Agenda and minutes

Prior to the apologies the Chair opened the meeting confirming that the Purple Flag has been retained and offered his congratulations to Colin Pilsworth, the coordinator, along with the Licensing Team and the other organisations who work on this to make it possible.

He also offered his congratulations to Louis Krog on his new position as Head of Public Protection.  He also confirmed that Jason Kirkwood would be stepping into the Licensing Team Leader role as a temporary measure until a new Licensing Team Leader is appointed.

The Chair then went to the apologies – there were none.

Cllr Willingham delcared that he had a mobile contract with 3 and that he had made an independent site visit.

The Head of Public Protection introduced the report.  He explained that the reason that it was at committee was due to the fact that the applicant had 2 motoring convictions, one being in the last 12 months and the Applicant  didn’t want to incur the expense of paying for  the necessary tests if he was not going to be granted a licence

The following responses were given in response to Member questions:

-       There was confirmation that the assessment that the applicant would take was just the standard assessment.

-       The  information that  the DVLA holds on the applicant has been disclosed.

-       There was also confirmation that you can only do 1 speed awareness course in a three year period.

The applicant was then asked to address the committee and he made the following points:

-       He is currently a private hire driver with Tewkesbury Borough Council.

-       He alleged that there are drivers that are favourites in the private hire offices so therefore the jobs aren’t distributed fairly.  He felt that working on the rank would be fairer.  He applied for a Hackney licence to give him the potential to earn more money and be free to work independently.

-       He explained that the first set of points was awarded when he was an Amazon delivery driver, he stated that although the shift should have been 8 or 9 hours they ended up being 12-14.  The day he was awarded his points he was tired having worked such a long day and it was dark and he was a few miles over the limit.  He hadn’t seen the camera and paid the fine and took the three points.

-       The second penalty was in January 2022 when the applicant was working as a delivery diver for a car parts company.  He had to get home quickly due to a personal reason and he went to overtake two bikes that were in front of him going up a hill, he had to put his foot on the gas to pass them.  He was not aware of the speed limit and was trying to overtake to get to a roundabout quickly.  He has not received any other penalties.

The Members then had the opportunity to ask the applicant questions and the responses were:

-       He applied for a private hire licence in Tewkesbury as he did not have the funds to purchase a new car as per CBC policy.

-       He had been granted a licence in Tewkesbury in December 2021 but did not receive it until January 2022.

-       He stated that although there is reference to the applicant writing a letter he has not done so.

-       He confirmed that neither offence occurred when he was driving a taxi, it was whilst driving goods vehicles.

-       One offence was for driving 37mph in a 30mph limit and the other was for going more than 45 mph but less than 50 mph.

-       He stated that he is aware  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The Head of Public Protection introduced the report. 

There were no representatives for the applicant.

The responses to Member questions were as follows:

-       There was clarification that the A board would be adjacent to the front door by the display window.

-       There was acknowledgement that a plan would be helpful and would be provided going forward.

The matter then went to Member debate where the following points were raised:

-       One Member made the point that the shop is a ground floor premises so there should be no reason for them to require an A board and could not see how the board would benefit the business.

-       As the shop is no different to when the applicant moved in they should look at their existing signage, their signage is not a reason to deviate from the policy.

-       The committee is required to be a good regulator of the policy, A boards are clutter.  The applicant makes references in his application to other A boards that are around the town.  This is a matter for licensing enforcement and not a reason to grant permission.

-       Having looked at the mapping pre the Regent Arcade it shows that the sticking out part of the building was there already.  The agent of change principle will apply, cannot change something that was already there. 

-       There was a point raised regarding building across the front but it was explained that this is a planning issue not a licensing one.

-       Although there is a tree in the way when you view the store from the Regent Arcade this was there when they took over the property and therefore does not seem a reason to deviate from the policy.

-       One member stated that there does not appear to be any numbers on any of the buildings so that does not help.

-       It was established that the store has a bracketed sign next to the boundary with Marks and Spencer.

As the applicant was not there to make any further representation the matter went to the vote:

1.2 to Grant –

For: 0

Against: 4

Abstain: 1

Refuse:

For: 4

Against: 0

Abstain: 1

The application was refused

There were none