Agenda and minutes

Licensing Committee - Tuesday, 23rd January, 2024 10.00 am

Venue: Civic Hall, Leeds

Contact: Helen Gray, Governance Services  0113 3788657

Link: to view the meeting

Items
No. Item

29.

Appeals Against Refusal of Inspection of Documents

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)

 

Minutes:

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

 

30.

Exempt Information - Possible Exclusion of the Press and Public

1  To highlight reports or appendices which 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.

 

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

 

3  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

 

Minutes:

The agenda contained no exempt information.

 

31.

Late Items

To identify items which have been admitted to the agenda by the Chair for consideration

 

(The special circumstances shall be specified in the minutes)

 

Minutes:

No late items of business were added to the agenda.

 

32.

Declaration of Interests

To disclose or draw attention to any interests in accordance with Leeds City Council’s ‘Councillor Code of Conduct’.

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were made.

 

33.

Apologies for Absence

To note any apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Buckley, Farley and Firth.

 

 

34.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 251 KB

To approve the minutes of the last meeting held on 21st November 2023.

Minutes:

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the previous meeting held 21st November 2023 be agreed as a correct record.

 

35.

City Centre Cumulative Impact Assessment 2024 pdf icon PDF 321 KB

To consider the report of the Chief Officer, Elections and Regulatory, presenting the latest review of the City Centre Cumulative Impact Assessment which has been subject to public consultation in January.  The report includes a copy of the City Centre Cumulative Impact Assessment and outlines the consultation responses.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer, Elections and Regulatory, which presented the latest annual review of the City Centre Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA). The City Centre CIA lies within the Little London & Woodhouse and Hunslet & Riverside wards and the report included the responses to a recent public consultation on the review, with a copy of the proposed City Centre CIA at Appendix A.

 

The Principal Licensing Officer introduced the report and provided the background to the development of the City Centre CIA under the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003 highlighting that, due the dynamic nature of the night-time economy, the Leeds City Centre CIA is subject to an annual review.

 

The following key issues were also highlighted:

-  The CIA is informed by police crime statistics and West Yorkshire Police (WYP) had provided a crime report for 2016 – 2021 and an update for the period 01/09/2022 to 31/08/2023. This provided a comparison with recorded crime prior to the Coronavirus pandemic (referred to as Pre-Covid Averages PCAv).

 

-  The draft City Centre CIA included the statistics and Members were directed to the schedule showing the top ten recorded crimes in the City Centre CIA area –

·  Violence without injury showed a 22% increase from the PCAv

·  Public Order offences showed a 23% increase from the PCAv.

 

-  The statistics showed there had been a dramatic increase in the number of recorded rape and sexual offences. However it was felt that one of the reasons for this increase was the extensive work done to encourage reporting.

 

-  Although the crime statistics included offences which related to the day-time city centre economy (such as theft), only the offences linked to the night-time economy were referenced in the review of the CIA.

 

-  The report showed that Briggate, Albion Street, The Headrow, Call Lane and Woodhouse Lane remained the most active streets for overall daytime and night-time crime in the CIA – these streets are located in the two “red zones” of the CIA where police resources are most often deployed.

 

-  The peak times of the Upper Red Zone and Lower Red Zone had been reviewed and were proposed to remain the same-

·  Upper Red Zone 23:00 hours until 03:00 hours

·  Lower Red Zone 23:00 hours until 04:00 hours

 

In conclusion, the review supported the recommendation that the overall City Centre Cumulative Impact Area and the areas designated as red zones within it remained appropriate.

 

During discussions, the Committee considered the following matters:

·  The partnership work undertaken to encourage reporting of sexual offences and initiatives including the implementation of “safe spaces”, bystander training and “walk safe” App.

·  There had been increased publicity around drink spiking and the number of reported incidents had fallen. WYP carried testing kits but the uptake was reported to be low.

·  The impact of crime and anti-social behaviour on city residents and the stability of city centre communities

·  The work undertaken with WYP and prospective premise licence holders to encourage a different  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

36.

Date and Time of Next Meeting

To note the date and time of the next meeting as Tuesday 12th March 2024 at 10.00 am

Minutes:

RESOLVED - To note the date and time of the next meeting as Tuesday 12th March 2024 at 10.00 am.