Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Baker.

None

None

To approve the minutes of the last meeting held on 3 June 2016.

The minutes of the last meeting held on 3 June 2016 were approved and signed as a true record.

Jucilicious Promenade

The Senior Licensing Officer, Andy Fox, introduced the report regarding an application from Mrs Stephanie Westlake of Juicilicious for permission to place four tables and eight chairs on the highway adjacent to her stall on the Promenade.  The applicant already held a street trading permit which had conditions attached to it which would also apply to this application.  The tables and chairs would be out from 08:00 – 18:30 hours every day of the week and a picture of the proposed items was shown at Appendix A, with a location plan at Appendix B.

The Officer reported that comments had been received from two consultees, namely the Business Partnership Manager and the Public Space Designer and he informed members that the comment from the Business Partnership Manager on behalf of Café Rouge regarding the potential for brand damage was not a relevant consideration.  The Officer recommendation was to refuse the application on the grounds of unnecessary obstruction of the public highway as this was already a very congested area.

Members questioned the Officer on the various reasons for the objections and for definitions of some of the wording, in particular with reference to obstruction.  The Legal Officer replied that members had to consider whether it posed a risk to public safety on the highway and whether it added any enhancement to the street scene.

The Chair invited the application to speak in support of her application.  Mrs Westlake stated that she would like an area for tables and chairs next to the Juicilicious stall on the Promenade so that some regular customers could enjoy the food and drink that they supplied near their premises.

In reply to questions from members, Mrs Westlake informed them that there would be no increase in vehicle movement to set up the tables and chairs as there was capacity in the current vehicles used, so there would be no increased risk to public safety.  She also explained that she had adjusted the location diagram submitted to an area of 2.4m2, as opposed to the original 3m2 that was quoted in the text, as she had been informed that there needed to be an access space of 1.5m between the seating area and the tree pit.  In reply to further questions, Mrs Westlake explained the type of food and drink that she sold and how the weather affected which produce was the most popular.  She confirmed that the nearby benches were used by her customers but, particularly around lunch time, they were always full.

Members considered the objections from the Public Space Designer and ruled them out on the basis that:

·         There is no policy on saturation and healthy competition and members wished to support start-up businesses and promote the café culture in the town.

·         When the various markets are there, Juicilious is not there, this being a condition of her street trading licence.

·         The position of this area does not interfere with pedestrian desire lines which are essentially up and down the Promenade and not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

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29 July 2016

29 July 2016