Agenda item

The Panel is requested to consider and determine an application for a premises licence in respect of the above. 

Discussion:

 

The Panel was advised that this application was for a new premises licence in respect of the Ground, including the pitch and tea bars at Priestfield Stadium, Redfern Avenue, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 4DD.

 

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 the Licensing and Local Land Charges Manager advised that the application had been correctly advertised in the local press and notices displayed on the premises for the required timescale.

 

The Licensing and Local Land Charges Manager advised that in accordance with section 9.14 of the Amended Guidance to the Licensing Act, Licensing officers have been in discussions with Planning and can confirm the current planning position is that the site can only be used as a football stadium with ancillary offices/bar etc (condition 5 of planning consent MC/98/0878MG/61/0029) and within the hours stated under planning reference MC2006/0669 of 0800 to 0100 on any day unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority.

 

The application was for the following:

 

Provisions of plays, films, boxing or wrestling entertainments, live music, recorded music and performance of dance - both on & off the premises

 

Monday to Sunday 10:00 to 00:00

           

Anything of a similar description to that falling in live music, recorded music and performance of dance - both on & off the premises

 

Monday to Sunday 10:00 to 00:00

 

Late night refreshment - both on & off the premises

 

Monday to Sunday23:00 to 00:00

                     

Supply of alcohol – both on & off the premises

 

Monday to Sunday10:00 to 00:00

 

Hours premises are open to the public

 

Monday to Sunday08:00 to 00:00

 

The Licensing and Local Land Charges Manager confirmed that the application had been referred to the Panel for determination following receipt of relevant representations.                                        

 

The applicant’s representative stated the following in support of the application:

 

·        The new licence would make it easier to follow than the current licence and covered specific sections of the ground. The old licence was unwieldy and covered every aspect of the football ground and would be incomprehensible to most people.

·        There was no intention to change the use of the football ground as the planning permission granted was for the intended use as a football ground. Outside of football matches the ground had held odd events, which were not licensable, such as the annual meeting of the Jehovahs Witnesses.

·        The pitch itself took a lot of nursing and there was a need to ensure that any events that took place inside the ground did not destroy or damage the pitch.

·        The original application had no limit to the number of days that the ground could be used to hold events. It was agreed that this was not the intended purpose of the application and in reality the only period that the pitch would be used to hold events would be in the football close season, namely May and June.

·        Referring to the objector’s representations raised the maximum number of events per annum that the club would look to hold was six and agreed that this could be reduced to four, and in no circumstances would the ground hold events on consecutive days. 

·        There was room to reduce the finishing times by one hour from 00:00 to 23:00.

·        With regards to noise nuisance the club was prepared to work with the environmental health team on a noise management plan and welcomed the team to investigate the noise nuisance. The club would only proceed with holding events if the environmental health team were satisfied that they had met the noise restriction requirements.

·        It was not possible to apply for a temporary event notice as the maximum number that would be allowed into the ground was 499 and the club had planned to hold events that could possibly fill the 11,400 capacity.

 

The applicant’s representative informed the panel that the club had agreed to the conditions from the environmental health team and were happy to follow a noise management plan.

 

It was noted that the ground does not have the ability to host events at the current time and that the first opportunity to hold an event was most likely to be in May 2015.

 

The Objectors and the Panel then asked a number of questions and the applicant responded as follows:

 

·        It was confirmed that finish time for the sale of alcohol would also be the finish time of the event itself. The applicant’s representative explained that the club, with advice from the police, were prepared to close the bars before the stated end time of the event.

·        The club was used to selling alcohol on match days from the bars and portable bars around the ground. There were strict controls on the sale of alcohol and it was envisaged that these stringent controls would be in force for any additional events being held.

·        It was confirmed that the pitch was not going to be used for seating, however, if the pitch could be protected should seating be placed on it, then this might be a possibility.

·        It was envisaged that people travelling to the ground would use the park and ride system similar to that on match days. The club had use of social media and would be able to organise, at short notice, where people could park.

·        The club had met with the safety advisory group on a number of occasions and had been in close contact with the police and other emergency services to talk through potential issues.

·        The applicant’s representative confirmed that the club had considered how to get people in and out of the club and had discussed this with the safety advisory group.

·        A number of football grounds around the country use their stadiums to hold events, without any issues.

·        It was noted that the applicant was not an expert in acoustics. However the club was prepared to accept the condition for a noise management plan from the environmental health team, and that no event would go ahead without their approval.

 

The objectors welcomed the comments from the applicant’s representative and were happy that their concerns had been responded to. The objectors then outlined some further concerns as follows:

 

·        Concern that the dispersal of people from the ground would cause sleep disturbance. The objector operated a large tanker, and if they were to fall asleep at the wheel it could have catastrophic consequences.

·        It was preferable to limit the number of events to a maximum of four a year and not on consecutive days.

·        That the applicant does liaise with environmental health team to ensure that noise nuisance is kept to a minimum.

 

The applicant’s representative welcomed the further comments from the objectors and confirmed that the club would work closely with the environmental health team before any event goes ahead.

 

Decision:

 

The Panel carefully considered the application for a new premises licence in respect of the Ground, including the pitch and tea bars at Priestfield Stadium, Redfern Avenue, Gillingham, Kent ME7 4DD, taking note of objections raised and decided to grant the application as follows:

 

Provisions of plays, films, boxing or wrestling entertainments, live music, recorded music and performance of dance - both on & off the premises

 

Monday to Sunday 10:00 to 23:00

           

Anything of a similar description to that falling in live music, recorded music and performance of dance - both on & off the premises

 

Monday to Sunday 10:00 to 23:00

 

Supply of alcohol – both on & off the premises

 

Monday to Sunday10:00 to 22:30

 

Hours premises are open to the public

 

Monday to Sunday08:00 to 23:00

 

The panel noted the removal of late night refreshment – on and off the premises, as this was no longer applicable.

 

The following conditions:

 

1.                  The management shall display prominent notices in all areas to remind spectators and members that it is prohibited to take alcohol drink outside the licensed areas.

 

2.                  On match days the management will notify the Football Intelligence Officer and/or Football Liaison Officer of where all temporary or mobile bars will be placed.

 

3.                  No alcohol may be taken away from the ground.

 

4.                  CCTV will be provided in the form of a recordable system, capable of providing pictures of evidential quality in all lighting conditions particularly facial recognition. Cameras shall encompass all ingress and egress to the premises, fire exits and all areas where the sale and supply of alcohol occurs. Equipment must be maintained in good working order, be correctly time and date stamped, recordings MUST be kept for a period of 31 days and handed to Police on request. The premises licence holder must ensure at all times a DPS or appointed member of staff is capable and competent at downloading CCTV footage in a format acceptable to the Police and Local Authority on demand. The recording equipment and recordings shall be kept in a secure environment under the control of the DPS or other responsible named individual. An operational daily log report must be maintained endorsed by signature, indicating the system has been checked and is compliant, in the event of any failings actions taken are to be recorded. In the event of technical failure of the CCTV equipment the premises licence holder or DPS must report in writing to the Police Licensing Officer for the area immediately.

 

5.                  Incidents/refusal records are to be kept by the Licence Holder. These records will detail the following:

 

·        Day, date and Time of incident/refusal

 

·        Nature of the incident/refusal

 

·        Resolution

 

·        Each entry to be checked and signed by a manager on the day of the event

 

·        The DPS will review the record at regular intervals and endorse the record accordingly

 

6.                  The performance of dance will not include performance of an adult nature, nor naked or semi-naked dancing.

 

7.                  A notice is displayed at the entrance/exit of the premises to remind customers to leave the premises quietly.

 

8.                  All persons that sell or supply alcohol to customers must have licensing training. Training should take place within six weeks of employment and any new employees will be supervised until the training has taken place. Refresher training should be repeated every six months or earlier if requested due to changes of legislation. Individual training records must be kept on the premises and shall contain the nature, content and frequency of all training. Records must be made available for inspection by police, Police Licensing Officer and authorised officers from Medway Council on demand either electronically or hard copy.

 

9.                  Training must include:

 

a)     Avoiding sales of alcohol or age restricted products to those under the age of 18

 

b)     Recognising customers who appear drunk and refusing sale or supply of alcohol

 

c)     Knows the licensing objectives

 

d)     Have read and understood licence conditions

 

e)     Can produce licences/certificates/permits relevant to the premises in absence of licensee

 

f)       Can point out where the summary is displayed in absence of licensee

 

g)     Understands consequences for breaching legislation that can impact them as individuals and those that impact the licensee and the premises

 

h)     Have the relevant contact details of the designated premises supervisor or licensee.

 

10.             Concerts or similar outdoor events of musical performance at the premises that provide live music, recorded music or amplified sound audible at the site boundary shall be restricted to no more than 4 per annum. These events shall not occur on more than 2 consecutive days and only in the months of May and June.

 

11.             Any sound test carried out in advance of a concert or musical performance shall not take place between the hours 23:00 and 09:00 (11pm and 9am) and will be limited to one (1) hour.

 

12.             For outdoor events at the premises that provide live music, recorded music or amplified sound shall employ a suitably qualified and experienced noise control consultant. They shall be appointed no later than six weeks prior to the event. The noise control consultant shall liaise between all parties including the licensee, promoter, sound system supplier, sound engineer and Environmental Health on all matters relating to noise control.

 

13.             The Music Noise Level (MNL) for all outdoor events shall achieve the guidelines described in the Noise Council’s Code of Practice on Environmental Noise Control at concerts. The appointed noise control consultant shall monitor noise levels at the sound mixer position and/or at any locations as agreed in writing with Environmental health where reported noise complaints have been received. The consultant will advise the sound engineer of the permitted music noise levels so that they will not be exceeded. The Licensing Authority and Environmental Health Service shall have access to the results of the noise monitoring during the event and be provided a written report including date, time period, noise levels, monitoring locations details of actions taken if a breach of noise criteria occurred. The report must be submitted to the Environmental Health department no later than 3 weeks after the event.

 

14.             No live music, recorded music or amplified equipment shall be relayed via external speakers other than for events with the prior written approval of Environmental Health. The specification and orientation of all speakers shall be agreed in writing with Environmental Health.

 

15.             No amplified music is to be permitted unless a noise management plan, which has been agreed with Local Authority is in place. The noise management plan shall be periodically reviewed and/or when significant changes occur in the operation, building or event type following a complaint substantiated by Environmental Health.

 

(a)  A noise management policy should be in place that sets out sound attenuation measures to prevent or control music, singing and speech noise breakout from the premises.

 

(b)  The policy should be based on the findings of an acoustic consultant’s assessment

 

(c)   All staff should be trained on the content of the policy to ensure a commitment to good noise management. A record should be kept of the date and name of person trained and made available for inspection by the licensing authority or environmental health responsible authority.

 

(d)  DJ’s, event promoters or other entertainment providers should be made aware of the policy in advance of any performance

 

(e)  Use an approved list of DJ’s, event promoters or other entertainment providers who have signed up to the policy.

 

16.             The licence holder shall produce risk assessments that must have a proper regard to the Health and Safety Executive guidance ‘The Event Safety Guide: A guide to health, safety and welfare at music and similar events’. It must address but is not limited to risks specific to the nature of the proposed event and its potential to undermine the licensing objectives. The risk assessments must be submitted in writing either by post or electronically to Kent Police in Medway, the Licensing Authority and Environmental Health a minimum of 31 days prior to the event taking place.

 

17.             At an event that is to be used as a theatre, concert hall or other similar place for closely seated audiences, no alcohol shall be provided for consumption in the seated area.

 

18.             The licence holder or event organiser must notify in writing to Kent Police in Medway and the Licensing Authority of the intention to hold an event that is proposed for occupancy of over 500 persons at least 60 days prior to the event. The letter must include details of the proposed event (a) date and times of the event (b) nature of event (c) types of activities taking place and those that are licensable (d) proposed occupancy (e) location whether inside or outside and must include any temporary or fixed structures that will form part of the event.

 

19.             When Kent Police determine it necessary due to the nature of the proposed event and associated risks, the premises licence holder is required to request in writing as soon as possible and in any case a minimum of six weeks prior to any event ‘special policing services’ as defined by section 25 Police Act 1996. No event as defined as ‘special policing services’ will take place unless Kent Police confirm their consent to the Licensing Authority at least two days prior to the event.

 

20.             A member of staff every 30 minutes whilst the premises is trading will remove all empty drinking vessels, bottles or containers after the contents have been consumed or they become empty. The licence holder and the Designated premises Supervisor shall ensure that the arrangement for the storage of empty bottles prevents unauthorised access to those bottles.

 

21.             When providing regulated entertainment there shall be at all times that the entertainment is taking place, a qualified first aid person, trained to a nationally recognised standard, on the premises and easily identifiable. A notice stating the availability of first aid person shall be prominently displayed inside and outside the premises and shall be protected from damage or deterioration. There shall be first aid equipment and materials available at the premises whilst the premises is trading.

 

22.             The licensee shall ensure that socket outlets for use with temporary or portable electrical equipment on or in the vicinity of any stage area and one or more Residual Current Device (RCD) shall protect any circuits associated with stage lighting equipment.

 

23.             Temporary electrical wiring and distribution systems shall not be provided without notification in writing being given to the Council Environmental Health at least 10 days before the commencement of the work. The notification must explain the reasons for the temporary electrical measures and a date of the proposed removal of temporary electrical measures. Any temporary electrical measures must be removed at the end of a 3 month period or to be made permanent during that period.

 

24.             There will be a door control policy that outlines clear instruction and understanding of the door supervisors responsibilities at the premises. This policy will contain (a) how door staff prevent overcrowding (b) supervise the queue to ensure that it is managed in a way that avoids rowdy, unpleasant behaviour and to keep customers quiet as to not disturb neighbours in the vicinity (c) A procedure for door staff engaged in searching persons as a condition of entry (d) to ensure the dispersal of patrons from the cartilage and grounds of the licensed premise immediately after the end of licensable activities (e) Prevent patrons from leaving the premises with open containers and bottles (f) to provide evidence by written statement to police in any criminal investigation as and when required.

 

25.             The premises licence holder or DPS shall maintain an accurate and up to date register in respect of all stewards, security staff or door supervisors working at the premises when it is open to the public. The register will comprise of (a) the name, address, telephone number of the member of staff (b) any registration number relating to the steward or door supervisor whether employed directly by the licensee or through an agency (c) the name, address and telephone number of the agency providing stewards, security staff or door supervisor where not employed directly by the licensee (d) the dates and times of commencement and finishing of work (e) signature of the member of staff (f) details of any incident in which the member of staff is involved including any calls to the police and any police action taken.

 

26.             The premises shall have a written dispersal policy that outlines the procedure for management, door supervisors and staff. The policy shall contain procedures on (a) supervising the queue to ensure that it is managed in a way that avoids rowdy, unpleasant behaviour and to keep customers quiet as to not disturb neighbours in the vicinity (b) displays notices outside where the queue is formed asking them to be quiet or they will be refused entry (c) display numbers for taxi firms inside (d) provide an area inside to enable persons to contact taxi firms in a quiet location rather than go outside (e) Move people away from the premises who are standing around talking to others (f) procedure on refusing entry or banning those who repeatedly cause a nuisance by noise and rowdy behaviour (g) provide a queuing system in the foyer for those waiting on taxis rather than sending them outside to wait (h) no entry to new customers after {time} (i) a monitoring system to be implemented with regards to re-entry for customers using the smoking areas (such as a wrist band or ultra violet marker)

 

27.             The licensee will ensure that suitable notices are displayed at the premises warning customers of the prevalence of crime which may target them fro example pick pockets, bag snatchers, spiked drinks and the need to guard their property and leaving property unattended.

 

28.             Concerts or similar outdoor events with a capacity of more than 500 persons must start no later than 19:45 and such events must be advertised as such.

 

29.             Staff and performers who depart late at night or in the early hours on the morning when the business has ceased trading, should conduct themselves in such a manner as to avoid causing disturbances to nearby residents. This includes the loading and unloading of artists’ equipment.