop a less effective business from setting up in the area;

·         There would be no impact on the Police and Council time if a CIZ were to be implemented;

·         The CIZ would support the Purple Flag objective and the Council also wishes to create a diverse night time economy; and

·         I agree that a response of 82 is not an indicative view of all those in Salisbury, but the opportunity was given for responses.

Cllr Hutton (Portfolio Holder) commented that a CIZ would be another layer of scrutiny and that Council was not wishing to stop business coming to Salisbury but to protect existing ones.  He supported the views of the Officers and agreed that the response to the consultation was disappointing.

Members discussed the issues and made the following points:

·         The Purple Flag status means a lot to Salisbury and is bigger than Chippenham or Trowbridge.  If we have trouble with premises we can suspend or revoke their licences;

·         It is a long and costly process to get to the suspension or revocation of a licence stage – support the reduced area for the proposed CIZ.  See it as a necessary tool and we can give it due regard but do not have to use it as it not compulsory;

·         As a Committee we requested Officers to look at this for us and see it as a step in the right direction.  Question if Salisbury Hospital were included in the consultation process?  We need to consider the impact of the military re-basing to the area.  Is there a possibility of a pilot scheme for a CIZ;

·         The consultation and explanation of this policy required additional work to allay concerns and address some misconceptions of the implementation and impact of the CIZ; and

·         Are we creating a problem that doesn’t exist?  Could we delay the implementation of a CIZ and perhaps consider further consultation?

Paul Taylor (Senior Solicitor) confirmed that if the Committee were to adopt a special policy for a CIZ this would form part of the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy which is currently being revised and would be further considered by the Committee in September.  It would then be recommended for approval by Council in October 2014.  Applicants would not be automatically refused a licence if within the CIZ, but would have to demonstrate that they are not adding to the cumulative impact of the area.

Linda Holland that if a CIZ were to be implemented it could be reviewed or withdrawn at any time (subject to Committee approval).

A suggestion was made that this meeting and any future meetings should be held in the relevant areas that are being discussed, but this was not supported by all Members.

Resolved:

That the decision to implement a special policy for a Cumulative Impact area in part of Salisbury City Centre be deferred for 6 months to enable further consideration and consultation, in particular with the following – Salisbury Purple Flag Group, Salisbury City Council, Salisbury District Hospital, Military Re-basing Group and the residents of Salisbury via the Area Boards.