Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Brake, Howcroft-Scott, Hubbard, Jackson, Kemp and Peake.

To approve the record of the meeting held on 25 March 2026.

The record of the meeting held on 25 March 2026 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. 

The Chairperson noted that at the Committee meeting on 25 March the Committee considered the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy and recommended amendments to the Assistant Director, Legal and Governance and the Portfolio Holder for Community Safety, Highways and Enforcement for consideration. The proposed amendments were to remove the requirement for Private Hire vehicles to be red in colour and to instead state that Private Hire vehicles can be any colour but White.

The proposal was not taken forward, and Committee members have received significant correspondence from interested parties. The Chairperson undertook to arrange a meeting himself, the Vice Chairperson and Opposition Spokespersons with the Assistant Director of Legal and Governance and the Portfolio Holder for Community Safety Highways and Enforcement to discuss the matter further.

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.

The purpose of this report is to update the Licensing and Safety Committee of the work that has been undertaken in relation to pavement licensing and its enforcement in Medway.

Discussion:

The Regulatory Services Manager introduced the report. She highlighted that the report had been deferred from the last meeting of the Committee in March and to allow the attendance of enforcement officers. The reports sets out the enforcement strategy to support the implementation of the current policy and enforcement officers were in attendance to answer any queries from the Committee.

The following issues were discussed:

Enforcement – the Chair commented that at the last meeting, Members were content with the Policy however, they wanted additional information regarding enforcement. He invited The Strategic Head of Public Protection to provide further information regarding the enforcement strategy to support the policy. The Strategic Head of Public Protection explained that the logistics of enforcement, including removal of furniture did not present an issue for the Council. It was comparable to some of the other work which the service currently undertook, and the Council had a fleet of vehicles and secure storage available if removal and retention of furniture was required. An agreement was in place setting out how enforcement services would support the implementation of the Licensing Pavement Policy.

He added that the key to any enforcement policy was consistency, and proportionality. The service would work with businesses, however, the Council had to have compliance. The service was committed to enforcing the policy and the additional workload would not present an issue for the service.

Disposal – it was asked what the Council would do on those occasions that businesses did not pay for the return of furniture. The Head of Strategic Public Protection explained that after three months, the furniture would be disposed of, and any value would be recouped and retained by the Council.

Stock – in response to a question whether enforcement under the policy also included encroachment of stock onto the pavement, the Strategic Head of Public Protection stated that this was covered by a different policy which was under development and was the responsibility of Highways, but it would work in a broadly similar way.

Trial period - a Member requested further information regarding the trial which took place after Easter. The Senior Licensing Officer stated that 27 visits had been undertaken since April across four areas, Rainham Parkwood, Rochester, Walderslade and Chatham. The approach taken by officers was to work with businesses, explaining the process and encouraging them to apply for a license. The Strategic Head of Public Protection added that enforcement activity would not be a first step, and those subject to enforcement would have deliberately avoided complying with the policy.

A briefing note was requested to provide further data on applications for pavement licenses, refusals and the outcome of visits.

Enforcement notice period – in response to a question whether the 7-day notice period would have been to be repeated for repeat offenders, the Head of Community Protection stated that the notice period for removal of furniture did not expire, so once provided notice would not have to be given again.

Inadvertent non-compliance -  it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.