Agenda item

Application for Grant of a Premises Licence - Cross Flatts Park, Parkfield Avenue, Leeds LS11

To consider the report by the Director of Legal and Democratic Services on an application made under the Licensing Act 2003 for the grant of a Premises Licence in respect of land situated within Cross Flatts Park, LS11

 

(Report attached)

Minutes:

 

APPLICATION FOR THE GRANT OF A PREMISES LICENCE - “CROSS FLATTS PARK”, PARKFIELD AVENUE, LEEDS LS 11

 

On 20th June 2006 the Licensing Sub Committee heard an application made by Mrs Denise Preston, LCC Department of Learning and Leisure, for the grant of a Premises Licence in respect of land situated within Cross Flatts Park, Parkfield Avenue, Leeds LS11

 

The application sought was as follows:

 

-  Sale and supply of alcohol (for consumption on and off the premises):

 

Sunday   12:00 noon until 22:30 hours

Monday to Saturday  10:00 hours until 23:00 hours

 

-  Provision of Plays, Films, Boxing or Wrestling entertainment, Live Music, Recorded Music, Performances of Dance, anything similar to live/recorded music or performances of dance (such as fashion shows, non-animal circuses, festivals and exhibitions), provision of facilities for dancing; provision of facilities for entertainment similar to making music or dancing (all of these both indoors and outdoors) and Indoor Sporting events:

 

Sunday to Saturday  08:00 hours until 23:00 hours

 

-  Provision of Late Night Refreshment:

 

Sunday to Saturday  23:00 hours until 01:00 hours (the following day)

 

The Sub Committee noted that the Park was a public open space which is therefore open 24 hours per day 365 days of the year.

 

This letter represents the formal decision of the Sub Committee in respect of the application.

 

Preliminary Procedural Issues

 

The Sub Committee considered preliminary matters of a purely procedural nature. 

 

There were no declarations of interest made.

 

The Sub Committee then decided that the procedure for the hearing would not be varied. The Sub Committee also considered if the public should be excluded from any parts of the hearing.

 

The Sub Committee decided to exclude the public from that part of the hearing where Members would deliberate on the application as presented. This would allow them to have a full and frank discussion on all matters put before them and this fact outweighed the public interest in not doing so.

 

Prior to the hearing the Sub Committee had considered the Licensing Officers Report which contained the application as submitted along with a Pro Forma Risk Assessment completed by the applicant.  West Yorkshire Police had made representation on the application and a copy of their submission was included within the papers. West Yorkshire Police were represented by PC Arkle, Sergeant Pickersgill and Inspector Stubbs at the hearing.

 

Also included was a copy of a petition submitted by local residents containing 87 signatures and a letter of representation received from Mr J E Dickinson who also attended the hearing. The local residents did not attend the hearing, however their written submissions would be considered.

 

The Sub Committee permitted each party 10 minutes in which to make their case. This time limit was imposed having regard to the relevant Regulations and in the interests of consistency and the efficiency of business.

 

The Sub Committee then went on to consider the application. 

 

The Hearing

 

The Sub Committee considered the verbal submissions made by Mr S Bumby and Mr D Morgan who attended the hearing on behalf of the applicant, who described the nature of the application and addressed the comments of the interested parties.

 

In determining the application the Sub Committee took into account all written submissions contained within the report which had been circulated prior to the hearing.

 

After considering the evidence and submissions the Sub Committee needed to satisfy itself that granting the application would promote the licensing objectives.

 

In reaching this decision the Sub Committee had regard to the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003, guidance under Section 182 of that Act and the Council’s own Licensing Policy.

 

In particular the Sub Committee took into account Sections 17 & 18 of the Act because these were the most relevant to the application and Chapter 7 of the Guidance relating to the prevention of crime and disorder, public nuisance and public safety

 

The Sub Committee then went onto consider the following paragraphs of the Licensing Policy as the Sub Committee took the view these paragraphs had bearing on the application

 

11:05 to 11:10  Crime & Disorder

11:11 to 11:22   Public Safety

11:23 to 11:28  Public Nuisance

 

The Sub Committee decided the cumulative impact policy did not apply to this application.

 

Reasons for the decision

 

The Sub Committee heard representation from West Yorkshire Police (WYP) in the first instance.

 

PC Arkle began by explaining that WYP had first made representation on the application in May 2006, and since that time work had been ongoing with the applicant and officers of LCC Entertainment Licensing Section to make agreements with regards to the Operating Schedule to be attached to the Premises Licence for the Park. PC Arkle further confirmed that WYP had now agreed to the guidance proposed by Entertainment Licensing for an Event Management Plan to be drawn up.

 

With reference to the proposed conditions contained within the submission by WYP PC Arkle further explained that the applicant had agreed to all of these with the exception of Condition 10 (relating to the attendance of Police Officers at every event and numbers to be deployed). PC Arkle added that WYP recognised the differing size of events at the Park and therefore the different requirements for any police presence

 

The Chair of the Committee noted this and commented that the inclusion of the Condition would now be a matter for the Sub Committee, however invited the applicants’ representative to comment on whether the matter was now agreed.  Mr Bumby replied that that the applicant had agreed to all other measures proposed by WYP and were willing to continue negotiations regarding the wording of Condition 10 as the applicant would prefer this particular matter to be dealt with through the multi agency meetings and Event Management Plan. The Chair indicated that the Sub Committee could not take into account ongoing negotiations.

 

PC Arkle stated that the Chief Constable retained the ultimate discretion about the numbers of police officers to be deployed at any event, this duty could not be delegated through negotiation or any Event Management Plan, however WYP did acknowledge that not every event would require a major police presence. Furthermore, the wording of Condition 10 represented best practice with regards to events and had been used for other events including those held at sports grounds. It was also felt that the inclusion of Condition 10 would provide some assurance to local residents.

 

The Chair of the Sub Committee again invited the applicant’s representative to comment on this, and the length of time between receipt of the representation and today’s hearing. Mr Bumby reiterated that all other measures had been agreed between the parties, however the applicant remained concerned that the current wording of Condition 10 would allow WYP to insist on a police presence at every event, and the costs of that presence would be passed onto the applicant. As such the applicant had wished to retain the right to negotiate the matter through the multi agency process. However following informal talks with WYP representatives prior to the hearing, Mr Bumby stated that he believed some of the applicants fears may have been unfounded; as such he would accept the conditions on behalf of the applicant.

 

In response to a query from the Sub Committee regarding the wording of Condition 9 (i) (the discretion of the Police to decide that a specific event should not be held) PC Arkle tabled a copy of amended and condensed conditions which had been agreed between the parties prior to the hearing and would be used in conjunction with the guidance to the Event Management Plan. Furthermore Inspector Stubbs reported that WYP had now agreed to the deletion of Condition 9(i). PC Arkle explained that conditions originally proposed which WYP believed would now be included within the Event Management Plan had been removed.

 

The conditions agreed between the parties are as follows;

·  The Licence Holder shall give written notice of any event to be held at the site no later than 124 days prior to the event to Leeds City Council Licensing Department, West Yorkshire Police, West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service and West Yorkshire Ambulance Service. No event shall be held if less than such notice is given unless notice is waived by the above parties. “Event” shall include any galas, fetes or other events and shall include any occasion on which there is entertainment to the public. This will specifically include any singing, dancing or musical entertainment whether live or recorded. It shall also include any event where alcohol is for sale to the public

Managers in the police are required by law to prepare a roster for all officers which gives 3 months notice of the duty they are required to work. It is therefore very helpful if organisers of events give us 4 months notice. You will note that I have included the caveat that such notice can be “waived”. In practice 4 months would only be necessary in respect of the larger events. We would certainly not seek to enforce that condition in respect of smaller scale events

·  The Licence Holder will ensure that an event specific Event Management Plan (EMP) is received by each responsible Authority and the Licensing Authority. The Licence Holder will ensure the EMP is received at least 90 days prior to each event

·  The EMP shall be accompanied by detailed gridded plans, identifying the licensed area, all fencing, access and exit routes, permanent and temporary structures, barriers, lighting points, CCTV camera points, toilet and refreshment facilities, concession units, first aid points, hill gradients and steps, the layout of any backstage area and the base of the organiser.

·  Where identified the Premise Licence Holder (PLH) will convene multi-agency meetings

·  If requested by the police, fire or ambulance service, a final inspection meeting shall be held at the site on a date and time to be determined by the responsible authorities. The PLH will not permit the admittance to the specific licensed areas until agreements have been reached by the relevant responsible authorities

·  The PLH must make adequate provision for the monitoring of the number of persons entering the licensed site and any marquee/s. The arena shall not exceed a number of persons, as determined by the responsible authorities.

In the proposed document “Guidance Notes – Production of an Event Management Plan” we feel the wording in relation to the above is not sufficiently prescriptive and would highlight the above wording as more appropriate for such an important issue. (Note: the figure 5,000 may not be the appropriate upper limit)

·  The PLH shall arrange for the attendance at every event of as many Police Officers within the site and its environs as the Police consider adequate to secure orderly and decent behaviour within the event site and its environs

We recognise that many of the smaller events will require no police attendance

 

 

The Sub Committee noted that these conditions would now be added to the Premises Licence for the site, should the application be granted.

 

The Sub Committee then considered the representation made by Mr J E Dickinson, local resident. Mr Dickinson began by stating that he had no objection to the events or late night refreshment proposed within the application, however he was opposed to any sale of alcohol. He explained that there were 12 entrances to the Park which he believed could not all be covered by security. Furthermore members of the public would be able to buy alcohol at the local off-licence or supermarket and take it into the Park. He also reported that the Park already suffered from littering.

 

The Sub Committee then considered the representation from Mr Bumby and Mr Morgan, on behalf of the applicant who addressed the application and the comments of the local residents. Mr Bumby began by stating that this application had been made to cover events for this year and for future years, the Mela being the main attraction at this Park.

 

Mr Dickinson added at this point that there had been no alcohol sales at the Mela. Mr Bumby confirmed this although added that some members of the public had brought some with them to the event. Additionally other events held in the future may wish to include the sale of alcohol and as such this application had included this requirement.

 

Mr Bumby explained that alcohol was usually only sold within a confined area within an event and alcohol was not allowed to be taken outside of the site. In answer to several queries relating to the sale and control of alcohol, Mr Bumby reported that alcohol was not sold on the site in glasses or glass bottles, only in plastic containers.  Furthermore it was standard practice that alcohol sales be made within a marquee and for that area to be controlled through the use of stewards or marshals. The Mela event itself had been controlled by marshals employed by Leeds City Council. With regards to the number of entrances, Mr Bumby stated that although alcohol would not be allowed to be brought onto the site, it would be difficult to search every visitor, in reality only alcohol which was visible to the marshals could be confiscated

 

In response to a question from the Sub Committee regarding the clearing of the site following an event, Mr Bumby explained that any promoter who held an event on the site was required to implement a clear up policy. He confirmed that this happened after every event. Additionally Mr Dickinson, at the request of the Chair, confirmed that this was the case for the Mela event site although he stated that the remainder of the Park was still littered. In response, Mr Bumby who stated he had been present at the Mela, refuted that claim. The Sub Committee considered the contents of the Risk Assessment and in particular the response to the question therein as to whether the applicant had a policy for the frequent collection of glass and bottles. The applicant had stated that there was “no glass bottle policy” however the Sub Committee were concerned that the entire site should be clear of any glass, whether it was associated with any given event or not. Mr Bumby reiterated that the clean up of the site following an event would be dealt with through implementation of the terms of any Event Management Plan

 

In conclusion Mr Bumby stated that events at this Park had been well managed in the past, and he stated that as the Department of Learning and Leisure would now be the Premise Licence Holder under the new Licensing regime, he expected that this would have a positive effect on the management of all future events as it would lead to closer working relationships between the interested parties.

 

The Decision

 

The Sub Committee were largely persuaded by Mr Bumby’s submission that the applicant had taken had taken sufficient steps to promote the stated licensing objectives, and welcomed the agreement to produce an Event Management Plan for each individual event scheduled for the Park. The Sub Committee felt that this approach would address in detail each of the licensing objectives and would largely address the concerns of the local residents at each event.

 

Members however remained concerned about provisions for the clearance of the Park following events held within the site and control of the provision of alcohol in a public place.

 

Therefore, having regard to the submissions of the applicant and interested parties and relevant parts of the Licensing Act, the Sub Committee resolved to grant the application as requested, subject to the amended schedule of conditions as agreed between West Yorkshire Police and the applicant, plus the submission of relevant Event Management Plans as agreed with the Council’s Licensing Section, and subject to the following two minor modifications : 

 

Hours and Licensable Activities -

 

Granted as requested

 

Conditions

 

  • All sales of alcohol shall be in a demarcated area and drink shall be served and consumed within that area

 

  • It shall be the responsibility of the applicant (Leisure Services) to ensure that the Park is cleared of litter within 72 hours after each event

 

There is a right of appeal to the Magistrates Court should you be dissatisfied with the decision made by the Sub Committee. You must make this appeal within 21 days of this letter reaching you. Appeals should be addressed to the Magistrates Court at:

 

Clerk to the Justices

Leeds Magistrates Court

Westgate

Leeds

LS1 3JP

 

Appeals should be accompanied by a copy of this decision letter and the court fee of £75.00

 

Yours Faithfully,

 

 

 

Helen Gray

Clerk to the Licensing Sub Committee