Agenda and minutes

The Panel is requested to elect a Chairman for the hearing in line with rules agreed by the Licensing and Safety Committee. 

 Councillor Mrs Diane Chambers was elected Chairman for this meeting.

There were none.

To agree that the Chairman, after consultation with the other members of the Panel, sign the record of this meeting outside the meeting. 

It was agreed that the Chairman, after consultation with the other members of the Panel, would sign the record of this meeting outside the meeting.

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 5.

Disclosable pecuniary interests

There were none.

Other significant interests (OSIs)

There were none.

Other interests

There were none.

The applicant has applied for a new Premises Licence in respect of Fort Luton, Magpie Hall Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 5XJ. All responsible authorities have been consulted in line with the Licensing Act 2003. Representations have been received from members of the public, Planning, and a Councillor. To date no agreement has been reached.

Discussion:

The Chairman asked those present to introduce themselves and explained the process that the hearing would follow as outlined in the agenda.

The Licensing Officer stated that, in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the Council had received an application for a new premises licence for Fort Luton, Magpie Hall Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 5XJ. The application requested the supply of alcohol (on the premises), live music and recorded music, for the following times:-

Monday to Friday                 12:00 to 23:00

Saturday to Sunday            10.00 to 23:00

Non-standard times:            New Year’s Eve extended to 01:00

The Licensing Officer confirmed that the application had been correctly advertised in the local press and notices had been displayed at the premises for the required timescale. She advised that, in accordance with section 9.14 of the Amended Guidance to the Licensing Act, planning permission ME/91/0032 permitted the premises to trade under the following hours:

•      Monday to Friday 10:00 to 16:30

•      Weekends and Bank Holidays 10:00 to 18:00

The application had been referred to the Licensing Hearing Panel for determination because the Council had received relevant representations relating to all four licensing objectives from members of the public, Planning and a Councillor.

The Chairman invited the applicant, Mr Robert Shand, to present the application. Mr Shand said that he wished to develop Fort Luton from a museum to an events venue with a licenced bar. The aim was for the venue to be self-sustainable as a community interest company with all monies invested back into the fort. The granting of a premises licence would enable the sale of alcohol to be controlled. Previously, either Temporary Event Notices (TENs) had been applied for or events were private with attendees supplying their own alcohol.

The Chairman invited the objectors to question the applicant. He was asked why he had not informed local residents of past events and was also questioned about a rave that had previously been held at the venue. He responded that events had been advertised in the shop and that the event referred to had not been a rave. However, he accepted that it had caused disturbance to residents. He had tried to shut it down after attempts to reduce the noise levels had been unsuccessful but he had been advised by security staff that this would make the situation more difficult to handle. Instead he had closed the event an hour early at 10:00pm. He apologised for the disturbance and assured residents that no such event would be held in the future. The applicant reiterated that, with the benefit of a premises licence, future events could be better controlled. He outlined the type of events that were currently held at the fort, these being charity comedy nights; themed music nights; and weekend events.

The objectors expressed concern about the effect of events at the fort on the surrounding residential areas and asked how issues such as noise; drunken behaviour; drug use; litter; and increased traffic/parking would be managed and mitigated. In  ...  view the full minutes text for item 849.

It is recommended that the Panel exclude the press and public from the meeting during the decision-making process for the reasons set out in the report. 

Decision:

The press and public were excluded from the meeting during the Panel’s deliberations and decision making in respect of agenda item6 because consideration of this matter in public would disclose information falling within paragraph 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as specified in agenda item 7 (Exclusion of the Press and Public) and, in all the circumstances of the case, the Panel considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information.