The Licensing & Appeals Committee of Derbyshire Dales District Council will meet to consider a range of issues relating to licences issued by the council. The meeting will include discussion of how the council's licensing policy affects plans for the regeneration of Ashbourne town centre. Councillors will also be asked to confirm changes to the council's approach to issuing licences for fundraising activities.

Sitting Out Licences in Ashbourne

The meeting will consider a report on Sitting Out Licences - Ashbourne Reborn Proposals. The report describes how plans for regeneration works to be carried out in Ashbourne as part of the Ashbourne Reborn scheme will affect businesses in the town. The report recommends that the council should issue notices to businesses that currently have licences to place seating in the Market Place and Victoria Square, requiring them to remove all furniture and other items by 31 January 2025. The report goes on to say that:

Based on the contractor’s latest programme, works on these areas are due to start in February 2025 and complete by August 2025.

It recommends that, once the works are complete, new licences should be granted to eight businesses in the town centre, based on the terms set out in the report. The report proposes that the new licences should be modelled on the new pavement licence scheme introduced as part of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023. The report also asks the committee to approve plans for how the licences will work, saying that:

The proposed sitting out licences will: • allow a business to use permitted furniture, including tables, seating and barriers (to be defined further in the licence / furniture guidelines) within the licensed area to sell or serve food or drink and/or allow it to be used by people for consumption of food or drink supplied from, or in connection with the use of the premises... • require any furniture on the licensed area to be related to the consumption of food or drink; • require any furniture including tables, seating and barriers on the licensed area to be removable i.e. not permanent fixed structures and able to be moved and stored outside the agreed hours of use*; • include a suspension clause requiring the licensee, upon a minimum of 7 days notice, to suspend use of the licensed area for any 24 to 48 hour period to facilitate local events / activities; • require the licensee to keep the area clean and tidy; • require the licensee to indemnify the District Council against all costs and claims arising from their use under the licence.

The eight businesses that will be offered the new licences are named in the report as: the George & Dragon, the Flower Café, the Market Fish & Chip Bar, the Haig Bar, the White Swan, Ye Olde Vaults, the Horns and Howell & Marsden. The report says that the council has held a meeting with the affected businesses, at which the businesses raised a number of concerns, including the length and impact of the works, concerns regarding the impact of road closures on trade during the summer months, the type of permitted furniture, storage and frequency of removal and landownership claims from some businesses.

Review of the Council's Charitable Collections Policy

Councillors will also discuss a report on Review of House-to-House and Street Collections Licensing Policy. The report describes the responses received to a consultation on changes to the council's policy for issuing Street Collection Permits under Section 5 of the Police, Factories, etc. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1916 and licences for Charitable House to House Collections under the House-to-House Collections Act 1939. It explains that:

Six responses were received during the consultation period. Five raised no comment, and one raised four areas for consideration... These additional comments were all considered reasonable and have been added to the House to House and Street Collection Policy

The report asks the committee to approve the final version of the policy.

Confirmation of Fees for Unlicensed Family Entertainment Centre (UFEC) Permits

The meeting will also consider a report that asks the committee to confirm the fee for Unlicensed Family Entertainment Centre (UFEC) Permits under the Gambling Act 2005. The report is described as being for information only, and says that the fee has already been paid by the four businesses affected.