Agenda item

Report of Licensing Officer

The Licensing Officer, Phil Cooper, introduced the report regarding an application by Cheltenham North Rotary Club for permission to place an object on the highway.

The Licensing Officer explained that the object was a real Christmas tree to be placed on the Promenade by the Long Gardens and taxi rank, from 3^rd to 29th December this year. He explained that the dimensions of the object were included in the report at paragraph 1.2 and pictures of the location were included in the report at pages 13 and 15. He highlighted that since the report was produced the applicants had revised the height of the tree from 20 feet to 13 feet. The Licensing Officer reported that objections had been received from consultees which were reproduced at paragraph 4 of the report. He commented on these as follows :

·         the area highways representative had said the location was suitable, but had expressed concern about its proximity to the taxi rank and whether revellers may try to climb it. Members were advised that the queue at the taxi rank was marshalled by official taxi marshals, and also that the situation could be monitored and if a risk was observed then the permission could be withdrawn. The council’s health and safety representative had met the applicants on site and had discussed their plans and given them advice and did not object to the proposal

·         the council’s built environment team and trees officers had objected due to the branches and cables in the trees overhead, but Members were advised that the applicants had reduced the height of the tree from 20 feet down to 13 feet in order to address this issue.

The Licensing Officer advised that the applicant was present to answer questions. Having heard the information and read the submissions, Members were asked to approve the permission if they thought it was suitable or appropriate, or to refuse it if they thought it was not suitable or appropriate. He reminded Members that they did have the option of applying such conditions to the permission as they thought appropriate.

In response to questions from Members the Licensing Officer said that the built environment team had not provided any new comments further to the proposed reduction in height of the tree.

The applicant, Mr Roger Champness was invited to address the Committee. He explained that originally an application had been made to erect a tree in front of the war memorial as a prominent position in the Promenade from where to collect donations. This position had the added advantage of being close to a source of electricity. The new application was for a position opposite Ormond Place which would leave 5m clear for pedestrians. The footprint would be 2.5 x 2.5m. They proposed to lay down boarding and the tree would be secured in to a heavy drum. It would be surrounded by a crowd enforcement barrier which would be locked together. The Rotary Club would gain access to the tree once a week in order to hang mementos from the public. Mr Champness explained that they realised a 20ft tree would be too large to handle and 13 ft would be more acceptable. The tree would form part of the Christmas decorations in Cheltenham.

The Chair welcomed the proposal from the Rotary Club to erect a Christmas tree in the town and believed that the majority of the concerns raised in the report had been addressed by the decrease in height of the tree and the conventional steel railings. In terms of attaching the tree to the lamp post Mr Champness confirmed that this was no longer necessary with the reduced tree size as this would be well supported as it would be secured within the heavy steel drum. He explained that Christmas trees had been erected in other towns by the Rotary Club and these had been successful in terms of raising funds for charity.

Mr Champness and officers gave the following responses to questions raised by Members :

·         money would only be collected in person on site (mostly on Saturdays) or online or via the Tourist Information Centre

·         a banner advertising sponsors would be put up around the railings to improve their appearance

·         the application was for the tree to be in position until 29 December as it was understood that planning permission would be required if it was for a longer period. Members asked whether Mr Champness would consider applying for planning permission if the tree was to be a regular fixture over the festive period to avoid having to reapply each year. It was confirmed that public liability insurance was in place.

·         The organisers of the farmers market had been contacted and did not object to the location of the tree

·         Mr Champness was concerned about the time his application had taken as the original one had been submitted in February; he did not wish to see it deferred once again; he emphasised that this represented an ideal opportunity to start something ongoing. He had tried hard to meet the requirements of the council and believed with the reduction in height of the tree this had been achieved

Some members of the committee believed they had insufficient information to make a decision bearing in mind the lack of comment from the built environment team but the Chair believed whilst more information was desirable sufficient answers had been provided to members.

Upon a vote it was (8 for, 1 abstention)

RESOLVED THAT

The application be approved because Members are satisfied that the proposed object is within the scope of the Council’s adopted policy in respect of objects placed on the highway