To consider an application for the grant of a premises licence in respect of the ‘Steiner Academy, Hereford, HR2 8DL’.

The Regulatory Sub Committee was convened in order to determine an application for a new premises licence in respect of The Steiner Academy, Hereford, HR2 8DL’. The application was submitted in accordance with Section 17 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:

·         Wendy Cotton (Representing the Applicant)

·         Niki Nakamura (Representing the Applicant)

·         Bella Brown (Chair of the Much Dewchurch Society & Neighbouring Resident)

·         Janet Bright (Neighbouring Resident)

At this stage it was noted that a representation from the Much Dewchurch Society had been omitted from the agenda pack. The meeting was adjourned for 10 minutes to allow the letter to be circulated to all parties present.

The Licensing Officer presented his report and advised the Sub-Committee that the advertisement had been received and was accepted.

Mrs Brown addressed the Sub-Committee regarding her concerns in respect of the application. She was advised that a number of her concerns related to issues outside of the Sub-Committee’s remit and was requested to address the four licensing objectives, namely Public Safety, the Prevention of Crime and Disorder, the Protection of Children from Harm and the Prevention of Public Nuisance.

Mrs Brown expressed her concerns relating to noise emanating from the premises with particular reference being made to the impact this could have on the neighbouring church. She also added that in her opinion the school should use Temporary Event Notices for their weekend and evening activities, this would still allow them to hold 12 events per year. She advised the Sub-Committee that she had spoken to the Head of the School who had advised that they would prefer a licence which allowed them the option to hold events on any particular day, and therefore he had submitted a ‘blanket’ application.

Mrs Bright, a neighbouring resident, also addressed her concerns in respect of the application. She also raised the issue of noise and drew Members’ attention to a recent event which had taken place at the school on Saturday 13 October 2012 which had caused significant disturbance to neighbouring residents. As well as the noise issues she also raised concern in respect of light pollution and vehicular movements at the school.

The Licensing Officer asked a number of questions, Mrs Bright advised that the event was indoors but a number of children were in the courtyard; the person who had organised the event apologised to neighbours stating that he could not control the children; she was unsure if the doors and windows were kept closed but didn’t believe they were due to noise levels; the noise from the music was coming from inside the premises; and there did not appear to be anybody from the academy onsite monitoring noise levels.

The Committee also heard from Mrs Cotton and Ms Nakamura, representing the Steiner Academy.  Mrs Cotton advised that the school had reopened in 2008 after a major refurbishment and that the funding agreement required the school facilities to be shared with the wider community, hence the requirement for a premises licence. She also added that the Academy wanted flexibility for a range of events and also wanted to work closer with the local community, an example of this was highlighted in the fact that the application had been amended following a discussion with the Parish Council. She voiced her concerns in respect of the event that had recently taken place and caused neighbours some disturbance. In response she advised that she would ensure that a member of the school’s staff would be present at all future events. Finally she gave details of the parking arrangements for events which moved the majority of the vehicles to an area further away from the neighbouring dwellings.

Ms Nakamura advised the Sub-Committee that the school were working closely with the ‘Arts Alive’ project which bought events to smaller rural areas. She confirmed that there were 6 events planned between September 2012 and April 2013.

In response to a question from a Member of the Sub-Committee, Mrs Bright confirmed that she had not contacted the Environmental Health team as there was no out of hours contact number on the website and she felt it would be more appropriate to raise the matter with the Sub-Committee as the meeting was scheduled to take place so soon after the event.

In response to further questions Mrs Cotton advised that she would ensure that newsletters detailing forthcoming events were circulated to local residents; that the windows and doors were kept closed during events; that there was not a terminal hour for the courtyard as it was not supposed to be used during events; and that nobody monitored noise on the site during events at present.

The Sub-Committee retired to make their decision, the Acting Principal Lawyer and the Democratic Services Officer also retired to assist them with procedural matters.

At the conclusion of the meeting the Acting Principal Lawyer read out the Sub- Committee’s decision to adjourn the determination of the application pending a set of suitable conditions being drafted by the Council’s Licensing Department in consultation with the Environmental Health team. These conditions to be agreed with the applicant and circulated to the neighbouring residents present at the meeting today prior to the next meeting, to be held on Friday 26October 2012 at 10:00 am.

RESOLVED

THAT the determination of the application for a new premises licence in respect of the Steiner Academy be adjourned until 26 October 2012 pending a set of suitable conditions being agreed with the applicant.