Agenda Item No.
LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE
MINUTES of a meeting held on 27th May, 2008.
Present: Councillors A.D. Hampton, Mrs. A.J. Preston and J.W. Thomas.
Also present:
Responsible Authority: Licensing Officer, Environmental Health Officers and South Wales Police.
(a) Appointment of Chairman -
Councillor J. W. Thomas was elected Chairman for the duration of the meeting.
(b) Declarations of Interest -
No declarations were received.
(c) Licensing Act 2003 - Premises Licence: Holm House, Marine Parade, Penarth -
The papers contained with the agenda for consideration at the meeting contained a copy of the procedure for Sub-Committee hearings.
Also present: Mrs. M. Hewlett and Mrs. S. Sessions (Applicants) and Ms. J. Palmer (Solicitor for Applicants).
Ms. P. Dunscombe, Mr. M.J. Flynn, Ms. C. Fox, Ms. M. Grigg, Mr. R.T. Morgan and Ms. G. Thomas (in support of the application).
Mrs. M. Avon, Mr. P. Ellis, Mr. A. Gray and Mr. D.N. Williams (interested parties, against the application).
Councillors Ms. M.E. Alexander, C.P.J. Elmore, A.M. Ernest, N. Moore and A.C. Williams (observers).
The Licensing Officer presented the report, explaining that Mrs. Sessions had been granted a premises licence for Holm House on 25th July, 2007 which permitted the sale of alcohol on the premises for 24 hours, Monday to Sunday, for residents and their bona fide guests. A new premises licence had now been applied for due to a change in licensable activities which would, as a result, change the nature of the premises. The application was for the sale of alcohol on and off the premises, regulated entertainment and late night refreshment for residents and non-residents. Whilst the application form was appended to the report, the Licensing Officer drew particular attention to paragraphs 7 and 8 of the report which detailed the proposed hours of operation for the sale of alcohol, regulated entertainment and opening hours in respect of both residents and their bona fide guests and for non-residents, and for late night refreshment in respect of non-residents (the provision of late night refreshment for residents not being a licensable activity). Representations had been received from the Environmental Health Department, from South Wales Police and from residents living in the vicinity of the premises during the prescribed consultation period. The Licensing Officer reminded Members that those representations from residents relating to traffic issues, to the fact that the premises was located within a conservation area, and a suggestion that there could be a proliferation of similar premises in the area were this application to succeed were not relevant to the matter in hand. Furthermore, the Licensing Officer referred to the brochure produced by the applicants and circulated to all parties at the meeting which contained, amongst other things, letters of support for the application, drawing attention to the fact that those letters had not been received during the aforementioned consultation period but that the applicants’ solicitor might wish to refer to the same.
Ms. Palmer then presented the case on behalf of the applicants, stating during the course of that presentation that the premises had already had benefit of a licence for residents for almost twelve months, that the premises was a small but prestigious development with an award winning restaurant and spa, and that the premises had and would continue to be well run (as evidenced in the statement relating to the licensing conditions as appended to the report). Great care had been taken by the applicants to ensure the ambiance of this exclusive area of the town was maintained. No external signage had been erected, the hotel trading as a “boutique hotel” and having received media coverage appropriate to such. The prestige brought to a town by an hotel of such exclusivity and quality had been recognised by tourism related bodies nationally and locally, although there was currently some under-capacity as regards the restaurant and spa. Some £3m. had been expended in developing the premises to a very high standard and an extension of the restaurant and spa facilities to non-residents would not only allow local residents/business people to enjoy the facilities (and thereby enhance the reputation of the town by having an exclusive venue for the occasional leisure/business user) but assist in recouping that expenditure. Ms. Palmer confirmed that the applicants had looked carefully at the concerns expressed by the interested parties; Ms. Palmer asked that the revised conditions as contained in the brochure be disregarded and further amended conditions designed to alleviate those concerns were subsequently tabled, the amended conditions being intended also to address the representations made by the Environmental Health Department and the Police. Ms. Palmer referred too, to the proposed scheme for noise reduction as contained in the brochure, indicating that the same had been accepted as suitable by the Environmental Health Department. Members then agreed that representations in support of the application be heard. In brief, Mr. Morgan from 4, Dros y Mor indicated that he had experienced no problems as a consequence of the current licence, that it provided a much needed facility and that its continuing success depended on its ability to trade properly. Mr. Flynn spoke on behalf of Mrs. M. Morgan who resided in a property immediately adjacent the property, stating that whilst Mrs. Morgan was supportive of the proposal in the interests of the people of Penarth, she had concerns. He confirmed that the reduction in the hours requested for regulated entertainment together with the fact that noise levels could be regulated by Environmental Health if deemed necessary and the clarification received relating to off-licence sales being restricted to high price items only, meant that Mrs. Morgan’s initial anxieties had been allayed.
As regards representations from the responsible authorities, P.C. Barrett on behalf of South Wales Police, confirmed that the amended hours of operation were satisfactory as did the Environmental Health Officer.
Representations against the application were then made by the interested parties in attendance. Mr. Gray from 12 Dros y Mor referred in the main to the disturbance caused to residents of this quiet residential area of the town by the access and egress of visitors, staff and delivery vehicles to and from the premises at the hours proposed, together with that resulting from the regulated entertainment, requesting that at a minimum the provision of regulated entertainment be restricted to Fridays and Saturdays. Mrs. Avon of 3 Holmesdale Place drew attention to the fact that premises in question fell within a conservation area and that the grant of the licence would neither enhance nor conserve the character of the area. Mr. Ellis then continued on her behalf by referring to the licensing objectives of the prevention of crime and disorder and the prevention of public nuisance. Amongst other things, he indicated that the number of visitors to this residential area would increase as would incidents of intoxication with an attendant increase in noise and disturbance to residents from those visitors; noise would emanate from both the building itself and the garden areas and the existing traffic problems would be exacerbated by an increase in the number of vehicles (both private and commercial) visiting the property. On a point of clarification, the Environmental Health Officer explained that no application had been made for regulated entertainment to take place outside and the Licensing Officer reiterated the point made earlier that traffic issues were not a relevant consideration under the Licensing Act. Mr. Williams of 10 Dros y Mor concurred with the views expressed above, referring in particular to the disruption to residents caused by the sound of live music emanating from the building. Other matters raised during the course of the above representations included further reference being made to the loss of the feeling of peace and tranquillity by existing residents and the potential devaluation of property as a consequence of the application being granted in what was a highly desirable residential area of Penarth, as well as potential future uses of the premises.
Having heard the representations, Ms. Palmer then summed up on behalf of the applicants. Ms. Palmer reiterated that the premises had operated without cause for complaint for almost one year, and that the applicants had demonstrated their willingness to work with local residents to address areas of concern. She expressed thanks to the Environmental Health Department for the tenor of the conditions put forward which accorded with recent government guidance that they should be relevant to the style and characteristics of the premises. In conclusion she referred to recent case law which indicated that, in the absence of unsubstantiated complaints, the presumption was that licensing authorities should grant an application as applied for. However, in response to a question from a Member of the Sub-Committee relating to the proposed hours for the clearance of the garden area, Ms. Palmer indicated that whilst 23:00hours Sunday to Monday had been requested, she would offer no objection if Members were minded to agree only to the status quo (that is Sunday to Thursday until 22:30, Friday and Saturday until 23:00) in order to alleviate concerns expressed at the meeting by local residents.
The Members then retired to consider the application in private.
Sub-Committee Decision –
The Chairman informed the meeting that, having considered the application and representations by the Police, Environmental Health Department and Interested Parties and having considered the DCMS Guidance, the objectives of the Licensing Act 2003 and the Council’s Statement of the Licensing Policy the Sub-Committee had
RESOLVED – THAT the application be granted subject to the proposed revised conditions and the conditions set out in the applicants’ operating schedule, in particular the hours granted to be as follows:
Sale of Alcohol as applied for and agreed in the revised conditions
Regulated Entertainment as agreed in the revised conditions
Late Night Refreshment to end at drinking-up time, that is 30 minutes after the cessation of the sale of alcohol
Garden area to be cleared of customers by 2230 hours Sunday to Thursday and 2300 hours Friday and Saturday.
Reason for decision
Having taken into account the licensing objectives, the revised proposed conditions as accepted by the Environmental Health Department and the Police, and the representations of interested parties.