To elect a Chairman for the hearing.

Councillor 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 a variation of a premises licence in respect of Belmont Lodge Golf Course and Marquee, Ruckhall Lane, Belmont, Hereford.

The Regulatory Sub-Committee was convened in order to determine an application for a variation to a premise licence in respect of Belmont Lodge Golf Course and Marquee. The application was submitted in accordance with Section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003.

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

• Mr Smith (Applicant)
• Mr Moriekvski (An interested party objecting to the application)
• Ms Eyles (An interested party objecting to the application)
• Mrs Wegg-Prosser (An interested party objecting to 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. None of the attendees felt that an increase to the 10 minute time allocated for making representations would be required.

The Acting Regulatory Services Manager introduced the report and advised members that the application was for a variation to the existing licence. He added that the applicant had not requested that any conditions be removed but noted that one condition on the licence stated that there was no music permitted in the marquee after 2006. the applicant confirmed that it would be his intention to remove this condition.

Members discussed the planning history of the marquee and the bund and felt that they would need further information before proceeding with the determination of the application. The Chairman therefore adjourned the meeting for 10 minutes to allow the MW to obtain the relevant information from the Central Team Leader. The meeting was adjourned at 10.20 am.

The meeting reconvened at 10.30 and the Acting Regulatory Services Manager advised Members of the three planning applications which had been approved on the site between 2005 and 2007.

The Environmental Health Officer advised Members that she had been involved with the application site since 2005 and had worked closely with the previous manager in an attempt to set up a number of reasonable control measures. She added that the Earth Bund had been added in 2006 and that Mr Smith also used Straw Bales to reduce disturbances to neighbouring residents. She noted that there had been no complaints received by the Environmental Health Department between 2006 and August 2008. In summing up she felt that the current licensable hours for the marquee were acceptable but that any extension to these hours should be refused in order to protect local residents from any possible disturbance.

In response to the points raised by the Environmental Health Officer, Mrs Moriekvski advised Members that due to the lack of an out of hours phone service in the Environmental Health Department she had addressed all recent complaints to Belmont Lodge directly.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, Mrs Moriekvski, an interested party objecting to the application, addressed the sub-committee. She noted that the applicant had requested the use of the marquee for a longer period of time than had been permitted by the Planning Department and would therefore  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.