Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED – Councillor M Harland was elected Chair for the duration of the hearing.

To consider any appeals in accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules (in the event of an Appeal the press and public will be excluded)

(*In accordance with Procedure Rule 15.2, written notice of an appeal must be received by the Head of Governance Services at least 24 hours before the meeting)

There were no appeals against the refusal of inspection of documents.

The Sub Committee felt that the hearing should be held in the public domain and agreed that wherever possible, specific reference to the contents of the exempt information contained within Appendix B of the submitted reports should not be referred to, however if it became necessary, the public and press would be excluded from the meeting  as follows:

RESOLVED – That the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of that part of the agenda designated as 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 public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information as contained in Appendix B of the submitted reports referred to in Minute No’s 6 and 7 both in terms of Regulation 14 of the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearing Regulations 2005) and the Licensing Procedure Rules, and on the grounds that it is not in the public interest to disclose the contents as the information therein pertains to an individual and that person would not reasonably expect their personal information or discussions thereon to be in the public domain.

No formal late items of business were added to the agenda for the meeting, however a supplementary document relating to agenda item 6 – application in respect of “Liberté” - had been supplied by the applicant and had been despatched to members prior to the hearing (Minute No.6 refers).

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.

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest were made.

To consider a report by the Head of Licensing and Registration which sets out details of an application made under Section 2 and Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 (the Act) for the renewal of a sex establishment licence for the premises known as Liberte, 10 York Place Leeds LS1 2DS.

(Report attached)

The Licensing Sub-Committee considered a report of the Head of Licensing and Registration on an application made under Section 2 (Schedule 3) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, as amended, for the grant of a sex establishment licence.  The application was made by TRL Promotions Limited, Suite 2 Chapel Allerton House, 114 Harrogate Road Leeds LS7 4NY, relating to the premises known as ‘Liberté’, 10 York Place LS1 2DS.  The basement and first floor were to be covered under the provisions of the licence, with proposed hours of operation of 22:00 hours until 04:00 hours Sunday to Thursday and 22:00 hours until 05:00 hours Friday and Saturday.

The report on the application included the following documentation which Members considered during their deliberations:

·  Dancers Welfare Policy

·  Dancers Code of Conduct

·  Customers Code of Conduct

·  Pricing Policy

·  Trade Union details

·  Appearance/advertising material

·  Site plan

Colour copies of the appearance/advertising material and a further

location plan showing the premises in relation to other sensitive uses as set out in the Council’s Licensing of Sex Establishments – Statement of Licensing Policy were also provided.

Appendix B of the report was exempt from publication under Access to Information Procedure Rule 10.4 (1, 2 and 3) and Regulation 14 of the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearing Regulations 2005), however the Sub Committee resolved not to specifically discuss the exempt information to allow the hearing to be held in public.

The application had attracted one objection and Members noted that the objector would be heard following the submission of the applicant.

  Present at the hearing were:

  For Liberté

  Mr J Skeens – solicitor representing the applicant

  Ms Mary Hennesy – trainee solicitor representing the applicant

Ms Manuela Bianca Haruta – Director of TRL Promotions Ltd and designated premises supervisor at Liberté

  Mr Suhel Mohmed – General Manager

  Mr Smith - Objector

At the outset it was clarified that two of the members of the Sub Committee had been on the working group of the Licensing Committee in relation to the revised Statement of Licensing Policy adopted by the Council which came into force on 01 09 2013.

The members confirmed that they all came to deal with this application with an open mind.

The Sub-Committee heard from Mr Skeens on behalf of the applicant who presented the application. The application and provided information which included:

·  That the number of CCTV cameras at the premises totalled 20 currently but that would be increased to 22 following an upgrade to the system;

·  That in line with the Sub Committee’s requests additional cameras would be fitted at the entrance to the toilets and at the head of the internal corridor  approaching the toilets;

·  Noting the objection received which was a general objection with moral concerns and highlighted that a decision to renew the licence could not be made on moral grounds;

·  Addressing the issue of a 17 year old female working as a flyer distributer as detailed at appendix H of the submitted report. It was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 75.

To consider a report by the Head of Licensing and Registration which sets out details of an application made under Section 2 and Schedule 3 of the

Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 (the Act) for the renewal of a sex establishment licence for the premises known as Purple Door, 5 York Place, Leeds LS1 2DR.

(Report attached)

The Licensing Sub Committee considered the report of the Head of Licensing and Registration on an application made under Section 2 (Schedule 3) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 for the renewal of a Sex Establishment Licence. The application was made by Ruby May (2) Limited, Unit 40 Low Friar House, Lower Friar Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 5UF relating to the premises known as `Purple Door’, 5 York Place, Leeds. The basement and first floors are to be covered under the provisions of the licence with proposed hours of operation of 22:00 until 04:00 hours Sunday to Thursday and 22:00 until 05:00 hours Friday and Saturday.

The report on the application included the following documentation which Members considered during their deliberations:

Dancers Welfare Policy

Dancers Code of Conduct

Customers Code of Conduct

Pricing policy

Trade Union Details

Colour copies of the appearance/advertising material and a further location plan showing the premises in relation to other sensitive uses as set out in the Council’s Licensing of Sex Establishments – Statement of Licensing Policy were also provided.

Appendix B of the report was exempt from publication under Access to Information Procedure Rule 10.4 (1,2 and 3) and Regulation 14 of the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearing Regulations 2005), however the Sub Committee resolved not to specifically discuss the exempt information to allow the hearing to be held in public.

The application had attracted one objection and Members noted that the objector would be heard following the submission of the applicant.

Present at the hearing were

At the outset it was clarified that two of the members of the Sub Committee had been on the working group of the Licensing Committee in relation to the revised Statement of Licensing Policy adopted by the Council which came into force on 01 09 2013.

The members confirmed that they all came to deal with this application with an open mind.

The Sub-Committee heard from Mr Arnott on behalf of the applicant who presented the application and provided information which included:

·  Information about the club being a well-run long established venue which had at all times co-operated with West Yorkshire Police and Leeds City Council;

·  That the venue did not operate as a bar and was therefore not open till after 10:00pm. The Sub-Committee were also informed about the number of customers that frequent the venue in an average week, the type of customers and also the charging structure upon entry to the venue.

·  The security at the club was described to the Sub-Committee and also the vetting process that takes place before entry. All customers being informed of the clubs policies and procedures.

·  The CCTV arrangements at the club were described to the Sub-Committee including where they are placed and how they are monitored.

·  The arrangements for dancers arriving and leaving the club were described. Also the Sub-Committee were informed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 76.