Agenda item

To receive and consider the Review of Statement of Licensing Policy 2024 report.

Keiran Hinchliffe presented the Review of Statement of Licensing Policy 2024 report.

The Council had a duty to review its Statement of the Licensing Policy every five years.  The Committee was requested to consider the representations received during the consultation period and make recommendations before the policy was submitted for approval by the Council.

The key proposed amendments to the policy were as described in the agenda report.  The consultation showed that there was an overwhelming majority (92%) support of the new measures being proposed.

Keiran Hinchliffe drew particular attention to the measures aimed at promoting women’s safety in the night time, and the safety of employees going back home late at night.

With regards to the responses received by the Remenham residents and the Remenham Association in relation the possible adoption of a Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA), legal advice had been sought and the advice was to defer the consideration of a CIA to the next meeting.  The reason was that this issue required more research to enable a full and proper discussion of CIA.

Members were informed that there was a different set of governance procedure in relation to CIA, which was separate from the discussion around the main Licensing Policy.

During the discussion of the item the following comments and questions were made:

·           Members pointed out that the safety measures described in the report about getting home safely after work should be applied to all workers, not just women;

·           In response to a question, Keiran Hinchliffe clarified that the consideration of a CIA would be subject to consultation with all parties affected by it, including the parish Council, the residents and businesses.  It was appropriate to defer this item for a more detailed discussion;

·           Members asked for clarification on what was meant by ‘low cost’ for the pre-application advice?  Was there capacity in the team to undertake this work?

·           Members were informed that the pre-application advice was low cost if compared to solicitors’ fees, the price was set in a cost recovery model.  In terms of capacity, the officer time would still be needed during the process of consultation, having to meet with the licence holder, potentially having to organise mediation meetings.  In this model there was an element of cost recovery for the Council and potential benefit for applicants in helping them to avoid pitfalls;

·           In relation to getting home safely after work, Members wondered if 11pm was an appropriate time for the borough.  After a robust debate it was agreed that 11pm was in line with national guidelines and suitable for Wokingham;

·           Members were informed that the new measures in relation to getting home safely would only apply to new licence applications or renewal licence applications;

·           Rachel Lucas, Legal Advisor to the Committee questioned the use of the word ‘supplemented’ as this was not sufficiently clear.  It was agreed that it was more appropriate to use the word ‘reimbursed’ instead;

·           In response to a comment, Keiran Hinchliffe stated that it would be appropriate to request a risk assessment, tailored to local conditions, from applicants in relation to staff travel home after work;

·           In response to a question about the CIA, Keiran Hinchliffe explained that if the Committee decided to adopt a CIA, it would not be possible to implement it in time for it to have an impact on this year’s events in the summer.

In response to the questions raised by Remenham Residents Association, Keiran Hinchliffe made the following statements:

·           In relation to the request that Remenham Residents Association and Remenham Parish Council be invited to attend the Safety Advisory Group (SAG) – this was advisory group and in order to keep all parties willing to take part in the group (some operators had objected to the attendance of residents’ associations and the Parish Council), and for security reasons, residents’ associations were not invited to attend.

·           In relation to comments about Temporary Event Notices (TEN) – these were statutory measures.  However, it was likely that this year Officers would encourage those premises users to submit permanent licence applications.  This was to address some issues that had been identified, as it was not possible to impose conditions on TENs.  Also, only Environmental Health Officers had the ability to object to TENs.

·           In relation to comments about the environmental impact of licences in a rural area – this would be considered individually, and not as part of the policy.  This consideration could be taken for new licence applications or for review of licences.

Upon being put to the vote, Members were in favour of the adoption of the Statement of Licensing Policy 2024 as amended during the discussions.

Rachel Lucas explained that questions to the Committee were subject to the rules stated in the Council’s Constitution and had to be submitted in advance of the meeting.  Members of the public could only speak at the discretion of the Chairman.

Councillor Rowland stated that Members and Officers would be working with Remenham residents outside of the meeting to discuss the issue of CIA.

RESOLVED That:

1)     The get me home safe campaign would estipulate:

          i.    the time of 11pm for premises to reimburse workers to travel back home safely

         ii.    a risk assessment, taking into account the local context, will be required from applicants

2)     The consideration of a Cumulative Impact Assessment will be undertaken at the March 2024 meeting of the Committee;

3)     The Statement of Licensing Policy 2024, as amended, be endorsed by the Committee and submitted to the March Council meeting for final approval.