Agenda and minutes

Venue: Town Hall, High Street, Maidstone

Contact: Committee Services  01622 602899

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

There were no apologies.

2.

Notification of Substitute Members

Minutes:

There were no Substitute Members.

3.

Election of the Chairman

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That Councillor Naghi be elected as Chairman for the duration of the meeting.

4.

Disclosures by Members and Officers

Minutes:

There were no disclosures by Members and Officers.

5.

Disclosures of Lobbying

Minutes:

 There were no disclosures of lobbying.

6.

EXEMPT ITEMS

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That all items be taken in public as proposed.

7.

Wildwoods, Earl Street - Pavement Licence pdf icon PDF 187 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The persons participating in the hearing were identified as follows:

 

Chairman – Councillor Naghi

Committee Member – Councillor Mrs Robertson

Committee Member – Councillor Brindle

 

Legal Advisor – Mr Robin Harris

 

Democratic Services Officer – Miss Oliviya Parfitt

 

Applicant – Mr Roy Pereira, represented by Mr Johnny Plant (in attendance virtually)

 

All parties confirmed that they were aware of the Sub-Committee hearing procedure and had each received a copy of the hearing procedure document.

 

The Sub-Committee agreed to proceed in the absence of the objector and confirmed that they had read the papers.

 

The Chairman explained that:

 

· The Sub-Committee would allow all parties to put their case fully and make full submissions within a reasonable time frame.

 

· The procedure would take the form of a discussion led by the Sub-Committee and they would usually permit cross-examination conducted within a reasonable timeframe.

 

· Any person attending the hearing who behaved in a disruptive manner may be directed to leave the hearing by the Sub-Committee (including temporarily) after which, such person may submit to the Sub-Committee over the Instant messaging facilitating any information which that person would have been entitled to give orally had the person not been required to leave the meeting. If this is not possible, they may be permitted to speak at the Chairman’s Invitation.

 

The Chairman enquired whether any draft conditions had been agreed between the applicant and other parties; no draft conditions had been agreed.

 

The Senior Licensing Officer introduced the report, referencing the objection received from Kent County Council (KCC) as the Highways Authority in Appendix 5 to the report. The objection concerned public safety due to the applicant’s proposed seating area on a road which experienced a flow of traffic despite having been pedestrianised. The pavement outside the premises was not wide enough to accommodate tables and chairs.

 

As the objector was unable to attend, they submitted additional comments which had been distributed to all parties.

 

The applicant’s representative was invited to make their opening statement and stated that the application would assist in ensuring the business’s viability following the Covid-19 pandemic. The business had adapted through providing a takeaway service but had reduced the number of staff employed nationally and placed many on furlough. During the easing of the lockdown measures, other local businesses had been able to have outside seating which was something the applicant wished to provide.

 

The safety of the business’s employees and customers was important with outside seating preferred given the rising number of Covid-19 cases. Mr Plant stated that the planters within the road provided shielding to the public and that there was no perceived threat to public safety by having the seating as proposed in the application. It was felt that by having other businesses provide outside seating, a precedent had been set. The importance of health and safety was reiterated.

 

In response to questions from the panel, the Senior Licensing Officer confirmed that the authority responsible for the road was Kent County Council, but that the Council would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.