To elect a Chairman for the hearing.

Councillor JW Hope MBE 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.

There were no declarations of interest made.

For the committee to decide whether the application for a premise licence for ‘Big Chill Festival, Eastnor Castle, Deer Park, Ledbury, HR8 1RQ’ can be determined.

Mr Simon Taylor, the applicant’s legal advisor, addressed the sub committee and advised that the plan submitted with the application was the same plan as submitted for the 2010 event. He added that this plan was subject to change through guidance offered at meetings with the police and the licensing authority and that the final details would be confirmed in the event management plan.

In response to concerns in respect of the advertisement, Mr Taylor confirmed that there had been an error in the original draft but that this had been addressed and a second advertisement had been submitted. He drew Members’ attention to the case of RV Soneji, a 2005 House of Lords case which supported his view that the sub committee did have the power to determine the application.

The Regulatory sub committee found that the statutory requirements incumbent upon the applicants had been complied with notwithstanding certain shortcomings in the accepted procedures. It therefore decided that the committee had the power to determine the application and permitted it to proceed accordingly. The committee impressed upon the applicants the need to adhere strictly to the advertisement procedures in the future.

RESOLVED

That the sub-committee finds that the statutory requirements have been complied with and therefore the Licensing Authority has the power to determine the application.

To consider an application for the grant of a premises licence in respect of the ‘Big Chill Festival, Eastnor Castle, Deer Park, Ledbury, HR8 1RQ.’

The Regulatory Sub Committee was convened in order to determine an application for a new premises licence in respect of The Big Chill Festival, Eastnor Castle, deer Park, Ledbury, HR8 1RQ. 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. He advised them of the hearing procedures and asked if any party required an extension to the 10 minute time limit for public speaking. The applicant’s legal advisor requested an extension to the time limit. The Chairman accepted this request and extended the time limit to 15 minutes, he also advised all of the other parties present that they were also permitted 15 minutes to make their submissions.

The Licensing Officer presented the report and advised Members of two amendments to the report. The first amendment related to the omission of the sale/supply of alcohol on Thursdays from the report (page 8, paragraph 7) and the second was that Birtsmorton Parish Council had been listed under paragraph 8 of the report instead of Castlemorton Parish Council.

The Acting Principal Lawyer advised the sub committee that the responsible authorities had now withdrawn their representations as conditions had been agreed with the applicant.

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005, Mr Bartlett, representing Castlemorton Parish Council addressed the sub committee. Although he did not object to the festival itself he did raise concerns regarding the extension of the licensable hours; the permitted noise levels; and the permanent nature of the licence.

Mrs Davies, representing Colwall Parish Council, also addressed the sub committee and reiterated the concerns raised by the previous speaker. She also stated that the festival had previously been held in 5 different locations and organised by 2 different companies. She felt that the permanent licence was unacceptable and also raised concerns regarding the length of the licence (5 days). She also felt that the licence would benefit from similar conditions and terminal hours to those imposed on the Glastonbury festival.

In response to the previous points the Acting Principal Lawyer confirmed that the sub committee had a number of options as outlined in the Committee report however they did not have the option to grant a temporary licence.

The Chairman invited five local residents who had made representations in respect of the application to address the sub committee. He requested that they avoid repetition in their statements.

Mr Davis addressed the sub committee in respect of noise concerns on the site. He noted that there had been a significant increase in the permitted noise levels in relation to the previous festival and that the ‘noisy’ period of the festival had seen a 33% increase. He felt that between the hours of 2300 and 0900 the festival should not be audible to neighbouring residents and therefore requested that the music in outside areas should cease at 0030 at the latest. He also requested that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.