Agenda and minutes

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

Councillor Mrs Diane Chambers was elected as Chairman. 

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

The Panel agreed that the Chairman sign the record of this meeting outside the meeting.

There were none. 

The Chairman 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. 

(a)               Personal interests under the Medway Code of Conduct.

A Councillor who declares a personal interest in a matter, including the nature of the interest, may stay, speak, and vote on the matter.

(b)               Prejudicial interests under the Medway Code of Conduct.

A Councillor who declares a personal and prejudicial interest in a matter, including the nature of the interest, must withdraw from the room and take no part in the debate or vote on the matter.

Councillors who have declared a personal and prejudicial interest may make representations, answer questions and give evidence before leaving the room but only if members of the public are allowed to attend for the same purpose.

If an interest is not declared at the outset of the meeting, it should be disclosed as soon as the interest becomes apparent. 

There were none. 

Discussion:

The Panel heard an application for the grant of a licence for a sexual entertainment venue at ‘Tenshi’, Casino Rooms, Blue Boar Lane, Rochester.

The application was to enable the activities of lap dancing, pole dancing and strip shows on:

Wednesday               20:00 to 03:00

Thursday               20:00 to 03:00

Friday               20:00 to 03:00

Saturday               20:00 to 03:00.

              The Licensing and Local Land Charges Manager advised the meeting that as result of the new legislation referred to in paragraph 2 of the report, there were no longer “grandfather rights” for existing clubs to continue to provide relevant entertainment (previously licenced under the Licensing Act 2003) and as such were required to make a new application under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 as amended by the Policing and Crime Act 2009.

              The Licensing and Local Land Charges Manager advised that the application had been correctly advertised in the press and at the premises and referred to and explained each of the appendices to the report.

The panel heard from the applicant:

·        The papers shown at Appendix B in the report demonstrated how the venue was planned and would be operated

·        The applicant asked that the reference to an article from The Guardian newspaper, attached to an objector’s written statement, was not taken into account, as it was an extract from a full article and only referred to one part of the that article

·        If the panel was minded to grant the application, the applicant requested clarification of the possible condition 16 (on page 60 of the agenda) with regard to the word “outside” and whether this meant a physical presence or if it incorporated the internet. If it included the internet, then they would oppose this condition

·        The applicant had operated a licence for this type of activity for 19 years and there had been no problems, complaints or applications for review throughout the 19 years of licensed activity. There had been no conditions imposed in previous licensing regimes and it was important that this multi-purpose entertainment venue in Rochester continued to cater for all types of events

·        The venue was situated in an historic area and therefore it was important that it was extremely well run. Its sister-venue, the Circus Tavern in Essex, was a success in its own right and frequently hired by national companies for corporate events and it was proposed that ‘Tenshi’ offered the same facilities

·        The applicant planned to invest £150,000 in refurbishing the area to hold the entertainment applied for. It would be very different from other areas within the Casino Rooms with a higher quality of operation

·        The proposed venue would attract both male and female customers and it was a mis-conception that it would only be groups of men. Smart dress would be expected and the drinks would not be cheap as the customers would be coming for a high-end market product

·        The police were not objecting to the application, as the venue was not associated with trouble

·        The layout of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 767.

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 this report.

Decision:

That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the decision-making process relating to agenda item 6because consideration of these matters in public would disclose information falling within Paragraph 5of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as specified in agenda item 7,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.