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.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor McDonald. Councillor Hackwell, as the fourth Member, joined the Panel.

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 Medway Pride CIC has applied for a new Premises Licence in respect of land on Doust Way, Rochester, Kent, ME1 1DA.

The responsible authorities have been consulted in line with the Licensing Act 2003.

Representations have been received from members of the public.

Discussion:

The Chairman explained the process that the hearing would follow as outlined on page 4 of the agenda and noted that the applicant had received a copy of the “Guidelines for Licensing Hearing Panels”.

The Senior Licensing Officer stated that, in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the Council had received an application from Medway Pride CIC for a new Premises Licence in respect of land on Doust Way, Rochester, Kent ME1 1DA. The application requested the licensable activities of recorded and live music and the performance of dance during the Medway Pride Festival to be held on Saturday 21 August 2021, from 11:00 to 20:30. The Senior Licensing Officer referred to Section M of the application at Appendix A of the agenda report, which listed the steps to be taken by the applicant in promoting the four licensing objectives.

The Senior 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 timescales. He added that the organisers had presented the event to the Medway Safety Advisory Group (Medway SAG) and that no representations had been received from the Responsible Authorities.

The application had been referred to the Licensing Hearing Panel for determination because the Council had received relevant representations relating to the licensing objectives of public safety and prevention of public nuisance from members of the public.

The Chairman invited the applicant, Hilary Cooke, to present the application. Being the Chair of Medway Pride CIC, she advised that it was a newly formed community group. The Medway Pride Festival would be its first face-to-face event as the same event last year was cancelled due to COVID-19 and subsequently held virtually instead. The event would be a celebration, demonstrating support for the local LGBTQIA+ community and providing an opportunity for attendees to meet with representatives of organisations providing relevant services such as counselling and mental health and wellbeing.

Hilary Cooke advised that a COVID Safe plan had been developed and that the 1,500 attendees would be required to pre-register for tickets. Regarding the location of the event, she stressed that the chosen area was an open space close to venues that were supportive of the LGBTQIA+ community. It was also a site with secure entry and exit points. 

As the objectors had not attended the hearing, the Chairman invited Panel members to question the applicant. Noting the proximity of the site to the river, a Member asked about precautions to be put in place to prevent accidents. The applicant’s representative, Carl Madjitey advised that the river was bounded by a reasonably high wall and that further facilities would be put on the wall to prevent such an accident from happening. He added that experienced security staff and stewards would be deployed at the event and that the organisers had engaged with the coastguard. In response to a related question on the serving of alcohol at commercial stalls, Carl Madjitey said that stall holders  ...  view the full minutes text for item 205.

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 item 6, because consideration of this matter in public would disclosure 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.