(i)

considered the report from the Director for Community Services;

(ii)

considered the representations from Devon and Cornwall Constabulary and Environmental Health and noted that there was no objection to the part of the application detailed at para 1.3 (1a ) of the report

(iii)

heard from the applicant and his solicitor that:

• The application was not to reduce staffing or door supervision levels; it was to provide flexibility in deploying staff and door supervisors and to make better use of resources
• It is intended to have a system in place to limit customer levels, if appropriate levels of staff and door supervisors are not in place
• Levels of staff and door supervisors can be increased if customer levels increase at any time
• Due to attendance levels varying within the premises the applicant would have additional levels of staffing for the times when they will be most effective which would enhance the licensing objective and not adversely affect them
• Staffing at the premises varies from 8 to 12 dependent on the time of year. They work on a rota to cover daytime and evening.
• At least four staff members are fully trained in all aspects of managing and supervising the premises and three hold personal licences.
• At least one personal licence holder is at the premises whenever they are open
• The premises capacity is 100 spread between two floors.
• Average attendance at the premises early in the week and out of student term time is 40. In these circumstances the downstairs is closed and one door supervisor and one management supervisor plus bar assistant is considered to be sufficient
• The applicant has access to up to four door supervisors at any one time and they can be deployed at short notice if necessary.
• Both the premises licence holder (PLH) and designated premises supervisor (DPS) have the facility to monitor the CCTV at their home addresses meaning that staffing is monitored at all times.
• The applicants operate a total of six licensed premises within the Mutley and North Hill area and have a further 15 to 20 members of staff to call on.
• The existing conditions were agreed in November 2006 when the trading conditions were good on most nights of the week. The current trading climate is now 40 to 50% less than this which justifies the need to manage resources more effectively.
• People are not going out as much so there are more door staff on the premises than needed.
• The DPS and personal licence holder are SIA trained

(vi)

considered representations under the licensing objectives as follows:

a)

Prevention of Public Nuisance –

Environmental health stated that due to the fact the Skiving Scholar does not have a dedicated smoking area and patrons congregate outside the public house to smoke, the reduction in door staff and staff managing the premises means there is a potential for increased noise disturbance to local residents. It was also stated that the Cumulative Impact Policy was introduced due to overall levels of crime and disorder and nuisance in the area resulting from licensed premises operating until the early hours of the morning, with particular regard to the anti social behaviour and nuisance behaviour of patrons leaving licensed premises and that impact on the neighbourhood in the early hours of the morning. Environmental Health did not consider that the applicant’s operating schedule dealt adequately with the potential impact the variation would have on the licensing objectives.

Environmental Health also put forward a Plymouth Customer Data Integration Project produced in October 2010 which contained information following a data survey conducted in the Mutley and Greenbank area and details resident’s views of the local area. The information contained within the report detailed that residents were disturbed by noise between 10pm and 6am with particular problems being during September and October on Friday and Saturday nights. Committee considered that this information supported the cumulative impact policy and demonstrated the effect that noise can have on residents in the area.

The committee considered the representation to be relevant and could not see how the applicant had demonstrated within its operating schedule how the variation application would not negatively impact on the licensing objective of prevention of public nuisance neither could they see that any other measures would address the concerns raised.

b)

Prevention of Crime and Disorder –

The police stated that the variation application was likely to increase crime and disorder in the area.  They stated that there was currently evidence of crime and disorder at the premises and that the removal of door supervisors trained to deal with the situation would only lead to an increase. The police also stated that the application failed to demonstrate how the proposals would not negatively impact on all of the Licensing Objectives.

The police provided data to the committee. One report detailed offences within the Skiving Scholar between 2009 and May 2011. This showed 26 violent crimes (including three of serious violence), 33 acquisitive crimes, five criminal damage and six drug offences. The offence levels were fairly stable with an average of two to three offences per month. The report showed that peak times for offences were between midnight and 4am, throughout the week. The committee took this report into account in reaching its decision as the police stated that the reports were tied and linked to the premises.

This representation was considered to be relevant and again the committee could not see how the applicant had demonstrated within its operating schedule how the variation application would not negatively impact on the licensing objective of prevention of crime and disorder neither could they see that any other measures would address the concerns raised.