Agenda and draft minutes

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

Decision:

It was agreed that Councillor Carr be appointed Chairman of this meeting.

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

Decision:

It was agreed that the Chairman, after consultation with other members of the Panel sign the minutes outside of 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 member need only disclose at any meeting the existence of a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) in a matter to be considered at that meeting if that DPI has not been entered on the disclosable pecuniary interests register maintained by the Monitoring Officer.

A member disclosing a DPI at a meeting must thereafter notify the Monitoring Officer in writing of that interest within 28 days from the date of disclosure at the meeting.

A member may not participate in a discussion of or vote on any matter in which he or she has a DPI (both those already registered and those disclosed at the meeting) and must withdraw from the room during such discussion/vote.

Members may choose to voluntarily disclose a DPI at a meeting even if it is registered on the council’s register of disclosable pecuniary interests but there is no legal requirement to do so.

In line with the training provided to members by the Monitoring Officer members will also need to consider bias and pre-determination in certain circumstances and whether they have a conflict of interest or should otherwise leave the room for Code reasons. 

Councillor Carr stated that whilst he did not have a disclosable pecuniary interest, he wished to declare that he was a member of the City of Rochester Society but was not an active member.

Councillor Etheridge stated whilst she did not have a disclosable pecuniary interest, she wished it to be recorded that in the past year, as Deputy Mayor, she had addressed a meeting of the City of Rochester Society. 

This report requests that the Panel consider and determine an application for a licence for a Sexual Entertainment Venue at Tenshi 2 Rochester, 141 High Street, Rochester ME1 1EL 

Following a brief adjournment at the request of the Lawyer, the Chairman drew attention to the number of objectors in attendance at the hearing from the Historic Rochester Residents Association. He asked that where possible the objections of the Association be channeled through one speaker. He stressed that this did not prevent individual objectors from asking questions and summing up but pointed out that it would make the hearing run smoother if, at the point of making representations, these could be made by one individual.

The Panel was advised that this application was for a Sexual Entertainment Venue (SEV) Licence for Tenshi 2, located at 141 High Street, Rochester Kent ME1 1EL.

The Business Development and Licensing Manager advised that the application had been correctly advertised in the local press and notices displayed on the premises for the required timescale.

The Business Development and Licensing Manager advised that Licensing officers had confirmed with the Council’s Planning Section that planning permission had been granted for change of use from an indoor market (Class A1 retail unit) to a bar /restaurant (mixed Class A3/A4 use) on 10 May 2012 under planning application number MC/11/2932 with operating hours of 08.00 to 23.00 Mondays to Saturdays and 10.00 to 22.00 on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

The Panel received a report advising that the premises already held a licence for the sale of alcohol, regulated entertainment and late night refreshment but that this licence had not been used since being granted in 2006.

The committee report stated that as this premises was very long, it was now proposed that the premises be split into two venues with shared toilet facilities. The venue with main access from Rochester High Street would be a bar/café/restaurant. The SEV would have main access from Corporation Street, details of which were shown on a plan attached to the committee report at Appendix A.

The applicant was seeking the following hours/days to trade for the activities of lap dancing, pole dancing, table dancing and stripping (including full nudity):

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 Business Development and Licensing Manager confirmed that the application had been referred to the Panel for determination following receipt of relevant representations.

The applicant stated the following in support of his application:

• The key issues to be considered for this application were not the suitability of the applicant and the operation of the premises but the location of the premises, however, if any party had questions about the operation of the premises then he was happy to answer them.
• The premises for which the licence was being sought was not located on Rochester High Street and the plans on pages 17 and 18 of the agenda showed that the location of the venue was set back from the High Street. A photograph of the rear of the property was circulated.
• The only shared area between the front and rear venues would be the toilets, but it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.

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 Panel agreed to exclude the press and public under paragraph 5 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 for the decision-making element of the licence application considered.