Agenda and draft minutes

RESOLVED that Councillor Milne be elected Chairman of the Licensing Sub-Committee for this meeting.

Councillor Milne took the Chair for the remainder of the meeting and round the table introductions were made.

Members may make any declarations of interest at this point but may also make them at any time during the course of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

Licence Number: TBC

Hearing Type: Grant of a Personal Alcohol Licence

Licence Number: TBC

Hearing Type: Grant of a Personal Alcohol Licence

Applicant:  Restricted Information

The Council’s Legal Advisor set out the procedure that would be followed, as detailed in Appendix A to the Agenda.  It was noted that the Procedure (Section5) stated the Applicant would have the opportunity to amend the application, however given the nature of the application to be heard, the only amendment the applicant could make would be to withdraw the application.

Given the likelihood of confidential information being discussed it was moved and seconded that the hearing be conducted within closed session.

RESOLVED that in accordance with Regulation 14 of the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005 – the public be excluded from the remainder of the hearing as the Sub-Committee considered that the public interest in doing so outweighed the public interest in the hearing.

The Licensing Officer was requested to present his report, which set out the circumstances leading to the application having being brought before Committee, namely an objection having been received from Lincolnshire Police.  Further information on which was set out in the confidential appendices.  The options available for the Committee were set out in paragraph 2.2 of the report.

The Applicant was then invited to present their case, outlining why the licence was being applied for.  In doing so, the Applicant also offered explanation of the relevant offence, the circumstances surrounding it, and the impact it had had on daily life.

The Applicant’s friend was invited to make a statement, indicating they concurred with what the Applicant had stated, and provided a character reference.

The Objector, and the Members of the Sub-Committee were given the opportunity to ask questions of the Applicant and her friend. 

The Objector confirmed they had no questions to ask of the Applicant at this stage.

In response to questions from the Sub-Committee, the Applicant again reiterated their regret at having committed the offence but also advised of the much improved awareness they now had, regarding the effects of alcohol on the body, as a result of their attendance on the course recommended by the Magistrate.  Having being posed a scenario, the Applicant offered examples of how they would deal with such a situation if granted a licence.

Lincolnshire Police, as the Objector, were then invited to present their case and reasoning for objecting to the Application.  In doing so Lincolnshire Police advised that the offence committed was a relevant offence under the Licensing Act 2003, Schedule 4, Paragraph 14.  Furthermore the offence was not spent.  The circumstances surrounding the “stop” were also outlined, as these had been disputed earlier by the Applicant. Lincolnshire police in concluding indicated it was for the reasons outlined that they considered to grant the licence would undermine the crime prevention objective, hence their objection.

The Applicant, and the Members of the Sub-Committee were given the opportunity to ask questions of the Objector.

Referencing the circumstances surrounding the “stop”, on being questioned, Lincolnshire Police confirmed that this was the information they had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.