Agenda and minutes

Please note this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method.  Although we ask members of the public recording, filming or reporting on the meeting not to include the public seating areas, members of the public attending the meeting should be aware that we cannot guarantee that they will not be filmed or recorded by others attending the meeting.  Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on.  By entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

The Chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual, or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair informed the Committee that the meeting would be live streamed on the Council’s website.

There were no apologies for absence.

It being a special meeting of the Regulatory Committee, under Part 4(B), paragraph 17 of the Council’s Constitution, no other business shall be considered at the meeting.

None.

None.

Daliah Barrett introduced the report as set out.  The Business and Planning Act 2020 came into force on 22 July 2020 and introduced a number of urgent measures to help businesses operate in the pandemic.  The measures introduced were temporary until 30 September 2021, unless extended by the Government.  Part of the Act introduced a new ‘Pavement Licence’ regime to be administered by Local Authorities and was designed to make it easier for premises which served food and drink to seat and serve customers outdoors.  Pavement licences could be granted subject to such conditions as the Council considered reasonable to impose.  It was important to note that if the Council chose not to impose conditions, the Pavement Licences would still be granted, which would make enforcement difficult and leave the Council having to justify its reasons repeatedly when taking any enforcement action.

Ms Barrett responded to questions and comments by the Committee:

-           Under the national conditions made by the Government, premises must maintain a clear route of access along the highway.

-           Patrons would not be able to stand outside premises to drink, it would be seating areas only.

-           Premises would need to clearly mark out a smoking area outside of premises, however Public Health information to Councils states that Councils could make their own determinations in relation to smoking and could make the area outside the premises non-smoking.

-           There would be no additional budget provided for the enforcement of these licences.  The set fee of £100 per licence would lead to the Licensing Service operating at a loss (from the Street Trading budget).  Under the old regime, the fees for a pavement licence were set according to the amount of space available to a premises and this would exceed £100 for some premises, therefore the set fee would mean that some premises would not need to pay as much as they would have in the past.

Following a discussion and subsequent vote on smoking areas, the Committee requested that a condition be added that smoking areas would not be permitted outside the premises.

The Committee also requested that a condition be added (or existing condition be amended) to state that cooking of food should not take place outside of the premises.

The Committee RESOLVED to

i.          Agree the pavement licence conditions as outlined in Appendix A which will be the Council’s published standard conditions.

ii.       Note that the Licensing Authority can set further conditions as required on a case by case basis.

iii.      Agree the application fee of £100. 

iv.      Note that the length of the grant of the licence cannot go beyond 30^th September 2021 unless extended by the Secretary of State but there may be reasons to determine a shorter period on a case by case basis.

5 October 2020

5 October 2020