The Licensing Committee formed the Public Protection Sub-Committee and appointed its Chair and Vice-Chair. The Committee also received an update on Licensing Enforcement and noted an update on licences that had been applied for, dealt with and appealed.

Formation of Public Protection Sub-Committee

The Committee agreed to form the Public Protection Sub-Committee with seven members. Five members will be Labour Councillors, and two will be Conservative Councillors. This reflects the overall political balance of the Council after recent by-elections. Councillor Paul Brookes will be the Chair, and Councillor David Scott will be the Vice-Chair.

The Sub-Committee will be responsible for all of the functions set out in Part 3 of the Council’s Constitution¹. Meetings will usually start at 18:00 but may start earlier if the business to be transacted will last for longer than two hours.

Licensing Update

[Sharon Davies], the Senior Licensing Solicitor, told the Committee that 16 applications for new Premises Licences were received between 22 May 2024 and 21 November 2024. Of these, 13 were granted without objection, and two were either rejected or withdrawn.

Ms Davies also noted that two applications for review of a Premises Licence had been received. In one case, the licence for The Boltonia Hotel on Albert Road was revoked. In the other case, the licence for Feast About on Queen’s Square was suspended for 21 days.

Licensing Service Enforcement Report

[Lee Petrak], the Licensing and Trading Standards Manager, presented a verbal report on Licensing Enforcement in Blackpool.

Mr Petrak explained that his team had participated in joint enforcement operations with Wolverhampton Council, and also on animal welfare and immigration matters.

There were no particular concerns or trends noted and it was emphasised that enforcement activity would continue to be applied as appropriate.

— Printed minutes 03rd-Dec-2024 18.00 Licensing Committee

The Committee found the report informative.