The Licensing Act Sub Committee of Cornwall Council scheduled a meeting to discuss a licensing application for The Beach House, Swanpool, Falmouth. The application concerned a request to vary the premises licence. The sub-committee was to determine whether the application should be granted, with or without conditions and/or amendments, or refused, giving reasons for any decision reached.

The Beach House, Swanpool - Premises Licence Variation

The meeting was convened to consider an application from Miss Tamara Costin to vary the premises licence for The Beach House, Swanpool Road, Falmouth.

The existing licence describes the premises as a single storey restaurant. The applicant sought to amend the licence to include:

• Reconfiguration of internal area
• Addition of an awning attached to the main building to include a bar servery
• An external bar on the lower terrace

The report pack stated that the following conditions would apply to the external bar on the lower terrace:

• The external bar would close no later than 23:00
• The external bar would be supervised at all times when in use
• The external bar would be inaccessible to customers when not in use to ensure they do not have access to any alcohol.

The report pack noted that there would be no changes to the hours for licensable activities.

Representations

The report pack included summaries of responses received regarding the application:

• Child Protection: Response received stating that, to the best of their knowledge, there are no professional concerns.
• Police: Response received stating that there are no police objections to this variation.
• Public Health: Response received stating that there is no objection from a DAT/Public Health perspective.
• Community Protection: Representation received, included in the report pack.
• Trading Standards, Fire & Rescue Authority, Health And Safety, Local Planning Authority, Licensing Authority (Compliance Team): No response received.

In addition, the council received 93 letters of representation against the application, and 13 letters of representation in support of the application. The names of those who wrote letters were included in the report pack, along with the letters themselves.

Those objecting to the licence variation raised concerns regarding:

• Noise levels and potential public nuisance
• The impact on the surrounding environment and community
• Potential anti-social behaviour
• Public safety

Those in support of the licence variation said that:

• They had never encountered any issues in terms of disorder, noise or public nuisance at The Beach House
• The Beach House is well managed and has a good safe atmosphere
• The licence variation would benefit the local economy

Ewen Macgregor, Partner at TLT LLP, acting on behalf of the applicant, sent a letter to those who had submitted representations. In the letter, Mr Macgregor stated that the application was in two parts: to seek approval of internal changes to the layout, and to licence the external bar for the sale of alcohol. Mr Macgregor also stated that the application did not include any request to add to or vary the live or recorded music provisions already in place at the premises.

Licensing Policy Considerations

The report pack for the sub-committee included extracts from the statutory guidance issued under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003, and Cornwall Council's Licensing Act 2003 Policy Considerations.

With respect to Cumulative Impact Policies, the report noted that Falmouth has a Cumulative Impact Zone¹, and that the Licensing Authority considers that granting further licences or variations to licences in this zone would likely be inconsistent with its duty to promote the licensing objectives. The report pack included a map of the Falmouth Cumulative Impact Zone, and stated that the types of premises the CIA apply to are premises licences and club premises certificates and specifically relate to premises selling alcohol for consumption 'on' and/or 'off' the premises and late-night refreshment providers.

The report pack stated that the Licensing Authority will consider all options when determining applications, including approving the application as applied for, approving it with additional or amended conditions, approving it with the exclusion of certain licensable activities, refusing to specify a person as the designated premises supervisor², or refusing the application. The report pack also noted the council's duty under section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to exercise its functions with due regard to the likely effect of the exercise of those functions on, and the need to do all that it reasonably can to prevent, crime and disorder in its area.

Appendices

The report pack included the following appendices:

• Appendix 1: Current Licence
• Appendix 1a: Current Plan attached to premises licence
• Appendix 2: Location Map
• Appendix 3: Proposed plan submitted with variation application
• Appendix 4: Representation from Community Protection
• Appendices 5-97: Representations from Other Persons against the application
• Appendices 98-110: Representations from Other Persons in support of the application
• Appendix 111: Letter from Applicant's Solicitor
• Appendix 112: Documents from Applicant's Solicitor

The report pack also included a list of background documents, including the Licensing Act 2003, statutory guidance issued under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003, and Cornwall Council's Policy under the Licensing Act 2003.