Members will be asked to make any declarations of interest in respect of items on this agenda.

No declarations of interests were made.

To confirm the minutes of the Licensing Committee meeting held on:

·         6 December 2022

To confirm the minutes of the Licensing Sub Committee meetings held on:

·         3 January 2023

·         20 April 2023

·         16 May 2023

·         3 October 2023

·         6 November 2023

The Committee agreed the minutes of the Licensing Committee meeting held on 6 December 2022, as a correct record.

The Committee agreed the minutes of the Licensing Sub Committee meetings held on 3 January 2023, 20 April 2023, 16 May 2023, 3 October 2023 and 6 November 2023 as a correct record.

To receive reports on business which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be brought forward for urgent consideration.

There were no items of Chair’s urgent business.

To note the appointment of Councillor Rennie as Chair and Councillor Allen as Vice Chair of the Committee, as agreed at the 19 May 2023 AGM City Council meeting.

The Committee noted the appointment of Councillor Rennie as Chair and Councillor Allen as Vice Chair of the Licensing Committee.

Emily Bullimore (BID Street Organisations & Trading Manager) introduced the report, providing a summary of what was contained within the report;

a)    She noted that the report should have had Councillor Sally Haydon listed as the Lead Member, rather than Councillor Tudor Evans OBE.

In response to questions it was explained:

b)    That there were no traders with outstanding payments;

c)    Traders had the choice to pay fees monthly, quarterly or annually;

d)    Existing traders went through a renewal process each February, where licences could not be renewed if there were outstanding payments;

e)    The Ice Cream Van site on Pier Street was cheaper than the other sites because that site had historically been difficult to trade from, and was the first to have an electric charging point, but once they had been installed elsewhere, the costs would be reviewed.

The Committee agreed to:

1.    Approve the Consent dates for 2024/2025 as 1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025;

2.    Approve the Consent fees for 2024/2025, as set out in Appendix A;

3.    Grant the Service Director for Economic Development delegated authority to approve, within Committee policy, the issuing of Consents to existing city centre traders seeking to continue trading;

4.    Grant the Service Director for Economic Development delegated authority to approve within Committee policy the issuing of Consents to new traders or contested sites for city centre sites in consultation with the Chair of the Licensing Committee and Lead Opposition member;

5.    Grant the Service Director for Economic Development delegated authority to approve within Committee policy short-term street trading Consents in association with other city centre events and commercial activity;

6.    Grant the Service Director for Economic Development delegated authority to approve and set fees for ad hoc street trading applications, within Committee policy;

7.    Grant the Service Director for Economic Development delegated authority to approve within Committee policy the issuing of Consents to existing ice cream traders seeking to continue trading;

8.    Grant the Service Director for Economic Development delegated authority to approve within Committee policy the issuing of Consents to new traders or contested sites for vacant ice cream sites in consultation with the Chair of the Licensing Committee and Lead Opposition member;

9.    Grant the Service Director for Economic Development delegated authority to approve within Committee policy the issuing of Consents to existing Hoe and Madeira Road Waterfront trading sites seeking to continue trading;

10.  Grant the Service Director for Economic Development delegated authority to approve within Committee policy the issuing of Consents to new traders of contested sites for vacant Waterfront trading sites in consultation with the Chair of the Licencing Committee and Lead Opposition member.

Katharine O’Connor (Environmental Health (Food Safety) Service Manager) gave a summary of what was included in the report.

In response to questions, it was explained:

a)    Licences for caravans related to caravan parks;

b)    The licensing team were relatively small and the structure chart would be shared with members of the Committee following the meeting;

c)    No specific work was underway on gambling, for example, on harm prevention programmes, but it could be looked into with relevant stakeholders;

d)    The team were trying to automate as many processes as they could in order to free up more time for officers to make face-to-face visits;

e)    In relation to explosives, risk assessments made at the locations determined the frequency of visits from Environmental Health officers;

f)     The team responded to intelligence and complaints regarding noise, explosives, etc., and resources were limited, so intelligence and information from residents was welcomed;

g)    The team worked closely with regards to some sites, with the Emergency Planning team;

h)    More information would be provided to the Committee following the meeting on the numbers of people who had used the Plymouth Safe Bus;

i)     If Central Park was to host events more regularly, the regulations and licence needed to be monitored and regulated well, which the team were doing;

j)     There had only been one complaint, relating to noise, to date regarding the Winter Wonderland event that was taking place at Central Park throughout December, from a resident on Alma Road, and this was under investigation;

k)    Martyn’s Law, which would aim to ensure stronger protections against terrorism in public places, and had been delayed at a national level, but would be implemented soon, and the Licensing Team would support venues with implementation.

Jonathan Ball (Enforcement Officer) gave a summary of what was contained within the report.

The Chair reflected that:

a)    He was disappointed the Police were not in attendance at the meeting, particularly given recent issues with ‘peddlers’ in the city centre.

In response to questions, it was explained:

b)      The Police had made 28 mediation interventions, in most cases resolving issues that did not need to then go to Licensing Sub Committee, and the Licensing team had made a further two interventions.

To confirm the confidential minutes of the meetings held on:

·         20 April 2023

·         16 May 2023

·         6 November 2023

The Committee agreed the confidential minutes of the Licensing Sub Committee meetings held on 20 April 2023, 16 May 2023 and 6 November 2023.