Agenda and minutes

Licensing Committee - Tuesday 13 April 2010 10.00 am

Venue: Council House, Plymouth (next to the Civic Centre)

Contact: Helen Rickman, Democratic Support Officer  E-mail:  helen.rickman@plymouth.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

31.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest in accordance with the code of conduct.

32.

MINUTES pdf icon PDF 29 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meetings held on the following dates:

 

Licensing Committee Miscellaneous -

 
  • 2 February 2010

 

Licensing Sub Committee (Miscellaneous) -

 
  • 19 January 2010
  • 26 January 2010
  • 2 March 2010
  • 12 March 2010
  • 16 March 2010

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

It was resolved that the following minutes be approved as a correct record:

 

2 February 2010

Licensing Committee Miscellaneous

19 January 2010

Licensing Sub Committee

26 January 2010

Licensing Sub Committee

2 March 2010

Licensing Sub Committee

12 March 2010

Licensing Sub Committee

16 March 2010

Licensing Sub Committee

 

33.

CHAIR'S URGENT BUSINESS

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

Minutes:

There were no items of Chair’s Urgent Business.

34.

SAFETY AT SPORTS GROUND - SCHEME OF DELEGATION pdf icon PDF 26 KB

The Director for Community Services will submit a report on the Safety at Sports Grounds Scheme of Delegation.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Development Management provided the Committee with an update upon the proposed scheme of delegation for sports ground safety.

 

The Committee was informed that –

 

(i)

the proposal sought to change the scheme of delegation from the  Community Services directorate to the Development and Regeneration directorate because of the Council’s recent restructure;

 

Resolved that –

 

(1)

the Licensing Committee authorise the scheme of delegation as set out in Appendix A of the report and delegate the officer’s responsibilities to the Director for Development and Regeneration.

 

(2)

an annual report be submitted to the Licensing Committee (Miscellaneous) to update Members on sports ground safety.

 

35.

REVIEW OF FEES PAYABLE UNDER THE GAMBLING ACT 2005 AND THE GAMBLING (PREMISES LICENSING FEES) (ENGLAND AND WALES) REGULATIONS 2007 pdf icon PDF 51 KB

The Director for Community Services will submit a report on the Review of Fees Payable under the Gambling Act 2005 and the Gambling (Premises Licensing Fees) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007.

Minutes:

The Principal Environmental Health Officer provided the Committee with an update on the review of fees payable under the Gambling Act 2005 and the Gambling (Premises Licensing Fees) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007.

 

The Committee was informed that –

 

(i)

in 2008 the Licensing Committee (Miscellaneous) set gambling fees at the maximum amount available to them as set by Government guidelines;

 

(ii)

Government regulations set a maximum amount for gambling fees;

 

(iii)

the minimum income expected from gambling fees was £60,000;

 

(iv)

Plymouth City Council had added test purchasing of gambling premises to their work programme in order to assure premises were abiding by gambling act guidelines;

 

(v)

Government had not stipulated whether current maximum costs for gambling fees would be increased;

 

In response to questions raised it was reported that –

 

(vi)

officers would correspond with licensees in Plymouth in order to aid their understanding of gambling act regulations;

 

(vii)

local lotteries were covered by the gambling act;

 

(viii)

guidance upon gambling policies would be provided to licensees before test purchase operations took place; this would give prior warning that test purchases were to take place;

 

Resolved that –

 

(1)

the fees for gambling premises licenses remain at the maximum levels as specified in the Gambling (Premises Licence Fees) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 as set out in Appendix A of the report;

 

(2)

an annual fees and activities report be submitted to the Licensing Committee (Miscellaneous)

 

36.

PLYMOUTH ALBION SAFETY CERTIFICATE FOR EAST AND WEST STANDS pdf icon PDF 26 KB

The Director for Community Services will submit a report on Plymouth Albion Safety Certificate for East and West Stands.

Minutes:

The Head of Development Management provided the Committee with an update on Plymouth Albion Safety Certificate for East and West stands.

 

The Committee was informed that –

 

(i)

Plymouth Albion East and West stands had been designated as  regulated stands and progress had been made towards being fully compliant with the safety certificate requirements;

 

(ii)

the original  decision of the Committee was for the final decision for the issue of the Safety Certificate to be delegated to the Licensing Sub Committee (Miscellaneous) however this deadline was not met; to enable the matter to be resolved during the period of Council elections it was requested that the Licensing Committee (Miscellaneous) delegate authority to the Assistant Director for Development (Planning Services) to consider the application and issue the safety certificate to Plymouth Albion;

 

In response to questions raised it was reported that –

 

(iii)

the North stand did not fall within the criteria for a safety certificate however it was covered by health and safety legislation;

 

(iv)

a safety advisory group had been established for Plymouth Albion to discuss safety issues;

 

(v)

there were fail safe provisions in the Sports Safety Act in which Council could issue a full prohibition notice if there were real safety concerns;

 

(vi)

the fire brigade and police attended the safety advisory group.

 

Resolved that –

 

The Licensing Committee (Miscellaneous) delegate to the Assistant Director for Development (Planning Services) authority to consider the application and issue the Safety Certificate for the Plymouth Albion east and west stands and officers report to the Licensing Sub Committee on progress made on this matter and any issues that may arise.

37.

EXEMPT BUSINESS

To consider passing a resolution under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the press and public from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that it (they) involve(s) the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph(s)of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Minutes:

There were no items of exempt business.