Agenda item

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 response, the applicant said that, for certain events, door staff would be employed and they would ensure that patrons exited the venue and car park quietly. He stressed that there had been no issues or disturbances during the regular comedy nights and added that, over the past year, there had been around 30 parties at the venue. The applicant advised that the fort had a contract with Veolia for rubbish collection and had also joined a Community Payback scheme for the clearance of rubbish from the surrounding area.

In response to questions from members of the Panel regarding the potential for noise disturbance, the applicant advised that the bar would be moved into the middle room and a lobby with double doors together with the use of acoustic pads would reduce noise levels. There would be no music played outside. Door staff would be employed for music events but would not be required for comedy nights which only attracted audiences of around 30 people; the capacity of the venue was 120 and there were 177 parking spaces in the car park to the front of the fort. The applicant was planning to install sound equipment which would enable sound levels to be controlled by a noise limiter.

The applicant said that he was aware that he needed to obtain other permissions and offered to amend the premises licence application to reduce the days and times when licensable activities would be permitted. He also offered to hold monthly meetings with local residents. He said that he had applied for every day of the week to cover all eventualities but advised that he now wished to restrict the hours to the following:

·           Thursday 19:00 - 22:00

·           Friday      19:00 - 22:30

·           Saturday 12:00 - 23:00

·           Sunday   12:00 - 18:00

The Chairman invited the objectors present at the hearing to outline their representations against the application. They expressed concern that the venue would operate as a night club which might therefore attract people who would drink to excess or use drugs. This would have a negative impact on local residents and their properties. The objectors were particularly concerned that young children, including pupils at the nearby school, might witness anti-social behaviour.

Responding to questions from the objectors, the applicant stressed that the fort would not operate as a night club; the intention was to offer a licenced bar to help fund the venue. The mobile building on the site was used by security staff when 24 hour security was required. There was also currently a temporary building on the site that was a show home for a sheltered housing project to help homeless people.

In response to questions from Panel members, the objectors said that they had never complained about past events at the fort as they were only held intermittently but they were concerned that, if events were to be held more frequently, they would suffer regular disturbance. The reduced hours offered by the applicant did not fully alleviate their concerns as events could still be held every Thursday to Saturday night.

The Chairman asked all parties to leave the room whilst the Panel considered its decision.

Decision:

In considering the application for a new premises licence for Fort Luton, Magpie Hall Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 5XJ, the Licensing Hearing Panel had regard to the Licensing Act 2003, the statutory guidance issued under S182 of the Act, the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and all matters before it, both written and oral.

The Panel:

1.     Granted a premises licence in line with the amended application, with the days and times of the licensable activities applied for restricted to the following:

·           Thursday       19:00 - 22:00

·           Friday             19:00 - 22:30

·           Saturday        12:00 - 23:00

·           Sunday          12:00 - 18:00

2.     Instructed that the Authority’s standard condition on risk assessments be attached to the premises licence, so that each proposed event could be assessed to determine if door staff would be required, and if so, how many.

3.     Recommended that the applicant hold monthly meetings with residents, as he proposed.

4.     Reminded the applicant that he was also required to apply for planning permission.