Agenda and minutes

Cllr Simon Inchbald was appointed Chairman for this meeting of Licensing Sub-Committee A. Under delegated authority, the Head of Policy and Governance appointed Councillor Bob Upton to sit on the Committee for the current vacant position.

The minutes of the meeting of Licensing Sub-Committee A which took place on 4 July were confirmed and signed.

To receive from Members declarations of personal and prejudicial interests in relation to any items included on the agenda for this meeting, in accordance with the Waverley Code of Local Government Conduct.

Councillor Simon Inchbald declared a non-pecuniary interest in the application as he was a former trustee of the Meath School which would be receiving proceeds from the event.

PART I - RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COMMITTEE

           There were no matters falling within this category.

PART II - MATTERS OF REPORT

Background Papers

The background papers relating to the following report items in Part II are as specified in the agenda for the Committee.

The purpose of the report is to enable the Sub?Committee to consider a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) where an objection has been made by Environmental Health.  Only the Police and Environmental Health may object to a TEN on the grounds that the TEN would undermine any of the four Licensing Objectives.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Temporary Event Notice for the ‘Corretto’, 10 Queen Street, Godalming, Surrey GU7 1BD be determined by the Sub-Committee in light of and having regard to the representation from Environmental Health after hearing from the parties involved, and provided that the objection is not withdrawn for any reason, or the matter resolved between the person giving the Notice (Miss Natalie Hancock) and Environmental Health before or during the meeting. 

The Chairman introduced the Sub-Committee and officers present and explained the purpose of the hearing. Environmental Health, as Responsible Authority, was represented by Anne-Marie Wade and Elizabeth Bance[c1]  who were both Environmental Health Officers. Corretto was represented by the General Manager Natalie Hancock and the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) Ben Westhead.

The Licensing Manager introduced the application and outlined the matter that the Sub-Committee was being asked to decide.

The applicant then gave a brief explanation of the proposed event under the Temporary Event Notice. The application sought to have regulated entertainment, late night refreshment and sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises only, from 2100 on the 27 August 2016 until 0200 hours on the 28 August 2016, for a Live DJ, soul & funk charity music event. The DPS confirmed that he was willing to compromise on the timing but did want to be able to play music beyond the current Premises Licence cut off of 2300.

Environmental Health then made their representation.  Environmental Health were objecting to the application on the following ground: the Prevention of Public Nuisance.

The Sub-Committee was advised that since November 2015 there had been a number of complaints received from neighbouring properties regarding loud music coming from the premises both during and occasional beyond Correttos licensable hours. Noise recording equipment had not been installed but residents had been asked to complete logs and the Environmental Health Officers had attended to substantiate the claims. Officers had attended on a number of occasions and on two of these times found that recorded music was still being played past 11pm. Furthermore, music could be heard both across the road, and for the person living above the premises it was at such a level that the floors were vibrating and the music could be heard above the television or normal conversation.

Officers had spoken to the person who marketed the property and it was understood that the floors had been insulated, albeit possibly not very well but that was the responsibility of the owner and not the bar. And, at the time of purchase, it was thought that it was just a tapas restaurant rather than a bar, which would create more noise.

The Sub-Committee was advised that as a result of investigations Environmental Health established that a statutory nuisance was already in existence in respect of the noise heard in the property above the premises, and an abatement notice was served on Friday 5 August 2016 under Environmental Protection Act 1990 section 79(1) which required noise nuisance from loud amplified music to be abated. However, since the notice had been served, further complaints had been received from the owner of the flat above the premises and these were recorded in the log that they had provided. This also showed that music was being played beyond the licensable hours.   

The Sub-Committee asked questions of the applicant concerning what lengths they were going to for reducing the noise emanating from the premises and for this event  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To consider the following recommendation on the motion of the Chairman:-

Recommendation

That pursuant to Procedure Rule 20 and in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the public were present during the items, there would be disclosure to them of exempt information (as defined by Section 100I of the Act) of the description specified in paragraph 3 or the appropriate paragraph(s) of the revised Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act as follows:-

           Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) (paragraph 3)

To consider any legal advice relating to any applications in the agenda.