Agenda and minutes

Upon a vote Councillor Diggory Seacome was duly elected as chair.

None.

None declared.

Report of the Licensing Officer

Phil Cooper, Licensing Officer, introduced the report as circulated with the agenda.  An application for a variation of a premises licence at St James Hotel had been received on the 13th of November 2013 from the licence holders, Arkell's Brewery. A copy of the application had been included as Appendix A to the report. A copy of the existing premises licence was attached at Appendix B.

The licensing officer referred Members to para 1.3 of the report which detailed a breakdown of the variation. These included the sale/supply of alcohol for an additional hour after 11 p.m. Monday to Saturday and the performance of live and recorded music and dance during opening hours.  There was also a request for two conditions to be removed from the licence. They licensing officer referred members to the additional steps that the applicant had volunteered to take which were set out in paragraph 2.3 of the report and these would become conditions on the licence if the variation was granted.

He advised members that no objections had been received from the responsible authorities.  Representations had been received from a local resident and from Rev Robin Littlewood of Catholic Parish of St Gregory. Their objections were summarised at paragraph 4 of this report and were reproduced in full at Appendix C. He referred members to the additional guidance set out in the report which they should take into consideration before making any decision.

There were no questions for the officers.

Mr George Arkell, a director of Arkell’s brewery and owner of the premises attended the Committee and spoke in support of the application.  He did not have a lot to add to what had been written in the application but he wished to emphasise to members that the work at St James involved a complete revamp of the business. Other investment at the premises included additional soundproofing, improved door closures and installation of additional CCTV. Kevin Grieve was the new tenant licensee and was self employed and would be running his own business. His sustainable business plan involved the style of the business changing completely to much more of a hotel offering food and rooms and they were bringing the premises up to a higher standard.   He acknowledged there had been problems at the premises in the past. They were now working hard with the council to address any potential problems and he referred to the extra conditions that they had volunteered to take on. 

Mr Grieve also spoke in support of the application. He advised members that he was already operating a  business at a premises in a mid terrace venue so he was well aware of the need to balance the concerns of residents with the needs of the business.  The extra hour that was being requested would provide a level playing field for the business with other nearby premises.  He had tried hard to talk to local residents and businesses in the area and they had all seemed fairly comfortable with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.