Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Kemp and Councillor Sands.  

To approve the record of the meeting held on 23 August 2023.

The record of the meeting held on 23 August 2023 was agreed and signed by the Chairperson as correct.  

The Chairperson will announce any late items which do not appear on the main agenda but which he/she has agreed should be considered by reason of special circumstances to be specified in the report. 

There were none. 

Members are invited to disclose any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Significant Interests in accordance with the Member Code of Conduct. Guidance on this is set out in agenda item 4.

Disclosable pecuniary interests

There were none.

Other significant interests (OSIs)

There were none.

Other interests

There were none.

To present Members with the proposed consultation methodology in respect of the three yearly review of the Cumulative Impact Assessment.

Discussion:

The Assistant Licensing Manager informed the Committee that the Cumulative Impact Assessment had been in place in Medway since 2018 and needs to be reviewed every three years. The current Cumulative Impact Assessment would expire on 30 April 2024 and in accordance with the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003 the review must be consulted on.

The Committee were informed that the consultation process seeks views from responsible authorities and interested parties about whether the restrictions imposed by the Cumulative Impact Assessment should be removed, remain as they are or be amended. It was explained that the four-week consultation period would begin no later than 8 January 2024 and the results of the process would be reported back to a future Committee.

Members queried how the areas in the Cumulative Impact Assessment were selected and were informed that the selected areas were based on evidence provided by the responsible authorities when it was initially created and as an outcome of each review process.

In response to a request that the consultation period did not coincide with the Christmas holidays it was confirmed that it would begin after the holiday period.  The Committee also queried how wide and targeted the consultation process was and were informed that all responsible authorities and licensed premises were contacted directly, and the public would be consulted via the Medway website. Members were reassured that the use of social media would also be explored.

Members expressed concern about the messaging for the selected areas and requested that the messaging should be carefully considered so that it would not cause undue concern for residents.

Decision:

Members agreed to note the consultation process and instructed officers to proceed with the consultation process, to use various social media platforms available but to be cautious about the messaging used.