Agenda, decisions and minutes

To elect a Chairman for the Sub-Committee B meeting.

Councillor Michael Goodridge was elected as Chairman for the meeting.

To agree the Minutes of the Meeting held on 24 January 2019 which have been laid on the table half an hour before the start of the meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 January 2019 were confirmed and signed.

The purpose of the report is to enable the Sub-Committee to consider an application from Howard John Boatwright Cherry, for the grant of a new premises licence for Cranleigh Folk Festival, Knowle Park, Knowle Lane, Cranleigh GU6 8JL (please see application for co-ordinates), where 1 relevant representation has been received from ‘Other persons’.

Recommendation

The Sub-Committee is requested to consider the application for a premises licence on its merits, and determine the application with a view to promoting the four licensing objectives in the overall interests of the local community. In doing so the Sub-Committee should give appropriate weight to :

·         The steps that are necessary to promote the licensing objectives,

·         The representations (including supporting information) presented by all parties

·         The guidance issued to local authorities under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003, and

·         Waverley’s statement of licensing policy 

Any steps appropriate to promote the licensing objectives should be specified. If no steps are appropriate the application should be granted. Findings on issues of fact should be on the balance of probability. In arriving at a decision members must have regard to the relevant provisions of guidance and policy and reasons should be given for any departure.

Section 35(3) Licensing Act 2003 provides that the Sub-Committee, having regard to the relevant representations made, must take such of the following steps (if any) as it considers appropriate for the promotion of the licensing objectives:

·         To grant the licence subject to such conditions as are consistent with the operating schedule modified to such extent as the Sub-Committee considers appropriate for the promotion of the licensing objectives, and any mandatory conditions;

·         To exclude from the scope of the licence any of the licensable activities to which the application relates;

·         To refuse to specify a person as the premises supervisor;

·         To reject the application.

During the deliberations the Council’s Solicitor was asked to advise the Sub-Committee on suitable wording for their decision.

The Sub-Committee carefully considered the application for a new premises licence, taking into account the representation received from Cranleigh Parish Council, statutory guidance and the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy 2018-2023. Cranleigh Parish Council made no further representations at the meeting.

The Sub-Committee agreed to grant the licence as it did not consider that there was sufficient substantiated evidence to reject the application.

The Sub-Committee noted that the applicant had agreed conditions with Surrey County Council and Waverley Borough Council Environmental Health to address concerns of protection of children from harm and prevention of public nuisance.

The Sub-Committee, having been notified by the applicant that they wished to provide sufficient ‘drinking up’ time, agreed to amend the times for sale of alcohol to 23:20 on Friday and Saturday and 22:20 on Sunday, which was accepted by the Sub-Committee.

Additionally, the applicant advised that in reference to the Operating Schedule as set out in the application, this should be amended so as to provide vehicular access to and from the site via Alfold Road only. The Knowle Lane access would only be used for production and servicing traffic.

The applicant produced a plan showing where the main event area would be located, and the Sub-Committee agreed that licensable activities should take place only in “Area A”, to the north east of the site, as identified on a plan submitted by the applicant. Any changes to the siting of this area within the premises in future years could be made by way of a minor variation application.

The Sub-Committee added conditions to the licence as follows. The additional conditions are proportionate and appropriate to address the licensing objectives relating to Public Safety and Prevention of Nuisance.

The following conditions are imposed on the Licence:

• The premises licence is limited to one event per calendar year, held in September consisting of 3 consecutive days only (Friday, Saturday, Sunday).
• The premises licence holder shall produce an Event Management Plan, Fire Risk Assessment, and Crowd Management Plan (including arrangements for access and egress) for the event. The Event Management Plan shall contain the following:
  • A traffic management plan
  • The evacuation procedure
• The Event Management Plan, Fire Risk Assessment, and Crowd Management Plan shall be submitted to Surrey Fire and Rescue Service, Surrey Police, Waverley Borough Council Environmental Health and the licensing authority for approval each year at least 28 days prior to the start of each event. Copies of this documentation shall be retained on site while licensable activities are being provided, and shall be made available to any of the responsible authorities, as defined by the Licensing Act 2003, upon request.
• No licensable activities shall be permitted to take place under this licence unless the Event Management Plan, Fire Risk Assessment, and Crowd Management Plan for the event have been approved by Surrey Fire and Rescue Service, Surrey Police, Waverley Borough Council Environmental Health and the  ...  view the full decision text for item 20.

The Committee received a report for an application from Howard Boatwright Cherry for a new premises licence Cranleigh Folk Festival, Knowle Park, Knowle Lane, Cranleigh, GU6 8JL, where 1 relevant representation had been received.

The applicant was present with Tom Ofield from Technivents who provided details regarding site design and safety. The representation had been received from Cranleigh Parish Council who were not present at the meeting. Their concern was in relation to public safety issues arising from the potentially large number of people attending the event, as well as the vehicular and pedestrian access to the site.

In relation to the number of people attending the event, the applicant confirmed that the application was only for up to 5,000 at any one time, which would be controlled through the issuing of tickets and wristbands, as well as by security staff using clickers. The applicant also informed the Sub-Committee that he only anticipated having around 3,000 people attending the event in the first year.

The applicant advised that in reference to the Operating Schedule as set out in the application, this should be amended so as to provide vehicular access to and from the site via Alfold Road only. The Knowle Lane access would only be used for production and servicing traffic.

The applicant also advised that they wished to provide sufficient ‘drinking up’ time, and therefore requested to amend the times for sale of alcohol to 23:20 on Friday and Saturday and 22:20 on Sunday.

The applicant produced a plan showing the layout of the event and indicated where the main activity area would be located, which was to the north east of the site. The applicant was seeking to license the whole site to enable the layout to be rotated in subsequent years. Following further questions, the applicant clarified that the licensable activity would only take place in the particular area specified in the plan. The Sub-Committee was advised that any changes to the siting of this area within the premises in future years could be made by way of a minor variation application.

Additionally, the applicant provided further details in relation to how litter would be managed, as well as confirming that no glass drinking containers would be allowed on site.

Cllr Patricia Ellis was in attendance at the meeting and spoke in regard to this application. She highlighted the charitable purposes behind the festival, and felt that it was clear that the applicants had taken considerable professional advice in the organisation of the event.

At 10.59am, following the conclusion of questions, the Sub-Committee withdrew to consider the application. The Sub-Committee reconvened at 11.42 and the Council’s Solicitor confirmed she had been asked to advise the Sub-Committee during their deliberations on the wording of their decision which was as follows:

The Sub-Committee carefully considered the application for a new premises licence, taking into account the representation received from Cranleigh Parish Council, statutory guidance and the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy 2018-2023. Cranleigh Parish Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.