(a)

considered the report from the Director of Place;

(b)

considered the written representations and heard  from interested parties present;

(c)

heard from the applicant’s legal representative:

the premise holds a full premise licence with conditions, however it has been boarded up for several years;

Unionworld Limited own and have for about ten years operated the Brookside Social Club which is about 75 yards away;

Brookside Social Club has been run successfully and without problems and has on average about eight hundred members;

the premise was to be run as a function suite similar to Brookside Social Club to enable far more control over patrons who will either be members, their guests or persons attending pre-booked functions and this has proved to be a well managed formula;

it would be easier to organise patrons to use the Brookside access both on foot and by car so as to reduce the use of the narrow Farm Lane route so making life better for residents in Farm Lane;

there was ample car parking both on the Brookside site and Victory site;

it was anticipated that there would be less use than if it were a pub with opening for less hours overall;

there was more scope for family functions such as weddings, receptions, birthday parties and Sunday roast events;

there have been no representations from any of the other responsible authorities;

the applicant has six members of staff holding personal licences, with one SIA registered and another qualified and awaiting registration;

the request to increase capacity to 400 was withdrawn;

he agreed to accept the amended condition recommended by Environmental Health in respect of keeping doors and windows closed;

the premise was already licensed for the hours specified and no extension was sought and the premise could be used for functions under the existing licence anyway;

general comments about broken glass and beer cans etc were nothing to do with the applicant.  Once open they intend to keep the area clean, tidy and safe;  

(d)

heard from the owner of the premise:

he was experienced in running premises, together with other family members and would take into account all he had heard today and did not want to upset residents;

(e)

considered representations under the licensing objectives as follows:

1)

Prevention of Crime and Disorder –

a resident said the premise has been closed for several years and since that time residents have noticed a major decline in anti-social behaviour such as noise nuisance, violent conduct, littering and criminal activity including blatant drug use and vandalism to cars; this was considered to be relevant however there was no evidence to link this to these premises and the applicant had withdrawn his request to increase the capacity to 400;

damage has been caused to vehicles parked in Farm Lane and the police have been called on many occasions; this was considered to be relevant however there was no evidence to link this to these premises and the applicant  ...  view the full minutes text for item 74.