Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Cllrs Carter, Gunes and Stennett.  

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 3 March 2014.

RESOLVED

• That the minutes of the meeting on 3 March 2014 be approved and signed by the Chair.

By way of an update regarding plans to review the resourcing of the licensing team particularly around enforcement, it was advised that the annual enforcement action plan and the Council’s main enforcement policy were being reviewed. An update would be provided to the Committee later in the year.

To establish the Regulatory Committee sub-bodies for the new municipal year.

The Committee considered a report to establish the Planning and Licensing Sub-Committees as sub bodies of the Regulatory Committee for the new municipal year. The terms of reference and tabled proposed membership of these Committees was noted.

RESOLVED

·         That the terms of reference of the Regulatory Committee be noted and the terms of reference of the Licensing and Planning Sub-Committees be approved.

·         That the establishment and membership of the Planning and Licensing Sub-Committees be approved.

·         That the provisions within the Constitution regarding substitution arrangements and the Committee procedure rules regarding licensing hearings and Local Licensing Procedure Rules be noted.

A verbal update was provided on current licensing issues within the borough:

• Paddy Power had lodged an appeal against the refusal by Licensing Committee on 29 April 2014 to grant a new betting premises licence for 606 Lordship Lane. Residents that had submitted representations would be apprised of details of the appeal which would go before the magistrate’s court.
• In relation to the football World Cup, on-licensed premises within the borough had been written to to clarify the rules and exemptions for licensing hours for England matches.
• An update was provided on the recent Arctic Monkeys concert in Finsbury Park. As a result of learning points gained following the previous Stone Roses concert in the Park, improvements had been implemented including the provision of additional litter pickers and WCs outside the licensed area, a clamp down on street sellers, improved communication with neighbours, stakeholders and local traders and enhanced cross borough working. Crime figures for the concert were significantly reduced from those of the previous concert, in particular theft from person offences. Approximately 30 noise complaints had been received for each day of the concert, with the Council to now look at developing a new strategy for future concerts. Plans were ongoing for the Live Nation event in the Park in July, despite a number of key issues awaiting resolution.

RESOLVED

·         That the update be noted.  

To seek approval for revised and updated licensing procedure rules.

The Committee considered an update of the Council’s local licensing procedure rules which had been undertaken to ensure consistency with the Localism Act 2011, the removal of outdated references and alignment with the current Constitution. The changes made were considered minor in nature.

The Committee requested that the procedure rules covering the process for Councillors to make representations on applications to Licensing Committee be circulated to all Members in the interests of clarity.

RESOLVED

• That the revised licensing procedure rules, revised Licensing Sub-Committee hearing procedure summary and review hearing procedure summary appended to the report be approved.

To seek approval to adopt a revised and updated protocol reflecting changes to the planning process.

The Committee considered a revised version of the planning protocol, updated to reflect changes made to the planning process and lessons learnt since the previous update. The protocol also intended to simplify and clarify the planning process for the benefit of members of the public and in the interests of transparency. New provisions to be introduced under the protocol were to include mandatory training for Planning Committee members, pre-application briefings sessions and changes to the arrangements for hearing representations. It was noted that changes to the scheme of delegation covering the determination of planning applications were being considered as part of a review of the Council’s Constitution, with a report to be submitted to Full Council in July.

It was noted that the protocol required amendment to reflect the increase of the number of Councillors sitting on Planning Committee to 13 members.

In response to a question regarding the arrangements in place to inform members of the public on the changes to the process for making representations before Committee, confirmation was provided that the Council’s website had been updated and an explanatory note added to the front of Planning Committee agenda sheets. In addition, notification letters sent to residents submitting representations in response to applications would now outline the new process. This would also form part of the ongoing work stream reviewing how the planning service could better engage with the public, including potentially providing guidance to the public on how best to address the Committee. Clarification was provided that the new arrangements were in line with best practice and aimed to help manage the expectations of the public and provide a clear structure to meetings. It was emphasised that the Chair would retain discretion to increase the number of speakers permitted to address the Committee where deemed appropriate.   

Officers advised that the protocol would be kept under review on a proposed annual basis. Plans were in place to implement the new protocol for the first Planning Committee of the municipal year on 16 June.

RESOLVED

• That the revised planning protocol be adopted, that the Planning Sub-Committee implement the provisions of the revised protocol and that authorisation be given to the Assistant Director Corporate Governance in consultation with the Assistant Director Planning (i) to update references to the size of the new Planning Sub-Committee in the revised protocol, and (ii) to make any consequential amendments to the revised protocol arising out of any changes made to the Council’s Constitution or scheme of delegation by Full Council.

To receive an update on Development Management performance and progress with the implementation of the Development Management Improvement Plan.

The Committee were provided with an update report on Development Management performance for the year 2013/14 and progress with the implementation of the Development Management Improvement Plan.

It was advised that the Improvement Plan would be refreshed this year in order to reflect the recent enforcement review, Scrutiny Panel recommendations and feedback provided by the public and Members.

It was noted that future consideration was required on the format and frequency of future performance monitoring reports submitted to Committee including the selection of a local suite of performance indicators. It was proposed that a working group be established to take this forward.

The Chair and the Cabinet Member for Planning, Cllr Demirci, asked that their thanks be put on record to officers for the significant service improvements achieved as reflected in the end of year performance figures, particularly the three corporate indicators. Cllr Demirci also passed on his thanks as outgoing Chair to the previous Planning Committee for their contribution to the improved performance.

Clarification was sought as to whether the successful Northumberland Park hostel appeal had been incorporated within the performance data provided on planning appeals allowed against decisions to refuse planning permission over the last two years. Officers advised that the appeal referred to was not featured in the current time period reported due to the time lapse inherent in the calculation.

RESOLVED

·         That the report be noted.

The next Committee is scheduled for 9 September.

The next meeting was scheduled for 9 September.