The Committee will appoint a Chair and Vice-Chair for this particular meeting.

The Committee agreed to appoint Councillor Hendy as Chair and Councillor Allen as Vice-Chair for this meeting.

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

There were no declarations of interest.

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 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) (1,2,3,4,5,6,7) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The Committee agreed to pass a resolution under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972 to exclude the press and the public from the meeting for the following items of business, on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in paragraph 1,2 and 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, as amended by the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

After a brief discussion, the Committee agreed to return to Part 1 for the remainder of the meeting.

The Committee having:

a)     Considered the Review of Premises Licence Report, written submissions by Will Tomkins (Environmental Health/Trading Standards Officer), on behalf of Environmental Health Services (EHS) and the other written representations submitted to the Licensing Authority in advance of the meeting;

b)    Head from Mr Tomkins, on behalf of the applicant, as follows:

i) That the operation of the premises was continuing to have a negative impact on the Prevention of Public Nuisance Licensing Objective. The application for a review was a last resort for the Licensing Authority;

ii) A nightclub had operated at 24 Lockyer Street since before 2003, when the Licensing Act 2003 came into force. A review hearing took place in front of the Licensing Sub Committee on 2 September 2024. The License holder, Mr Navabi and his brother, the manager of Club Inferno, attended that hearing. At that hearing, Mr Tomkins explained in detail the action that would be required to promote the Public Nuisance Licensing Objective and that the club must comply with the conditions of its licence, including the following condition: “Between the hours of 2300 and 0800, there must be total sound containment within the premises”;

iii) At the hearing held on 2 September 2024, the Licence holder, through his legal representative, gave assurances that he understood the licence conditions and they would comply with them. There had been breaches at that point for well over six months before the hearing, and it was brought to the Licence holder’s attention to focus their attention on this condition. The condition was not new, and it did not change. The condition was not the number of speakers, but whether you can hear the music when stood outside the venue;

iv) Mr Tomkins clarified the meaning of ‘total noise containment’ and explained that if a person was not attending the venue, they should not have to listen to it. They were entitled to a quiet life without hearing noises from the premises. The Environmental Health Department was in favour of the night-time economy but people who were not attending the premises should not have to listen to the noise/music from it;

v) On 9 September 2024, Mr Tomkins received complaints regarding noise from the Club and recordings of sound from the club between 4.22am and 4.38am on 7 September 2024 and between 4.05am and 5.42am on 8 September 2024 were played to the Committee;

vi) The condition relating to total sound containment had been breached;

vii) Mr Tomkins noted that noise from Club Inferno was audible in the recorded provided by the Licence holder;

viii) Being brought to a review was a last resort and generally, when there had been a review, it did not come back to Committee. This was because a review hearing was the opportunity for the residents, the Licensing Authority and the Licence holder to work together and for the venue to make improvements. It was rare to have two reviews so close. Plymouth City Council wanted a vibrant night-time  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70.