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 21 September 2021 as a true and correct record.

The Licensing Committee considered the minutes of the last meeting held on 21 September 2021.

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 21 September 2021 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

Members are requested to consider the formation of a Public Protection Sub-Committee for the forthcoming Municipal Year.

The Committee considered the formation of a Public Protection Sub-Committee for the Municipal Year 2022/2023 and the appointment of a Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Sub-Committee.

During consideration of decision 4, appointment of Chairman of the Public Protection Sub-Committee, Councillor Hutton vacated the chair and the Democratic Governance Senior Advisor conducted the election for this post.

Resolved:

1.      To agree to the formation of a politically balanced Public Protection Sub Committee with a membership of 6 (3 Labour, 3 Conservative).

2.      To note the membership of the proposed Sub-Committee as informed by the Group Leaders as follows: Councillors Cox, Farrell, Hunter, Hutton, D Scott and Wilshaw.

3.      To agree that the functions assigned to the Public Protection Sub-Committee continue to be those as set out in Part 3 of the Council’s Constitution.

4.      To appoint Councillor Adrian Hutton as Chairman of the Public Protection Sub-Committee for the Municipal Year 2022-2023.

5.      To appoint Councillor Danny Scott as Vice-Chairman of the Public Protection Sub-Committee for the Municipal Year 2022-2023.

6.      To request the Public Protection Sub-Committee to consider the start-time of its future meetings.

To update the Committee on the status of policies within its area of responsibility.

The Licensing Committee received an update on the status of policies within its area of responsibility.

Mrs Sharon Davies, Senior Solicitor, explained that the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy, Horse Drawn Hackney Carriage Licensing Policy and the Statement of Policy and Principles – Gambling Act 2005 were due for review. It was intended that the Licensing Committee would be asked to consider drafts of the Gambling Act and Hackney Carriage and Private Hire policies at a meeting in the autumn and that the Public Protection Sub-Committee would be presented with a revised Horse Drawn Hackney Carriage Policy for consideration in September.

The Statement of Licensing Policy – Licensing Act 2003 and Sex Establishment Policy were not scheduled for review until 2025 and 2026 respectively.

Resolved:

To note the update on the status of policies within the Licensing Committee’s area of responsibility.

To update the Committee on the details of licences applied for, dealt with and appealed in the period 1 September 2021 to 30 April 2022 and to update the Committee on recent licensing enforcement activities.

The Licensing Committee received an update on the details of licences applied for, dealt with and appealed in the period 01 September 2021 to 30 April 2022 together with an update on licensing enforcement activities.

Mrs Sharon Davies, Senior Solicitor, advised that during that period, under the Licensing Act 2003, 17 applications for new Premises Licences had been granted without objection and three had been refused at a hearing. One appeal was ongoing in relation to the Licensing Panel’s decision to grant a new Premises Licence for Marvin’s, 19-23 Highfield Road, which was listed to be heard at Court on 8 June 2022.

Mr Lee Petrak, Trading Standards and Licensing Manager, updated the Committee on the work of the Licensing Enforcement team. In the same period, 17 complaints had been received in relation to premises licensed under the Licensing Act, 18 in relation to taxis and 10 relating to unlicensed animal boarding establishments, all of which had been successfully dealt with. The Public Protection team had begun collaborative working with Lancashire Constabulary and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service to tackle problem premises and Mr Petrak reported that this joined up approach had been a success.

A taxi enforcement operation had taken place in conjunction with Roads Policing in March which had identified a number of minor vehicle defects, all of which had been resolved. Monitoring of licensed premises over the “Young Farmers” weekend at the start of May had taken place alongside the Police and further control options were being considered for the event in future years.

The Committee thanked Mr Petrak and the Licensing Team for their work and welcomed the engagement with the Police and Fire Services.

Resolved:

To note the update on licences considered, dealt with and appealed and to note the update on Licensing Enforcement.