Agenda and draft minutes

There were no apologies.

There were no Substitute Members.

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

There were no disclosures by Members or Officers.

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

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

The persons participating in the hearing were identified as follows:

1.  Chairman – Councillor English

2.  Sub-Committee Members – Councillors Springett and Trzebinski

3.  Senior Licensing Officer – Lorraine Neale

4.  Legal Advisor – Helen Ward

5.  Democratic Services Officer – Jordan Ifield

6.  The Applicant – John Wingate

7.  The Applicant – Pavla Havell

8.  Interested Party – Anthony Williams

9.  Representative of Kent Police – PC James Williams

The Sub-Committee Members confirmed that they had read the papers regarding the hearing.

The Chairman explained that: 

·  The Sub-Committee would allow all parties to put their case fully and make full submission 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 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 any information which that person would have been entitled to give orally had the person not been required to leave the meeting. If this was not possible, they may be permitted to speak at the Chairman’s invitation.

The Senior Licensing Officer introduced the report and stated that after Kent Police had objected to the application in appendix 3 of the report, the applicants, John Wingate and Pavla Havell, had agreed to eight conditions proposed by Kent Police, and that Kent Police had subsequently withdrawn their objection. Further reference was made to objections from residents in appendix 4 of the report and the options were outlined to the sub-committee.

The applicants were invited to make their opening remarks and Mr Wingate stated that the application was submitted to avoid regularly re-applying for temporary event notices (TENs) and that they only intended to hold music events, on average, once a month between April and October. Mr Wingate stated he would not host events every day as requested in the application, but had applied for a licence to apply every day to allow flexibility. It was explained that if there was excess stock the venue would host unscheduled open microphone nights.

In response to questions from the panel, Mr Wingate confirmed that he rented a unit on Loddington Farm from the owner and had a good working relationship with them. Music at the venue would compromise of mostly acoustic music and that 300 patrons was the maximum capacity, with parking restricted for the Loddington Farm site at 800 spaces, which included parking for other units at the site. The venue had space for 15 tables, seating a maximum of 120 patrons and standing space for a further 180 patrons. It was clarified that events were ticketed, and that patrons would be required to enter through a staffed gate at the premises, with temporary fencing placed around other entrances during events.

The interested party, Anthony Williams, was invited to make their opening remarks and stated that as the owner of Musket  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.