Agenda item

Report of Head of Safer Communities, Urban and Rural Services

Summary

To provide an outline of an application for the grant of a Premises Licence in relation to The Old Rectory, Finmere, Buckinghamshire and detail the representations received from Responsible Authorities and Interested Parties that has resulted in the need for a hearing to determine the application.

Recommendations

There is no recommendation. In considering the representations received and what is appropriate for the promotion of the licensing objectives, the options open to the Sub-Committee are, in broad terms:

(1)               approve the application for the grant of a premises licence as submitted.

(2)               reject the application for the grant of premises licence in whole or part.

(3)               place conditions on the grant of premises licence and/or require changes to the details of the permissions sought.

15 April 2011

Dear Sir/Madam

Licensing Act 2003 – Grant of Premises Licence Application

The Old Rectory, Finmere, Buckingham.

I refer to the hearing of the Licensing Sub-Committee on 14 April 2011 at which the Sub-Committee considered an application in respect of the above premises for the grant of a premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003.  The decision contained in this letter is a decision of the Licensing Authority.

After considering all the representations made at the hearing the Sub-Committee made the following determination:

The Licensing Sub-Committee heard representations from the Applicant, ThamesValley Police, the Anti-Social Behaviour Manager and a number of interested parties (both in support and objecting to the application.) To the extent that they were relevant to the Licensing Objectives, the Licensing Sub-Committee considered all the representations made.

The Licensing Sub-Committee did not take account of the following representations made during the meeting which were deemed irrelevant to the determination of this application:

1.       The purpose of the event

2.       The fact that it is Armed Forces Day on the day in question

3.       The fact that the concert is not for profit, with all proceeds going to charity

4.       The involvement of the children who have spent much time preparing for the concert

5.       The potential for a precedent being set.

6.       The planning application issues

7. The honour that the event will bring for Finmere

The Licensing Sub-Committee accepted that they may depart from the Licensing Act 2003 guidance where there were justifiable reasons for doing so. They considered traffic to the extent that it was relevant to the licensing objectives. They considered the village's infrastructure, the adequacy of the car parks and the possibility of coaches to the extent that they affected the licensing objective for the promotion of public safety. They also considered the potential for public nuisance in the form of noise and the need to protect children from harm. They took note of the various conditions proposed by various parties and considered the Event Management Plan provided by the applicant.

In consideration of all of the above, the Licensing Sub-Committee resolved to grant the application with the imposition of the following conditions:

1.       The maximum attendance at the event will be 1000, with a further 100 permitted to account for staff and personnel, with all tickets being pre-paid and no tickets available for purchase on the day

2.       The access routes to the site shall be stewarded in such a manner that, without interfering with the flow of traffic, any coaches arriving at the site will be directed to the designated drop off point to unload before being directed away from Finmere to the approved coach parking area. At the end of the evening any groups leaving by coach shall be marshalled within the event site before being directed to re-join their transport collectively.

3.       A definitive, scaled and gridded site plan shall be prepared showing pedestrian and vehicle access routes to and from the site and within the event site. The plan must be submitted to the Licensing Authority for approval at least 56 days prior to the event taking place.

4.       To ensure that all relevant agencies are aware of the event, its location and profile, the applicant shall be required to attend a Safety Advisory Group meeting at least 56 days prior to the event.

5.       The Event Management Plan included in the Supplementary Information document shall be attached to and included in the application subject to any amendment required following the outcome of the Safety Advisory Group meeting.

6.       The Traffic Plan shall be amended at paragraph 3.9 to read '...There is no charge for parking and off road parking is provided at the INNER CAR PARK situated at the junction of VALLEY Road/THE OLD BUCKINGHAM ROAD and THE OUTER PARK situated on site and accessed via Mere Road onto Valley Road...'

7.       There shall be no vehicular access from Mere Lane, associated to the event, to allow access to the event site.

You have a right of appeal against this decision to the Magistrates' Court within 21 days of the date of this letter. The relevant Magistrates Court for the area is;

Finally, if you have any queries regarding this notice, please contact a member of the Licensing Team on 01295 753744.

Yours faithfully

Claire Bold

Licensing Team Leader