Agenda and draft minutes

There were no apologies.

There we 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.

All of the Panel Members stated that they had been lobbied on Item 7 – Application for a premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003 for the Cornwallis School, Hubbards Lane, Boughton Monchelsea, Kent, ME17 4HX.

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 Hinder and Joy

3. Senior Licensing Officer – Lorraine Neale

4. Legal Advisor – Helen Ward

5. Democratic Services Officer – Jordan Ifield

6. The Applicant – Mason Dadson

7.  Interested Party – David Sanderson

8.  Interested Party – Tanya Fisher

9.  Interested Party – Valerie Sanderson

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

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 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 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, referencing the application received in Appendix 1 of the report, representations in Appendix 3 of the report, and the additional condition proposed by the Applicant in Appendix 5 of the report to licence no more than four events per year.

The Applicant was invited to make their opening remarks and stated that the application was submitted to hold two regular events a year. This included a fireworks event on bonfire night, and a running event on behalf of Heart of Kent Hospice. The bonfire night would attract a larger capacity than a temporary event notice would allow and the running event was run on behalf of the Heart of Kent Hospice rather than the school. It was stated there was an error in the licence application in Appendix 1 of the report, and the Applicant clarified that the school did have immediate neighbouring properties, contrary to the application. The Applicant summarised the school’s engagement with the community and understood the objections to the original licence application, but stated that the school could propose a condition to restrict the number of events held to two a year.

In response to questions from the panel, the Applicant stated that letters had been posted to residents to notify them of previous events, and that after holding three firework shows previously the school had received one noise complaint. The Applicant stated the school would accept a condition to restrict the sale of alcohol during the licensed events so that alcohol could not be sold during timetabled school hours.

The Interested Party, David Sanderson, was invited to make their case and stated that the noise created by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.