(i)

considered the report from the Director for Community Services;

(ii)

considered the written representations from the responsible authorities;

(iii)

heard from the applicant and his witnesses that –

following a meeting with Environmental Health on 12 March 2010 the operating schedule had been extended to include the following;

the style and mood of any music or entertainment at the premises was to be classified with the emphasis on background music;

there would be no music after midnight feeding into the outside areas, and even up to that period would be very light background music;

after 4 am they wished to take the music down a further notch so this was virtually non-existent/very low background level to bring the atmosphere to be more conducive and an enhancement of a safer environment;

to ensure a strong winding down period they would accept a no entry after 5am, which would allow the premise to wind down in an orderly manner and fashion;

there would be no sale of alcohol during the last half hour of operation time of the premises.  The only beverages accessible would be soft drinks including tea and coffee, which would also enhance the wind down of the premise;

they were willing to implement any further minor proposals that would help this application go through successfully;

it was a very small bar with a capacity of 50 persons and it was not envisaged that it would cause any problems to the surrounding areas and later opening would actually spread the capacity of the university business which was targeted in a more orderly manner.

(iv)

heard from a representative of Environmental Health that –

a representation had been made relating to the prevention of public nuisance and public safety licensing objectives;

the premise was situated within a cumulative impact area;

the concentration of licensed premises remained consistent in this area, and was strongly associated with the student night-time scene, predominantly operating as vertical drinking establishments;

the applicant had not been able to demonstrate within their operating schedule, how there would be no negative cumulative impact on one or more of the licensable objectives;

the operating schedule failed to address the potential impact from extended licensable activity at the premises, and consideration had also not been given to the potential impact of patrons departing at close of business;

there were cumulative effects of increased music activity, and noise and litter generated from patrons smoking in the outside designated area which had not been considered;

the current terminal hours for licensable activities at this premises in their opinion contributed towards a staggered dispersal scheme, reducing the potential impact of persons under drink leaving the vicinity during the early hours of the morning;

businesses and persons living in the vicinity (including directly above the premises) were likely to be affected by the proposed application.  It was also of concern that people living in the vicinity of the North Hill, Mutley and Greenbank areas would also be further inconvenienced by noise from large numbers of patrons moving between venues, food businesses, ATMs, taxi stands and again when travelling home;

residents of Mutley, North Hill and Greenbank had already raised complaints over the numbers of people returning home during early hours of the morning, citing complaints of noise from people shouting and singing, vomit and food waste littering the streets, taxis engines idling, violence and other incidents of crime and disorder;

the Authority participated in ‘Week of Action’ between 14 - 16 May 2009 as part of a joint operation with the Police.  This was in response to the continued concerns of residents living in the North Hill and Greenbank area.  At that time it was noted that there were a high number of people moving through those areas.  Specifically the Police identified that music noise reduced significantly after 3 am;

a complaint had recently been received concerning a nearby licensed premises.  The complaint alleged noise disturbance from music at the venue, and from patrons making noise when using the smoking area late at night;

the potential effect of increased noise activity in the vicinity would create further cumulative impact that may continue to impinge on both businesses and domestic properties in the area, which supports the Authorities recommendation to refuse the application.

(v)

heard from a representative of Devon & Cornwall Police that –

information had been provided with regard to the licensing objectives of the prevention of crime and disorder and prevention of public nuisance;

liaison had taken place with the applicant’s representative and they had considered the letter received that specified some additional intentions;

the application did not provide sufficient detail in the operating schedule to allow a realistic assessment of the impact that the application would have on any of the four licensing objectives;

the premise was situated within an area that was subject to Plymouth City Council’s cumulative impact policy and as such they referred to the evidence produced by the police that supported the introduction of this policy;

police records show crime levels and anti social behaviour in the Greenbank and Mutley area including North Hill and Tavistock Place were increasing with most incidents taking place between 8pm and 7am;

the application failed to demonstrate how it would not negatively impact on one or more of the licensing objectives;

175 criminal offences were committed within the North Hill and Tavistock Place areas of Plymouth for the period 1 September 2009 to 28 February 2010;

147 of these offences occurred between 8pm and 6.59am;

the majority of these crimes occurred between 8pm and 6.59am and accounted for 30.1% of all the crimes within the beat area.  The beat area covered the cumulative impact area as well as the remainder of the Greenbank/Mutley Plain areas;

the research showed crime recorded between 8pm and 6.59am accounted for 84% of all the crimes within North Hill and Tavistock Place;

further details had been provided on Police crime statistics and the Police recommended the refusal of the application.