To elect a Chairman for the hearing.

Councillor Brigadier P Jones CBE was elected as Chairman for the Regulatory Sub-Committee hearing.

To receive apologies for absence.

No apologies for absence were received.

To receive details any details of Members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a Member of the Committee.

There were no substitutes present at the hearing.

To receive any declarations of interest by Members in respect of items on the Agenda.

GUIDANCE ON DECLARING PERSONAL AND PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS AT MEETINGS

The Council’s Members’ Code of Conduct requires Councillors to declare against an Agenda item(s) the nature of an interest and whether the interest is personal or prejudicial.  Councillors have to decide first whether or not they have a personal interest in the matter under discussion.  They will then have to decide whether that personal interest is also prejudicial.

A personal interest is an interest that affects the Councillor more than most other people in the area.  People in the area include those who live, work or have property in the area of the Council.  Councillors will also have a personal interest if their partner, relative or a close friend, or an organisation that they or the member works for, is affected more than other people in the area.  If they do have a personal interest, they must declare it but can stay and take part and vote in the meeting. 

Whether an interest is prejudicial is a matter of judgement for each Councillor.  What Councillors have to do is ask themselves whether a member of the public – if he or she knew all the facts – would think that the Councillor’s interest was so important that their decision would be affected by it.  If a Councillor has a prejudicial interest then they must declare what that interest is and leave the meeting room.

There were no declarations of interest made.

To consider an application for variation of the premises licence in respect of Saxtys Café Bar, 33 Widemarsh Street, Hereford, HR4 9EA.

The Licensing Officer advised the Sub-Committee that the applicant had agreed to all of the recommended conditions and therefore the variation of the premise licence had been granted.

To consider an application for a review of a premise licence in respect of The Horse & Jockey, 9-10 New Street, Ross On Wye, HR9 7DA.

The Regulatory Sub-Committee was convened in order to determine an application for a review of a premise licence in accordance with Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003. The Review had been applied for by Mrs Janet Roberts and was in respect of the Horse and Jockey, 9-10 New Street, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.

The Chairman introduced the Members and Officers and asked any interested parties to introduce themselves. The following attendees were noted:

• Mrs Roberts (Applicant)
• Mr Delpinto (An interested party in support of the review)
• Mr Mainey (An interested party in support of the review)
• Mr Phipps (Legal Advisor for the Premises Licence Holder)
• Mr Rowley (Area Manager for Premise Licence Holder)
• Mrs Harmer (Designated Premises Supervisor)

The Environmental Protection Manager was also in attendance but had made no representation in respect of the application.

The Chairman advised all parties of the hearing procedures and asked if any person required an extension to the time allocated for making representations. Following a request from the applicant for an extension to the time limit, the Chairman advised all parties that they would be permitted 20 minutes each. He then asked the Licensing Officer to present his report.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, Mrs Roberts, the applicant for the review, addressed the sub-committee. She presented her reasons for asking for the review and highlighted a number of areas of concern she had in respect of the premises. These concerns related to noise emanating from the premises; antisocial behaviour from the patrons and Designated Premises Supervisor of the public house; and finally concerns for her safety as a result of a recent incident, details of which had not been included in the application.

Mr Phipps, the legal advisor for Punch taverns, voiced his concerns in respect of the latest incident referred to by Mrs Roberts. He felt that he had not been given sufficient notice of the issue to be able to address it fully.

The Chairman considered the facts before him and felt that the determination of the application should be deferred in order to allow for the DPS to take legal advice on the matter. He advised all parties present that the meeting would be reconvened in 21 days.

RESOLVED

That the determination of the application be deferred.