Agenda and draft minutes

The Licensing Panel considered the appointment of a Chairman for the meeting.

Resolved:

That Councillor D Scott be appointed Chairman for the meeting.

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

(1) the type of interest concerned

(2) the nature of the interest concerned; and

(3) whether they have or have not sat on a Planning Committee which has previously considered a planning application in respect of a licensed premises which is also subject to consideration for a premises licence as part of the agenda for this meeting.

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

(Members are asked to also pay particular attention to the guidance sheet on interests supplied with the agenda).

There were no declarations of interest on this occasion.

The Chairman of the Panel will summarise the procedure and announce the equal maximum amount of time for each party to speak for the hearing.

A.         Items 1 and 4 (b) will be undertaken in private session by the Panel and not in the Meeting Room.

B.         Items 2, 3 and 4(a) will be recommended to the Panel to be held in public.

C.         The Panel may decide to exclude the public from all or part of a hearing where it considers that the public interest in so doing outweighs the public interest in the hearing, or that part of the hearing, taking place in public. (This includes a party and any person assisting or representing a party)

The Chairman explained the procedure for the meeting, including the order in which the application and representations would be heard and that an equal time limit of twenty minutes had been allocated for each party.

To consider an application in respect of a new Premises Licence for Marvin’s, 19-23 Highfield Road, Blackpool, FY4 2JD.

A. Application and representations submitted. To consider the attached report.

B. Determination of the application for a new Premises Licence – Marvin’s.

The Licensing Panel will indicate how the decision is to be communicated to interested parties.

The Licensing Panel considered an application for a new Premises Licence in respect of Marvin’s, 19-23 Highfield Road, Blackpool, FY4 2JD.

Representations had been received from two members of the public, Mr William Etherington who was in attendance and Mr Owen Newman who was unable to attend but whose comments were considered in his absence. Mr Alex Huckerby appeared before the Panel on behalf of the applicant, Marvin’s Blackpool Limited, accompanied by his representative Mr Mark Marshall.

Presenting the applicant’s case, Mr Marshall explained that Marvin’s Blackpool Limited was a reputable operator who had experience in running other similar premises on the Fylde Coast. The Panel was advised that the application was to convert a former retail premises into a bar which would provide the sale of alcohol and entertainment from 11.00 to midnight Monday to Thursday and 11.00 to 01.00 Friday to Sunday. An additional 30 minutes would be provided after the cessation of licensable activities before the premises closed to allow for the gradual dispersal of patrons.

Addressing concerns raised by the objectors that the premises was to be a nightclub, Mr Marshall explained that the premises did not intend to operate late enough to meet all the criteria to be classified as such according to guidance issued by the Government during the Coronavirus pandemic. He further informed the Panel that he considered the proposed capacity of approximately 200 persons to be modest.

In regards to concerns of potential noise nuisance to adjacent properties, Members were advised that professionally designed soundproofing would be installed at the premises to industry standard specifications. The applicant offered to test the soundproofing from within the adjoining properties following installation to ensure that the sound attenuation was fit for purpose before the venue opened and, if not adequate, further work would be undertaken at the operator’s expense to rectify.

Mr Marshall referred to other licensed premises in the vicinity which operated to the same terminal hour as that proposed. As a result he did not believe that there would be any nuisance caused by the migration of customers between venues in the area at closing time and indicated that the granting of an earlier terminal hour could exacerbate the potential for that problem. Door supervisors would manage the dispersal of patrons and smokers outside the premises to prevent disturbance to local residents.

Members were reminded that no objections had been submitted by any of the Responsible Authorities and the Panel’s attention was drawn to the conditions that had been agreed and volunteered by the applicant as part of a pre-application consultation with Environmental Protection and Lancashire Constabulary. Mr Marshall concluded that the robust conditions offered would ensure that the premises would have no detrimental effect on the Licensing Objectives and therefore invited the Panel to grant the application.

Mr Etherington presented his representations to the Panel and explained that he was the landlord of the adjoining building to Marvin’s. His property shared a boundary wall with the proposed premises and he expressed concerns  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.