Licensing Act Sub-Committee - Thursday, 25th April, 2024 2.00 pm
April 25, 2024 View on council website Watch video of meetingTranscript
Please hold your meeting has been temporarily adjourned.
Please hold your meeting has been temporarily adjourned.
Please hold your meeting has been temporarily adjourned.
Please hold your meeting has been temporarily adjourned.
Please hold your meeting has been temporarily adjourned.
Please hold your meeting has been temporarily adjourned.
Please hold your meeting has been temporarily adjourned.
Good afternoon everyone.
First item on the agenda today is the appointment of a chair for today's meeting.
Can I ask if there are any nominations for chair please?
Thank you.
Is that seconded?
Seconded by Councillor RAY.
All in favour?
Brilliant, thank you.
Councillor Edwards, you may now take the chair.
Thank you very much. Item two on the agenda is declaration of interest.
By the way, we are hearing an application for a full variation of a premises license for the studio, castle street, mandate.
CW5BA and we're going to consider the application.
A declaration of interest.
Yes, Councillor Hayne.
I'll declare that I went in there 30 years ago.
Quite a few times.
Councillor RAY, were you there as well?
No, not that I can remember.
Councillor RAY, could you remember it?
Thank you.
Yes, yes.
All right, thank you.
I have no Councillors, officers and members of the public.
Before moving to the agenda items, I will ask the Councillors in attendance of today's meeting to introduce themselves.
Starting with myself, I'm Councillor David Edwards from Summie Mcmusfield.
And to my left, I have...
I'm Councillor Hayne for having to move.
And further round?
Councillor John RAY, from Brett Monroe.
Thank you very much.
And the following officers, I have as my legal representative here.
Very common first, Mr. Thank you.
Councillor interjecting.
And to my left.
All right, some Jones Democratic services officer.
Thank you.
Oh, I see.
We've now done decorations of interest.
I have a symbol that doesn't matter.
Can I ask those in attendance for this item to introduce themselves?
Right, am I right there?
Can that be the license of your team, either?
Thank you.
And then a little bit further round.
Richard, I'll be licensing important.
Thank you.
And then we have Mr. and Mrs. Woodhouse, the applicants.
And I suggest Mr. Andrew Woods.
Mr. Woods there and Mr. and Mrs. Woodhouse.
I have to say, usually these hearings, but I'd like to be fairly important.
You brought people by their Christian names.
Is that acceptable?
Absolutely not.
So that's Andrew there.
Andrew had Nigel and Sunny.
Nigel.
Good.
The procedure for the hearing has been circulated to those taking part.
We found on page three of the agenda back.
I will invite the speakers in accordance with the procedure.
Right.
Item two, Kim Stroke Richard.
As the licensing officers could, you introduce and summarise the application please.
Highlighting any errors of contention or dispute.
I would just like to point out that Richard will be leading on this and Kim will be assisting where necessary.
Is that right?
Okay.
Richard, please go ahead.
Thank you and good afternoon chair members, ladies and gentlemen.
This licensing acts subcommittee is to consider an application for a full variation of a premises license for the studio.
Castle Street number, which you see got the applied by BA.
Premises license 278 currently authorizes license collectivity at the premises.
Variation of life for is to extend the hours license collectivities are authorized for.
All details of the application are contained within the committee report and appendices.
The consultation period for this application was the 19th of February 2020 report, the 27th of March 2020 report.
During that consultation period, we received five representations against the application and none of whom have attended today.
We do have an attendance.
The applicant is Mr. and Mrs. Nigel Woodhouse.
Thank you.
Let's move on.
Do any of the members of the subcommittee have any questions for Richard as the licensing officer?
No?
No.
Mr. Castle Ray?
No.
Thank you very much.
So Nigel and Sammy, or you'll represent Mr. Andrew Woods as the applicant,
and I ask you to present your case for the subcommittee.
Thank you.
Thank you, Councillors.
I'll try and be as brief into the words as possible.
As Richard said, we are, Nigel and Sammy, are looking to extend the license by one hour on a Friday and Saturday only.
You will note from the report, there are no objections to the application from the police or from the environmental health officer.
You may also note from the report about 15, before making this application, Nigel and Sammy tested water.
Last year, they applied on 20 occasions to open until four o'clock during 2023, and this year there were nine further temporary medical licenses until four o'clock.
At seven in Saturday to some day, two of them, Friday in Saturday and Saturday in Sunday.
Those events were popular with customers, that's the reason for doing it.
Probably more importantly for the purpose of this hearing, there were no complaints received.
Out of the walls of the resident work, out of the world, we were trained in an hour later, but no complaint received from any of those events.
Just by way of background, Nigel and Sammy have operated the premises for nearly 12 years in November.
The premises have been a club since the 70s, for about 50 years.
The reason for the application is customer demand, customers want to stay a big later.
But also, as a nightclub, two or three of the venues in town have got later licenses, I think the captures have three o'clock.
White horse Kennedy's has two o'clock in a day, because a pure nightclub is the premises current operators.
From the points of business difference, the extra hour, so hands-on, the captures would be helpful to the operators.
As things haven't been brilliant since COVID, it's over time, so I'm part of the application is the business point of view,
but also because customer wants a longer, more important meetings, and they don't stay out until the bus wants to do the customer at once.
Nigel and Sammy don't have contact with environmental health, or the police to any great extent,
but certainly no noise issue brought to their attention by environmental health.
And if there is any instance in the club, then the police will be contacted in the 90s and Sunday will work.
We're pleased to have General Manager who has been with them since the start of 2012.
Your environmental health officer doesn't object, but suggests as you would expect the appropriate noise measures are in place.
Those of noise limits are at the premises that DJ's come touch at a level of new in his sex.
By the noise limit, the manager will regularly walk around outside and check for noise breakouts.
There are two immediately adjoining neighbors. They both have Nigel's direct number.
We never have any calls from them in the relation to the dead of good.
Residents of Castle Court have your technical numbers as well.
We've got, Nigel and Sammy have often worked.
In the first year of sight, the potentials will move the request of the Castle Court residents
to ensure that it would be less intrusive than so it was a move around the corner to face an adolescent car car.
The first of all, we've made representations of not being in touch during the years
complaining about anything.
There was a discussion with one of those people around the coping time of a number of tables outside.
But in terms of General Crime and Disorder and General Public Newsons, there are no complaints brought to the night from the Sunday's attention.
And they brought and speak to residents on a regular basis, and all of them are required.
Councillors, in some way, that is the application.
There are no objections to this from your response to authorities.
The hours have been tested, and the evidence is there are no complaints.
There are no complaints generally.
There are no contact numbers, but all is available.
This is a family room business, and an extra hour is sought by Nigel and Sammy, who will be happy to answer any questions.
Thank you very much.
Now, Mark Baez is unavailable today.
Richard is going to provide an update concerning environmental health.
Richard, that's correct.
Thank you.
So, I'm going to email Officer Baez, and he basically says the following.
I have checked and managed to see if we have had any complaints related to the noise from the studio,
and so the rest of our knowledge in environmental consumption happens to receive pain for all the citizens.
Thank you very much.
Do any of the subcommittee have any questions for Nigel and Sammy or Andrew as the applicants?
I've just got one.
Yes, please go.
You've talked about the tables outside during COVID.
Are they still outside?
I didn't think they would be, but I'm asking the questions.
No, we traded just after COVID, when the ethics of sometimes, with all the different real changes,
with the time, and you could have tables outside, two meetings or five, et cetera.
We traded our small car part with six tables for a few weeks, while the COVID changes were coming through.
And that was only a six-week period, then, and that's not happening since, obviously.
We're not going to be inside, out of the way, not outside on a call.
Okay.
Thank you.
I thought that would probably be the opposite.
Thank you.
That's all right.
Yes.
I think that was a month ago, and the program established at quite some time.
Because you just should not have the years, you know?
Certainly since the '70s, so certainly 50 years, yes.
Yes, it's quite a lot of times.
Yeah.
So it's long established.
Okay, Councillor Rhett.
Could I just ask, you mentioned Castle Court, and there has been some other building around that area, around Castle Street.
Could you tell me any other rose plant there that had development recently?
I think it's a retail premise along the square that had its other floors turned to flats approximately five,
six years ago, turned into four flats, which are all inhabited and we have no greater issues from them.
And right, directly beyond it's on Mill Street, there's been an old solicitor's building,
and it's been turned into four flats as well in the last four or five years and no problems in their mind.
And they're actually closer than Castle Court than to the development.
Right.
Where are the homes from multiple offices here, by flats and so on?
The dimension in the objectives.
And that's not a big Castle Court, that's the rose plant.
That is Castle Court.
Yeah, so it's a relatively new development for years of development.
And I've started 13, 12 and so plants and inside it.
Do you want to say this or talk to me?
Yeah, I know me at the end of the slide.
You do want to talk to me?
Ah, here.
[LAUGHTER]
Probably look like a grandma in there now.
[LAUGHTER]
Sorry, just going back to it with a fan in front of me.
So Castle Court is relatively recent.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, of course.
Yeah, of course.
We think about 12 years that we don't call it.
And then you said fatface, which is rose, fatface and Mill Street.
If you were to build Castle Court.
Castle Street.
Castle Street.
Alongside the Court, it's just a common path.
And then building to the right of the edges of the path.
That building there, we're telling you, they're all around the world.
I'd say.
They're very close.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yes, please go ahead.
And I've already been thinking that fatface used to be a pole.
Yes, it used to be a pole.
It used to be a pole.
It used to be a pole.
It used to be a pole.
It used to be a pole.
It used to be a pole.
Yeah.
Oh, sorry.
Okay.
Yeah.
John, no further questions.
I've come over.
We've been clearing ours.
We've got along.
Right.
Nigel and Sammy or Andrew, as the applicants, do you wish to make any further statements or clarify any matters you feel are unclear or may have been misunderstood?
But the third thing's been this understood, just to assure them, so, to make sure that Nigel and Sammy will remain in touch and work with the residents.
If there are any issues that could be done to state, they will respond to them.
And that it's all passed, being tested, everything.
So we can come here and hope we can pursue an issue that the evidence has learned is more of what will not be an issue on the part of the assessment.
Other than that, I would release everything.
I would just turn that to the evidence of how many points.
Thank you.
In my crib notes here, we've had a number of things crossed out because wildfires isn't here.
As the applicants, this could, I ask you to briefly summarize the application and comment on the observations and any other, any suggested conditions.
Have you got any further to add?
I was doing that then, I'm sure.
So did I.
So did I.
We skipped an A for my crib notes.
Right.
We've got anything further to say?
Gary, anything further to add?
[inaudible]
Would you like to go over there?
Sorry.
The chair has asked me to, sorry.
The chair has asked me just to ask you to address some of the things that are raised in the objections.
Now, they are, I've highlighted them in my notes that I took when I read the application.
About people neuronating and vomiting outside in the early hours of the morning, one of the objectives says apparently it's common knowledge that this goes on.
Is there anything that you would like to say in general terms about that?
I think in general terms we don't come here to be argumentative or et cetera, et cetera.
But we don't accept that people around the bottom to their neuronating, our manager walked outside regularly every night.
We had the WhatsApp, the money on the team, our WhatsApp group, then we called it.
The police aren't prone to vomiting and antisocial behavior.
I'm sure if that was correct, the police would be here passing comments.
So without the issues of the argumentative, we don't accept that that position is in case.
That's not our observations.
Thank you.
Could I just add?
Could I have a number of applications for licenses and so on?
I usually ask if the objectors are here.
Have you reported it to the police?
Have you done this?
It's just hearsay, Oh, I'm your friend, do this happen?
or whatever.
There's no concrete proof that has been antisocial behavior as far as I can see.
There's nothing from the police, environmental protection and so on.
It's probably the best in me, but we've got reports of stress that we work with the residents and all of the arguments.
But I agree, there's no evidence in that there is all of them.
Thank you very much.
Right.
Anything further you wish to say?
Just one question I did mean to us.
Do you have those stats files?
Yes, I do.
That's all that?
Yes.
Okay, so right?
You wish to add anything further?
No, no, not at all.
Right.
Are you okay?
Thank you for your attendance at this hearing today.
The subcommittee will now retire to consider the matter and the parties will be informed of the decision.
Within five working days, which will be the third of May,
by the issuing of a decision notice, the meeting is now closed.
Thank you very much for attending.
Okay, thank you Councillors.
I believe these here are some additional.
Thank you.
Summary
The council meeting primarily focused on the application for a full variation of a premises license for The Studio on Castle Street. The application sought to extend operational hours on Fridays and Saturdays.
Decision: Appointment of Meeting Chair
- About: The meeting began with the appointment of Councillor Edwards as the chair for the session.
- Arguments: There were no opposing views or discussions; the decision was unanimous.
- Implications: This procedural decision facilitated the orderly conduct of the meeting.
Decision: Application for License Extension at The Studio
- About: The main agenda was to consider extending the operational hours of The Studio nightclub.
- Arguments: The applicants argued that the extension was in response to customer demand and noted that previous temporary extensions did not result in complaints. Objectors cited concerns about potential noise and disorder, although no formal complaints or police reports supported these claims.
- Implications: Approval could enhance business competitiveness and customer satisfaction. Rejection might maintain status quo but could affect the business negatively.
Interesting Occurrence:
- During the meeting, there was a light-hearted moment when Councillor Ray humorously noted his long-standing familiarity with the venue, joking about feeling like a
grandma
there, which added a personal touch to the proceedings.