Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Myla Arceno, Rob Broom, Nazmin Chowdhury, John Duncan, Bret Facey, Liz Harrington, Chris Howells, Graham Lawrence CC, Andy McGuinness, Claire Parris and Lorraine Rossati.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the previous meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 10 March 2023.

It was RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 10 March 2023 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To note the procedure for the hearing of licensing applications.

All parties noted the revised procedure for the hearing which had been circulated at the meeting.

To determine an application for the grant of a Premises Licence for the Today Fish and Grill, 10 Middle Row, Stevenage SG1 3AW.

The Committee considered an application for the grant of a premises Licence for the Today Fish and Grill, 10 Middle Row, Stevenage, SG1 3AW.  Representations in respect of this application had been made by two local residents, one residing on Middle Row and the other on Baker Street.  A representation had also been made from the owner of a local business on Middle Row.

Representations received by two of the Responsible Authorities, the Local Planning Authority and Environmental health had been withdrawn following the Licensing officer liaising with the Applicant who had subsequently agreed to voluntarily amend their application for late night refreshment from 03:00hrs to 00:00hrs for both delivery and takeaway and would be closed to the public at 00:00.

The Licensing Officer presented a report to the Committee outlining the facts of the application.

The Licensing Officer advised that the premises was surrounded by other commercial properties including retail outlets and a Barber shop along with some residential properties located above some of the ground floor premises on Middle Row.  There were also nearby premises providing late night refreshments.

Following a question to the Licensing Officer from a local resident, it was clarified that the application was for the grant of the licence between the hours of 11.00am and 00:00midnight Mondays to Sundays including Bank Holidays.

A request was made by a local resident that the Committee defer their decision on the application as there were flaws and accuracies in the application including the lack of an accurate plan with dimensions of the property.

The Chair then invited the local residents to present their case. Two local residents spoke of their objections to the application, their key points of objection being:

·         A number of late night licences in the vicinity were already in existence and caused nuisance.  The grant of this licence would add to that nuisance;

·         In general, there were no objections to the night time economy in the Old Town, however, the use of middle Row for such a premises would create considerable noise nuisance to the residents of Middle Row;

·         The narrowness of Middle Row did not allow large groups to congregate without causing disturbance;

·         Vandalism had been experienced in the past and an additional premises would increase the chance of further vandalism, particularly as Middle Row was secluded and out of sight from the High Street;

·         The lack of public conveniences in the area could also lead to further anti-social behaviour;

·         The inaccuracies of the plan submitted with the application did not show the issues with regard to the access into the residential premises at 12 middle Row.

The local residents responded to a series of questions asked by the Applicant’s representative and members of the Committee.

The Chair then invited the Applicant’s representative (Mr Stewart Gibson) to present their case.

Mr Gibson’s submission included the following points:

·         The objections raised to the application had no bearing and were not relevant to the 4 licensing objectives;

·         Following consultation with the Licensing Officer and in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To consider any Part I business accepted by the Chair as urgent.

None.

To consider the following motions –

1.          That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in Paragraphs 1 – 7 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act as amended by Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006.

2.          That Members consider the reasons for the following reports being in Part II and determine whether or not maintaining the exemption from disclosure.

Not required.

To consider any Part II Business accepted by the Chair as urgent.

None.