To elect a Chairman for the hearing.

Councillor Brig. 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 new premise licence in respect of 37 Commercial Road, Hereford, HR1 2BS.

The Regulatory Sub-Committee was convened in order to determine an application for a new premises licence in respect of 37 Commercial Road. 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:

• PC Steve Thomas (West Mercia Constabulary)
• Cynthia Spaul (Hereford City Partnership)

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 new premises licence which fell within the Council’s designated cumulative impact area.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, PC Thomas, representing West Mercia Constabulary, addressed the sub-committee. He advised the committee that in his representation he had asked for the application to be rejected as it fell within a cumulative impact area. He added that the Commercial Road area was a hotspot for anti social behaviour and confirmed this with police statistics relating to crime figures in the area.

In response to a question from Councillor A Seldon, PC Thomas confirmed that the applicant had not given any reasons as to why his application would be exempt from the special policy regarding cumulative impact areas.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, Mrs Spaul, representing the Hereford City Partnership, addressed the sub-committee.

In response to a question from the Senior Litigator, the Democratic Services Officer confirmed that a copy of the agenda had been sent to the applicant’s home address, he added that a copy of the agenda had also been sent to the applicant’s legal advisor.

The Acting Regulatory Services Manager confirmed that there had been no written dialogue between the applicant and the Licensing department. He also confirmed that the applicant had been advised in writing of the time, date, and venue for the hearing.

The Sub-Committee retired to make their decision and requested that the Senior Litigator and the Democratic Services Officer retire with them to offer legal and procedural advice.

RESOLVED

That the application for a new premises licence in respect of the 37 Commercial Road be rejected due to the reasons detailed in the attached decision notice.