LICENSING SUB COMMITTEE 19th SEPTEMBER 2005 Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Sub Committee of Flintshire County Council held in County Hall, Mold, Flintshire on Monday, 19th September, 2005. PRESENT: Councillor J.J. Griffiths (Vice-Chairman in the Chair) Councillors S.R. Baker and J.F. Jones. OFFICERS OF FLINTSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL Assistant County Secretary, Licensing Manager and Principal Administration Officer. RESPONSIBLE AUTHORITIES - REPRESENTATIVES Sgt. Colin Jones - North Wales Police. Mr. Andrew Fuller - Flintshire County Council, Environmental Health Department Pollution Control. INTERESTED PARTIES Mr. M. Boothby acting as a spokesperson for a number of residents. APPLICANT / AGENTS Mr. M.A. Rush (licensee. 1. DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS None were received. 2. REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENT AND REGENERATION The Sub Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment and Regeneration which was presented by the Licensing Manager in respect of an application for a premises licence for the Mercia Inn, Mynydd Isa. 3. THE APPLICATION - The Mercia Inn, Mercia Drive, Mynydd Isa An application for a premises licence (conversion and variation) was made by Inn Court Licensing Consultants on behalf of the licensee Mr. Michael Alun Rush. The premises were described as a detached building in a village with the business comprising of two bars with an open lounge and a function room. It also had a large car park and small outside drinking area. Clientele were locals of a mixed age. The premises currently operated the standard hours of 11:00 am to 11:00 pm Monday to Saturday and noon to 10:30 pm on a Sunday. There was a public entertainment licence in force which permitted music, singing and dancing in the first floor function room, with music and singing only in the ground floor lounge. The terminal hour for entertainment was 11:30 pm each night. The hours proposed for the sale of alcohol were:- Sunday to Thursday - 10:00 am to midnight Friday and Saturday - 10:00 am to 02:00 am the following morning Regulated entertainment was proposed as follows :- Plays - Sunday to Thursday -10:00 to 12:30am the following morning - Friday and Saturday -10:00 am to 02:30am the following morning Recorded music - as above Films - as above Performance of Dance- as above Indoor Sporting Events- as above Boxing or Wrestling Entertainment - as above Live Music - Sunday to Thursday - 10:00 am to midnight Friday and Saturday - 10:00 am to 02:00 the following morning Late Night Refreshments - Sunday to Thursday - 11:00 pm to 01:00am the following morning Friday and Saturday - 11:00 pm to 03:00am the following morning Plays, live music, recorded music and dance are applied for outdoors during daylight hours i.e. 10:00 am to 6:00 pm in winter and 10:00 am to 10:00 pm in summer. The hours the premises were open to the public were proposed as :- Sunday to Thursday - 10:00 am to 01:00 am the following morning Friday and Saturday - 10:00 am to 03:00 am the following morning The application was advertised in the required manner. 4. PROMOTION OF THE LICENSING OBJECTIVES The additional steps the licensee proposed were attached as Appendix 1 to the Report. 5. RESPONSIBLE AUTHORITY REPRESENTATIONS Representations had been received from North Wales Police and were attached to Appendix 2 to the report. Attached as Appendix 3 to the report was an email from the Licensing Consultant indicating that they agreed with the Police representations. Representations had been received from the Pollution Control Section of the Environmental Health Department of Flintshire County Council and these were shown as Appendix 4 to the report. 6. NOTICES AND SUPPORTIVE DOCUMENTATION The Licensing Officer confirmed that all relevant notices and supporting documents had been issued. 7. SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTORY EVIDENCE / REQUEST TO CROSS EXAMINE The Chairman asked the questions as determined in the procedure :- (a) The applicants confirmed that they had no additional information to submit. (b) The representatives of the interested parties confirmed that they had no additional information to submit. (c) With regard to the evidence already submitted the Assistant County Secretary advised that having read the observations only those relevant to the Licensing Objectives could be considered. (d) All parties requested the opportunity to cross-examine, if necessary. The Sub Committee agreed to the request from the parties to cross examine. 8. HEARING AND DETERMINATION OF THE APPLICATION The Chair advised that the Sub-Committee would proceed to hear and determine the Application by reference to the four Licensing Objectives and that each party would be granted up to 20 minutes to exercise their rights. 9. FURTHER INFORMATION The Chairman asked the Licensing Officer to confirm whether or not there was anything further to add to the papers in front of the Sub-Committee. He confirmed that there was not. 10. PRESENTATION BY APPLICANT The Chairman invited the applicant to present the application. Mr. M. Rush the licensee presented the application himself. In opening his presentation Mr. Rush advised that in seeking the hours requested he would not necessarily use the full extent of those hours on all occasions. He indicated that he worked 7 days a week and that he would not be wishing to open late on a regular basis but more on an as and when basis particularly when there was a specific function such as a wedding celebration taking place. He referred to the arrangements that were previously undertaken when the previous licensing laws were in place and the procedures for obtaining a licence for a temporary event. He confirmed that there would be no entertainment outside and there were no plans for a beer garden. He referred to the letters submitted by interested parties and the noise generated by cars leaving the premises. He suggested that the majority of his clientele were local based and walked to and from the premises. The licensee advised of arrangements whereby if people had driven to the premises and they wished to leave their car keys with him that in the interests of safety he would arrange that and to secure the cars until the people wished to collect them the following day. He also explained that the public house was in the vicinity of a number of other business premises and there were young people congregating in that area and in the vast majority of cases they were not the clientele from the public house. He confirmed that he had no problems of fighting in or out of the premises and that music ceased at 11:30 pm. Mr. Rush added that he hoped that with the extended hours there would be a gradual dispersal of people leaving the premises which as he understood was part of the initiative to reduce disturbance to residents. 11. REPRESENTATIONS BY RESPONSIBLE AUTHORITIES i) North Wales Police Sgt. Jones indicated that in making his observations he had taken into account the thrust of the Government’s legislation and particularly the four Licensing Objectives. He had recommended the reduction of hours which were detailed in his submission which was attached as Appendix 2 to the report. He indicated that the representation was due to the close proximity of residential properties and that persons leaving the premises at a late hour may cause a noise nuisance or disturbance to local residents. He confirmed that this was a densely populated area with bungalows opposite and which were very close to the front of the premises together with houses at the rear of the car park. He felt it was reasonable to expect the area to be quiet at closing time and that nuisance could well be caused by persons leaving the premises by vehicle or on foot at a late hour. However he confirmed the receipt of the confirmation from Inn Court Licensing Consultants on behalf of the applicant confirming their acceptance of his recommended hours. With regard to noise abatement he indicated that this was a matter for the Pollution Control Department of Flintshire County Council and whilst he acknowledged that the licensee would only use the late hours for specific functions the variation applied to the premises and if there was a change in licensee in the future they could operate for the maximum granted. For this reason it was necessary to balance the thrust of the licensing legislation and the needs of the local residents. Sgt. Jones also advised that if complaints were made late into the evening the Local Authority did not have the staff to respond to this and inevitably it would fall on the Police to respond. These were all significant features in determining his comments on the application. ii) Flintshire County Council’s Pollution Control Section, Environmental Health Mr. Andrew Fuller represented the Environmental Health Department of Flintshire County Council on this issue. In opening his presentation Mr. Fuller enquired if the application for outside music had been withdrawn and Mr. Rush, the licensee, confirmed that it had. Mr. Fuller indicated that there had been a history of noise emanating from these premises but indicated that these incidents may not have been during the tenure of the current licensee. Mr. Fuller referred in particular to an incident on 6th August 2005 when noise was audible from 80 metres away from the premises. He further suggested that the structure of the building did not lend itself to attenuation of sound. In the circumstances he was objecting to any extension to the hours that music could be played and that it should be restricted to those currently permitted. He referred to a report the previous week of noise that could be heard in nearby houses. He felt there was need for examination of methods of control of noise pollution from the premises. iii) Representations by Interested Parties Mr. Boothby who was representing a number of residents opened his presentation by indicating that many of the points he wished to raise had already been raised by Sgt. Jones and Mr. Fuller. Mr. Boothby also expressed a view that a pub was an essential part of village life and a facility to be enjoyed by local residents. Mr. Boothby also offered an opinion that the majority of nearby residents were couples, middle aged or elderly. He acknowledged the introduction of the Licensing Act 2003 and felt that parts of the provisions of the Act were good whereas others were bad. He suggested that the type of licensing provision was acceptable with a view to revitalising towns and city centres and discourage the trend of binge drinking. However he indicated that this area was different to those and he and local residents were opposed to the possibility of extension of hours which may encourage such binge drinking and the resultant public disorder. In summarizing his point Mr. Boothby also indicated that the Mercia Inn had an affect on not just adjoining properties but a number of residents in a wider area. The Chairman then allowed questions to be asked and Mr. Rush referred to the reference to people outside the area visiting the premises and he felt that this would encourage people to stay in the area rather than drive to other districts. Mr. Rush also suggested some of the references to noise problems did not always emanate from the premises and he used an example whereby he was in the public house and he could hear noise coming from elsewhere. Mr. Boothby enquired how long Mr. Rush had been in the trade and he advised approximately 10 years. Mr. Rush clarified the opening hours and reiterated the point that the application was a standard one submitted by the Company and was to the extremes and he indicated that it would not be in his own best interests to work those lengths of hours. Mr. Rush advised of the clientele age range the majority of which he suggested were between 20 and 30 years of age and older and confirmed that the premises was very rarely used by younger people. He indicated that when music was on he endeavoured to keep the windows closed. He also suggested that the premises provided a good community facility with it being used for a variety of community based activities for example church groups and for band practice. Councillor Baker enquired upon the regularity of parties and Mr. Rush advised that the functions were becoming popular with a variety of activities for engagement or anniversary parties and the like. The Assistant County Secretary enquired if Mr. Rush had seen the Police representations regarding hours and sought clarification if they were acceptable to him and he confirmed they were. The Assistant County Secretary also commented about noise attenuation and the assurances given relative to noise control and enquired of Mr. Rush if he was willing to accept the condition recommended by Mr. Fuller and he confirmed he was. 12. DETERMINATION OF APPLICATION The Chairman adjourned the proceedings and asked all to leave with the exception of Committee Members, Assistant County Secretary and the Clerk. 13. DECISION The Sub-Committee agreed that the Application be granted on the following terms:- Supply of Alcohol and Provision of Regulated Entertainment Sunday to Thursday - 10:00 am to Midnight Friday and Saturday - 10:00 am to 12:30 am the following morning Regulated Entertainment shall not take place after 11:30 pm until the full acoustic assessment by a competent person has been carried out and the finding implemented to the satisfaction of the Chief Environment and Resources Officer of Flintshire County Council. Regulated Entertainment shall not take place outside the premises other than following the submission of a Temporary Event Notice. Closing Hours Sunday to Thursday - 10:00 am to 12:30 am the following morning Friday and Saturday - 10:00 am to 01:00 am the following morning Non- Standard Timings New Year’s Eve - 10:00 am to 10:00 am the following morning Christmas Eve - 10:00 am to 02:00 am the following morning Boxing Day - 10:00 am to 02:00 am the following morning Closing time on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day 30 minutes later Notices Prominent, clear and legible notices shall be displayed at all exits requesting the public to respect the needs of local residents and to leave the premises and area quietly. 14. REASONS i) The nature and size of the premises ii) To take into account the recommendations of the Chief Environment & Resources Officer and the North Wales Police and representations of interested parties to prevent public nuisance. Approved DateF-LSC-19.09.05(Mercia Inn) - 781 -
