Rother District Council

LICENSING & GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE

GENERAL LICENSING PANEL

8 July 2009

Minutes of the General Licensing Panel held at the Town Hall, Bexhill-on-Sea on Wednesday 8 July 2009 at 1.30pm.

There were present:

Members of the General Licensing Panel:

Councillors Mrs W.M. Miers, R.H. Patten and Mrs F.M. Winterborn.

Other Members present:

Councillor A.E. Ganly.

Interested Parties (Pestalozzi International Village)

Applicant: Mr D. Wiltshire (Applicant), Mr M Rudd (Counsel for Applicant), Mr S. Mason (Site Manager) and Ms D Martin (Pestalozzi Marketing Officer).

Responsible Authorities: Stephen Mills (Senior Environmental Health Officer, Noise Pollution), Nicholas Dawson (Senior Environmental Health Officer, Health & Safety), Cathy Wolfe (Sussex Police Licensing Officer) and Inspector Scott (Sussex Police).

Objectors: Mr R. Archer, Mr C. Waters, Mr Taylor, Mrs Taylor, D. C. Ebdy, Mr K. J. Weston, Mrs A. V. Weston, R. B. Harrod, Mr J. Hooker, Ms J. Banner, Mr M. Latham, Mrs D. Oldridge, Mr Chapman, Mrs Chapman, Mr E. W. Cornford, Ms E. Z. Bullen, Mrs P. Raymond, Mr Esmonde-White, Mrs V. Wright, Mr Harris, P. Broomhead and E. Bambrough.

Advisory officers: Head of Environmental Health, Licensing and Litigation Lawyer, Senior Environmental Health Officer (Licensing) and 2 Democratic Services Officers.

Also present: 5 members of the public and the press.

LP09/04. APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN

Councillor R.H. Patten was duly appointed as Chairman of the Panel for this hearing.

LP09/05. MINUTES

The Chairman was authorised to sign the minutes of the meeting of the General Licensing Panel held on 26 May 2009 as a correct record of the proceedings.

LP09/06. APPLICATION FOR A PREMISES LICENCE -

(5.1) PESTALOZZI VILLAGE, LADYBIRD LANE, SEDLESCOMBE

Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Services that gave details of an application for a premises licence for Pestalozzi Village, Ladybird Lane, Sedlescombe. The application had been subject to representations and had therefore been referred to the General Licensing Panel for determination. A noise report had been submitted by the applicant prior to the hearing, this had been circulated to the Panel. Some additional information from one of the representors was also circulated to the Panel on the day of the hearing.

The Chairman introduced all who were present and gave general advice in regard to the hearing. The Panel then proceeded to hear the case following the adopted procedure and all parties present at the hearing were invited to address the Panel. Members deliberated on the application which was determined having regard to the four licensing objectives.

The hearing was adjourned 3 times. The first adjournment was to allow the representors and responsible authorities to consider the applicant’s amendment to his application. The second adjournment was to allow all parties present to have a break. The third adjournment was after all submissions had been heard. As the hearing had commenced at 1.30pm and final submissions were concluded at 6.40pm it was felt appropriate to adjourn the hearing and allow Members to make the decision on the following day, Thursday 9 July 2009 at 12.15pm, in accordance with the regulations.

RESOLVED: That the premises licence application be refused for the reasons set out in appendices 1 and 2.

CHAIRMAN

The meeting closed at 6.40pm (on 8 July).

The meeting was reconvened at 12.15pm on 9 July and closed at 1.55pm.

GLP090708/ljgs

Appendix 1

Rother District Council

DECISION NO 09/00431/LAPRE

GENERAL LICENSING PANEL DECISION NOTICE

Date of General Licensing Panel Meeting: 8 July 2009

Venue: Town Hall, Bexhill

Date of Decision: 9 July 2009

NAME AND ADDRESS OF PREMISES: / Pestalozzi International Village, Ladybird Lane, Sedlescombe.
NAME(S) OF APPLICANT: / Mr Wiltshire on behalf of Foxes Den Ltd.
REASON(S) FOR REPORT: / The report had been subject to 44 representations on public nuisance, crime and disorder and public safety from people who live within the vicinity.
It had also been subject to representations from the following responsible authorities: Rother District Council Planning Authority, Rother District Council Environmental Protection Act Authority, Rother District Council Health and Safety Inspector and Sussex Police.
DECISION MADE AND REASONS FOR IT: / Having considered all the evidence made available to the Panel, the Members agreed to refuse the application. The Panel heard from the applicant, his representative, his site manager and the owner of the site; they also heard from the Police representatives, an Environmental Health Officer (noise pollution) and an Environmental Health Officer (health and safety officer) and a number of the local residents who had made representations.
At the outset the applicant amended his application to permit a single event on the weekend of 21-23 August.
All of the responsible authorities who were present to make their representations outlined the absence of important technical information covering security, noise, health and safety and traffic management that had not been provided by the applicant. Offers were made by the applicant to provide this information by 31 July 2009 but Members were concerned at the lateness of these important details that were essential for making their decision.
The applicant outlined his proposals for the festival showing Members the layout of the site. The Members asked many questions about the details of the event relating to traffic flow, security, safety, noise and the impact on the immediate community to establish whether the proposals were sufficient to promote the licensing objectives.
The representors had been asked to nominate a number of representors to set out their concerns and a number of them addressed the Panel on the impact of the noise on their lives and their concerns for safety in the immediate vicinity due to the potential increases in both people and traffic. They raised concerns at the lateness of the proposed music and the affect of that upon what is a quiet rural area.
Members of the Panel considered all the evidence placed before them including regard to the licensing objectives, the guidance and the licensing policy. After due consideration they did not feel that the event could promote the licensing objectives and therefore refused the application.

A written or electronic copy of this Notice will be publicly available to all Parties, and published on the Council’s website.

Appendix 2

Rother District Council

PREMISES: Pestalozzi International Village, Sedlescombe

One Love Festival, 21-23 August 2009

DATE OF GENERAL LICENSING PANEL HEARING: 8 JULY 2009

Panel: Cllr Patten (Chair), Cllr Mrs Miers, Cllr Mrs Winterborn

Legal Adviser: Andrew Eaton

Other Officers: Lucinda Smith, Carolyn Turner (Democratic Services)

Debbie Welfare (Licensing Officer)

Relevant

Representatives: Inspector Scott (Police)

Ms C Wolfe (Police)

Mr S Mills (EHO)

Mr N Dawson (EHO)

Mr Parker-Harding (EHO)

Interested Parties: Robin Archer, Clive Waters, W R Cameron, Mr Taylor, Mrs Taylor

(who attended) D C Ebdy, Mr K J Weston, Mrs A V Weston, R B Harrod,

John Hooker, Joyce Banner, Michael Latham, Dorothy Oldridge,

Mr Chapman, Mrs Chapman, E W Cornford, Ms E Z Bullen,

Mrs P Raymond, Mr Esmonde White, Mrs Valerie Wright, Mr Harris

Applicant: Mr Dan Wiltshire

Mr Michael Rudd (Barrister)

Debbie Martin (rep from Pestalozzi)

Mr S Mason

Application: Premises Licence for One Love Festival 21-23 August 2009

Pestalozzi Village Estate, Sedlescombe (event field north-east of main Pestalozzi buildings

Decision:

REFUSED. We have listened carefully to all the representations made to the Sub-Committee by the Applicant, Responsible Authorities and the Interested Parties. We have also read the written representations included in the report to the Sub-Committee from those interested parties who did not attend, together with the noise policy and the stewarding details that were provided by the applicant on 7th July. We have considered the likely effects of the grant of this premises licence on the promotion of the licensing objectives. We have had regard to the section 182 Guidance issued by the Secretary of State and also our own statement of licensing policy. We have refused the application on the basis that the applicant has failed to demonstrate this application would promote the licensing objectives.

REASONS: Although the applicant provided an Event Information Manual for the planned event for 21-23 August 2009 (the One Love Festival); it failed to set out any steps in its operating schedule. The Applicant failed to set out an adequate and appropriate operating schedule for the operation of the premises, considering the type, site and operating hours such a premises required. At the hearing the Applicant promised prior to the first event, if the premises licence were granted, to provide a full site specific noise report, a site specific traffic management report and a site specific health and safety assessment. Having considered this offer, the Sub-Committee took the view that the inadequacy of the operating schedule in the application, and as subsequently developed by submissions at the hearing, the Committee were satisfied these inadequacies could not be remedied. For these reasons the application is refused.

A written or electronic copy of this Statement will be publicly available to all Parties, and published on the Council's website.

Signed: Cllr. ……………………………….. Panel Chairman

Dated: ……………………………………..

Right of Appeal

Under the provisions of S.181 and Schedule 5 of the Licensing Act 2003 there is a right of appeal against the decision of the Licensing Committee if you are aggrieved at the outcome. This right of appeal extends to the applicant in the case of a refusal or restrictions on the licence, or the imposition of conditions to the licence. the right of appeal also extends to persons who have made representations where the licence has been granted, or that relevant conditions have not been imposed upon the licence. Full details of all the rights of appeal can be found within Schedule 5 of the Act.

Any appeal should be made to the Magistrates Court, Bohemia Road, Hastings, within 21 days from the date of notification of the decision. You must contact the Magistrates Court to establish the formal procedure for the appeal.