Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to declare any interests in the items under consideration and in doing so state:

(1) the type of interest concerned either a

(a)   personal interest

(b)   prejudicial interest

(c)    disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI)

and

(2) the nature of the interest concerned

If any member requires advice on declarations of interests, they are advised to contact the Head of Democratic Governance in advance of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest on this occasion.

To agree the minutes of the last meeting held on 2 July 2019 as a true and correct record.

The Sub-Committee considered the minutes of the last meeting held on 2 July 2019.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 2 July 2019 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

Resolved: That under Section 100 (A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the whole item, including the decisions referred to at Agenda items 4, 5 and 7 and Appendix 6(a-f), to the report at Agenda item 6, is not for publication on the grounds that it would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

The Sub-Committee considered an application to license a modified Horse-Drawn Hackney Carriage.

The applicant Mr Bradley was in attendance at the meeting.

Mr Petrak, Trading Standards and Licensing Manager, who was in attendance, informed the Sub-Committee that the Carriage on display had been inspected by the Council’s Carriage Inspector and been approved for use.

Resolved:

That the application to license a modified Horse-Drawn Hackney Carriage be granted in the case of Mr Bradley as it had been passed as fit for use by the Council’s Carriage Inspector.

(This item contains personal information regarding an applicant which is exempt from publication by virtue of Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972)

The Sub-Committee was informed of an applicant who had given sufficient cause for concern as to be referred to the Sub-Committee for consideration.

Members discussed the application as appropriate.

L.A.E. (New Applicant)

NOTE: At the Sub-Committee meeting on 12 June 2019, the decision was taken to refuse the application for a Donkey Driver’s Licence on the grounds that the applicant was not a fit and proper person to be licensed. However, it later emerged that the applicant was incorrectly notified of the location of the meeting and would therefore be afforded another opportunity for his representations to be heard by the Sub-Committee.

Mr Petrak presented the case on behalf of the authority. He explained that the applicant had committed two offences that had involved damage to property, both of which had occurred within the last 12 months.

LAE was in attendance and explained the circumstances surrounding his convictions. He suggested that following an argument with his partner he had damaged some homewares. He apologised for his actions and claimed that he had since self-enrolled on an anger management course, completed his mandatory community service order and he now wished to put the unfortunate incident behind him.

The Sub-Committee remained concerned about the nature and recency of the offences committed by the applicant though Members felt he had demonstrated remorse and a willingness to improve his behaviour.

Resolved:

1.      To set aside the decision previously made in relation to the application on 12 June 2019 as the applicant had been incorrectly notified of the venue for the meeting.

2.      To grant the application for a Donkey Driver’s Licence with the addition of a warning letter in relation to future conduct.

Background papers: exempt

(This item contains personal information regarding an applicant which is exempt from publication by virtue of Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972)

The Sub-Committee was informed of an applicant and existing driver who had given sufficient cause for concern as to be referred for consideration.

Members discussed the application and referral as appropriate.

(i) S.F (New Applicant)

The authority’s case focused on the applicant’s list of previous convictions, some of which were for offences of a violent nature and for dishonesty. In addition, the applicant had failed to declare any criminal convictions or motoring offences on the application to be licensed.

SF explained that he had made mistakes in the past and all of his previous convictions were now spent. He suggested that at least some of those offences were committed during a period when he had had to deal with trauma and mental health issues. The applicant added that he had been operating a delivery business with his wife for many years without incident and wished to drive a taxi in the remaining years before his retirement. He claimed that he thought his convictions were classed as spent and therefore there was no requirement to declare them on the application to be licensed.

The Sub-Committee expressed concerns about the erratic frequency and nature of the applicant’s convictions but reasoned they were largely historical and SF seemed to have moved past his period of offending and had a proven track record and employment history without incident.

Resolved:

1.To grant the Private Hire and Hackney Carriage Driver’s Licence with the addition of a severe warning letter in relation to future conduct.

2.To not prosecute the applicant for non-disclosure of offences on the application to be licensed.

(ii)    K.J.M (Existing Driver)

The Sub-Committee was shown a short video clip which contained footage obtained from a complainant’s dashboard camera of the licence holder driving in a dangerous and reckless manner. KJM, who was in attendance, suggested that he had exercised poor judgement in relation to his driving on that day and apologised for his behaviour. He added that he had recently begun driving during the day after an extended period of working night shifts and had not taken a sufficiently long break or allowed himself to ease gently back in to the stresses and increased traffic associated with driving during the day.

Given the very clear and irrefutable video evidence presented and lack of reasonable grounds to explain the actions of the licence holder, the Sub-Committee formed the opinion that the standard of driving fell below that expected of a fit and proper person. Members took into consideration the length of time the driver had been licenced and the letter in support produced from his employer. This allowed the Sub-Committee to deal with this by way of a suspension rather than a revocation on this occasion.

Resolved:

To suspend the Private Hire Driver’s Licence for a period of one month with immediate effect, in order to ensure the safety of the public.

Background papers: exempt

(The report for this item is public. However, Appendices 6(a-f) contain information

regarding complainants and licence holders which is exempt from publication by virtue of Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. It is considered on balance that the public interest would not be served by publishing the information as it could prejudice the outcome)

At the previous meeting on 2 July 2019, the Sub-Committee agreed to defer consideration of the application for the renewal of the Sexual Entertainment Venue (SEV) Licence for Eden One to allow the Licensing Service sufficient additional time to investigate a serious complaint made against the premises.

At its meeting on 4 December 2018, the Sub-Committee previously considered the application by John Simon Sayers for the renewal of the Sexual Entertainment Venue (SEV) Licence for Eden One, First and Second Floor, 15-17 Queen Street Blackpool. Following the application, both the Police and Trading Standards had submitted representations detailing a number of concerns and requesting the imposition of additional conditions. At that meeting, concerns were expressed about the nature and extent of the complaints received about the over-charging of customers. The Sub-Committee noted the suggested conditions; however, they remained concerned as to their effectiveness in resolving the issues. The Sub-Committee stated that they expected to see a significant reduction in complaints and concerns.

Mr Petrak presented the authority’s case. He explained that in addition to the afore mentioned complaints from patrons about possible overcharging, a serious complaint had been received regarding second degree burns received by a member of the public at Eden One during the course of a group event held on the first floor of the club. Members were shown CCTV footage of the incident and still images of the significant burns received by the complainant during the course of the show. Mr Petrak suggested that he had no issue with the administration of the club. However, it was clear from the footage and images that several of the licence conditions had not been adhered to, which included performers using mobile phones in the performance area and being visible on the exterior balcony and a lack of visible presence of supervisory or management staff during the period when the incident had occurred.

Ms Ashley Sayers, proprietor, Eden One was in attendance with legal representation from Mr Charalambides, Licensing Barrister and Mr Malcolm Ireland, Solicitor. Also in attendance was the member of management staff who was in the club at the time of the incident and the dancer seen in the footage who had burned the complainant.

In relation to the allegations of overcharging, it was suggested that most of those incidents reported to the Police had led to no further action being taken. It was implied that as such, there was no case to answer. It was accepted that in one case in particular, a dancer had initially failed to declare that a customer had effectively been charged twice for a performance and in the days that followed, the customer was subsequently refunded the amount overcharged. Further printed evidence was presented to the Sub-Committee which appeared to demonstrate accurate accounting practices by the Licence Holder and seemed to support the claims disputing instances of overcharging.

With regard to the incident in which the complainant had been burned during a performance, the Licence Holder claimed that working in a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

(This item contains personal information regarding an applicant which is exempt from publication by virtue of Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972)

The Sub-Committee considered a Horse-Drawn Hackney Carriage Licence applicant who had been convicted of offences or who had otherwise given reasons for concern.

Members discussed the application as appropriate.

L.S (New applicant)

Mr Petrak presented the case on behalf of the authority. He drew the Sub-Committee’s attention to the applicant’s recent motoring conviction for operating a vehicle without appropriate insurance and his subsequent failure to declare the conviction on the application to be licensed. The Sub-Committee was informed that since the agenda had been dispatched, new information had come to light that the applicant’s insurance company at the time of the offence had contacted the applicant in writing and admitted to having made an administrative error. This meant that in fact, on the date of the offence LS was actually covered by his insurance policy. The Police advised that they would therefore not be recording an offence and the applicant would not need to attend court.

LS was in attendance and echoed Mr Petrak’s comments that the incident had all been an unfortunate misunderstanding initially created by an administrative error.

The Sub-Committee saw no reason not to grant the licence in light of the mitigating information provided, which meant that no offence had actually been committed.

Resolved:

To grant the Horse Drawn Hackney Carriage Licence.

Background Papers: exempt

To note the date of the next scheduled meeting as 10 September 2019 in Committee Room A, Town Hall, Blackpool.

The date of the next scheduled meeting was noted as 10 September 2019.