Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Hall, Leeds

Contact: Governance Services  Copies of the full report with appendices are available on request from the clerk. For details of the new premises licence please contact Entertainment Licensing on 0113 2474095 after the hearing.

Items
No. Item

51.

Election of the Chair

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That Councillor Dunn be elected as Chair for the hearing.

 

52.

Exempt Information - Possible Exclusion of the Press and Public

 

1)  To highlight reports or appendices which:

 

a)  officers have identified as containing exempt information, and where officers consider that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, for the reasons outlined in the report.

 

b)  To consider whether or not to accept the officers recommendation in respect of the above information.

 

c)  If so, to formally pass the following resolution:-

 

  RESOLVED – That the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of those parts of the agenda designated as containing exempt information on the grounds that it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information

 

2) To note that under the Licensing Procedure rules, the press and the public will be excluded from that part of the hearing where Members will deliberate on each application  as it is in the public interest to allow the Members to have a full and frank debate on the matter before them.

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That, in accordance with Regulation 4 of The Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of that part of the agenda (agenda item 6 “Silks” Application for renewal of a Sex Establishment Licence) designated as exempt from publication in accordance with paragraph 10.4 (1, 2 and 3) of Schedule 12A(3) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that the information contained within the documents relate to an individual and include information which is likely to reveal the identity of an individual which that person would not ordinarily expect to be in the public domain. It is considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information, due to the impact that the disclosure of the information would have on the individual. (Minute 54 refers)

 

 

53.

Declarations of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

To disclose or draw attention to any disclosable pecuniary interests for the purposes of Section 31 of the Localism Act 2011 and paragraphs 13-16 of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of discloasable pecuniary interests.  Councillor G Hussain stated that he had previously sat on sub-committee hearings in relation to the license at Silks and other Sexual Entertainment Venues.

 

 

54.

Application for the renewal of a Sex Establishment Licence for Silks, 2 Sovereign Place, Leeds, LS1 4SP pdf icon PDF 42 KB

To receive and consider the attached report of the Head of Elections, Licensing and Registration regarding an application for the renewal of a Sex Establishment Licence for Silks, 2 Sovereign Place, Leeds.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The report of the Head of Licensing and Registration presented an application for the renewal of a Sex Establishment Licence for Silks, 2 Sovereign Place, Leeds, LS1 4SP.

 

The Licensing Officer presented the application informing the sub-committee of the proposed hours of operation and history of previous applications and renewals.

 

The application had received an objection from Leeds City Council’s Development Department.  Primary concerns related to the re-development of the surrounding area as a city park space.  Further objections had also been submitted by local residents.  There had also been late objections submitted which the sub-committee did not consider as they were outside the permitted period.

 

The following were in attendance at the hearing:

 

Philip Kolvin QC

Darryl Butterworth – Licensing Consultant

Rebecca Ingram – Solicitor

Elizabeth Morris – Silks Owner

Maria Cunningham – Silks Designated Premises Supervisor

 

None of the objectors were in attendance.

 

Philip Kolvin QC addressed the sub-committee in support of the application.  Issues highlighted included the following:

 

·  The applicant wanted to propose a solution that would protect the livelihoods of the forty plus staff involved with Silks and would also meet the Council’s policy requirements.

·  It was not felt that the licence could be refused on any of the mandatory grounds and the only discretionary ground that could have any concern was in relation to the impact on the locality and due to the redevelopment of Sovereign Square. The main focus of the applicants submissions was on the impact of the use of Silks and the development of Sovereign Square and the recreational use of the area.

·  Main use of Sovereign Square would be during the daytime when the premises were closed.  It was proposed that the premises frontage could have an active use during the daytime such as a café or small retail with a discrete night time usage of the rear of the premises as a sexual entertainment venue, accessible by a single access door..

·  There had been no objection to the renewal of the application from the Police, Licensing Authority or Ward Councillors.

·  The applicant had tried to find an alternative location in the City but had been unable to find anything suitable.

·  The premises were only open from 22:00 hours when Sovereign Square was unlikely to be used for any significant recreational purposes.

·  Network Rail, as the owner of the premises, had not raised an objection to the licence or tenure of the building.  They had also indicated that it would be preferable to have an active frontage use during the day.

·  There was no impact as a sexual entertainment venue before 22:00 hours and then it was only a minimal impact with no illuminated signage at the premises.

·  The premises were surrounded by major corporate organisations.  There had not been any objections from any of these, with no suggestion that the premises were a blight on the area..

·  As the Sovereign Square development was still some way from completion, it was suggested that a licence be granted for a period of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 54.