Agenda and minutes

None.

To determine any other items of business which the Chairman decides should be considered as a matter of urgency pursuant to Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

None.

Members are asked at this stage to declare any interests that they may have in any of the following items on the agenda.  The Code of Conduct for Members requires that declarations include the nature of the interest and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

None.

The Chairman, Members of the Panel and Officers introduced themselves.

The Legal Advisor outlined the purpose of the hearing and explained the procedure for the meeting.  She confirmed with the applicants that they had received a copy of the agenda papers.  She reminded the Sub-Committee that the hearing was being conducted remotely via Zoom and must be conducted fairly and reasonably in line with the Applicant’s right to a fair hearing under Article 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998.  In the event of any participant leaving the hearing due to a technical issue, the hearing would not proceed until all parties were present. 

The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the report, which related to an application for a new Premises Licence to which objections had been received from local residents.  No objections had been received from Responsible Authorities.  A representation had been received from the Police, stating that they had spoken to the Applicant and had no objections subject to the imposition of conditions that had been accepted by the Applicant.

The Chairman invited the Applicant to put forward her submission.

Simone Tattersall explained that she had spoken at length with the Licensing Section and on their advice had applied for the very earliest she would want to open and the very latest she would want to close.  This was to give as much scope as possible for the business without needing to apply for Temporary Event Notices.  She emphasised that there was no intention to operate as a nightclub or have daily live music.  Normal operating hours would be from 11 am until 11 pm, and possibly slightly later at weekends.  There would be no external speakers and no intention to hold regular live music inside or outside the premises.  There would be amplified music inside the building.  The walls of the building were insulated and soundproofed.  There would be low lighting outside the building.  She stated that the Gunton Arms had been operated (under the same ownership as the Suffield Arms) for 10 years without any issues with the Police or NNDC Licensing, even when summer festivals had been held, and always in adherence with all rules and regulations.  It was the intention to be part of the community and operate a business within it.

The Chairman asked the Applicant

·         if there was a good neighbour policy in place;

·         if it was intended to provide accommodation in the building at some point;

·         if it was intended to have multiple personal licence holders as part of the staffing arrangements and if one of them would be the Designated Premises Supervisor; and

·         to what demographic would the premises be marketed.

Ms Tattersall explained that if it had not been for the pandemic, local residents would have been invited to look inside the building before opening to see the changes that had been made.  She understood that people were reticent because of the way the business had operated in the past, but the current owners did not operate that business and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.