Agenda and minutes

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 agenda contained no exempt information.

No late items of business were added to the agenda.

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

No declarations of interest were made.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Downes, Firth, Hutchison and D Seary.

To approve the minutes of the last meeting held on 23^rd January 2024.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the previous meeting held 23^rd January 2024 be agreed as a correct record.

To consider the report of the Chief Officer, Elections and Regulatory, which provides the Licensing Committee with information relating to the granting of licences, enforcement action, and proposed future work in the form of an Annual Report.

The Chief Officer, Elections and Regulatory, presented a report on the Licensing Annual Report 2023 which provided information relating to the granting of licences, enforcement action and proposed future work in relation to both the Entertainment Licensing Section and the Taxi and Private Hire Licensing Section. The Committee noted the Licensing Annual Report 2023 will be submitted to the 20^th March 2024 Council meeting and was presented for information and discussion.

The following were in attendance:

·  John Mulcahy, Chief Officer, Elections & Regulatory

·  Nicola Raper, Section Head, Entertainment Licensing

·  Sue Duckworth, Principal Licensing Officer, Entertainment Licensing

·  Jason Singh – Head of Service for Taxi and Private Hire Licensing

·  Valens Jacobs – Licensing & Finance Manager, Taxi and Private Hire Licensing

·  Richard Perrett – Operations Manager, Taxi and Private Hire Licensing

In introducing the work of the Entertainment Licensing Section (ELS) included in the Annual Report, the Principal Officer (ELS) highlighted the following key issues:

·  The city appeared to be returning to pre-Covid levels of activity, evidenced by the increased number of applications.

·  The Annual Report now referenced Gambling Harms as recommended by Scrutiny Board (Environment, Housing and Communities) and outlined enforcement activity undertaken by the Gambling Commission which included action against the three land based operators with branches in Leeds - William Hill Group, Paddy Power & Betfair and Done Brothers.

·  The “Clear, Hold, Build” strategy undertaken through multi-agency work with partners in the Harehills area had found large scale criminality including the sale of illegal tobacco, counterfeit alcohol and illegal vapes. Subsequently the Licensing Sub Committees had dealt with 12 Reviews of premises licences in Harehills which resulted in 7 revocations and modified conditions attached to 5 licences.

The Committee discussed the following matters:

The “Clear, Hold, Build” strategy - 

-  The Committee commended partners for their work in the Harehills area and sought to reassure them that the Committee was keen to play its part to ensure the law was upheld. Members expressed frustration that the current licensing regime permitted licences to be transferred during the period of representation prior to a Review Hearing.

-  Recognition of the success of the strategy, noting a recent report stated that crime in Harehills had decreased 40%. The importance of the “build” element of the strategy was also acknowledged as being crucial for the communities of the area.

-  In response, the Chair confirmed his intention to write to the Secretary of State with regards to the view that transfer of licence activity should be prevented during the process of Premises licence Review.

The Head of Service for Taxi and Private Hire Licensing (TPHL) introduced that part of the report relating to TPHL matters and highlighted that the Section had similarly seen business return to pre-Covid levels of activity with an increase in the number of licence applications.

The Licensing & Finance Manager reported that the Pilot Schemes for vehicle age criteria, tinted windows and to allow drivers to work for two operators had been welcomed by the trade. 1000 drivers had taken up  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

To consider the report of the Chief Officer, Elections and Regulatory, as an introduction to a presentation from the Head of Community Safety Services, Safer, Stronger Communities Team, which includes an overview of the partnership working to date, an outline of challenges faced, and opportunities moving forward, specifically related to the City Centre evening and night-time economy,

The Committee received a report from the Chief Officer, Elections and Regulatory, as an introduction to a presentation from the Head of Community Safety Services, Safer, Stronger Communities Team on the city centre and night-time economy (NTE). The report provided an overview of the partnership working to date, an outline of challenges faced, and opportunities moving forward. The report and presentation followed on from discussion on the City Centre Cumulative Impact Assessment at the Committee meeting held 23^rd January 2024 (minute 35 refers).

The following were in attendance for this item:

·  Seamus Kennedy, Principal Liaison & Enforcement Officer, Entertainment Licensing

·  Simon Hodsgon, Head of Community Safety Services

The presentation highlighted the following issues:

·  Leeds had a strong City Centre Community Safety Partnership Board which included representatives of the responsible authorities, the Chair of Pub Watch, representatives of the night time economy and representatives of hotels and venues, and BACIL (Business Against Crime in Leeds). The Partnership also established a Tasking Group led by WYP and theme specific groups to tackle specific issues, such as the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) tasking group.

·  The statistics drawn from the 2023 Joint Strategic Assessment showed areas of service demand by day and time. People and businesses were encouraged to report incidents on the partnership portal –

-  both total crime and anti-social behaviour peaked afternoon to evening, with crime also showing a peak overnight at weekends. 

-  Offences/incidents recorded as alcohol/drink related peaked during the late evening/overnight and at weekends.

-  The data showed that Violent/Sexual Offences generally occurred during the evening/overnight and two thirds of violent crime recorded in the city is male on male violence.

·  Non-statutory measures undertaken by the Partnership provided added value to community safety in the night time economy with a focus on early intervention and prevention. These included the “Ask for Angela campaign” which had been successfully implemented in clubs and bars; Angels of Freedom who worked with LGBTQ community; Safe Zone/Safer travel funded by WYCA which funds safer travel PCSOs at Leeds Bus Station; Leeds Watch/CCTV; Night Street Marshalls; Outreach/Detached Work, Active Bystander training; #Stop the Spike/#No Regrets Leeds campaigns; a Walk Safe App launched in September 2023 which provides users with information on businesses which had signed up to be safe spaces in the city, the Women’s Night Safe Space and Night Safe Leeds.

·  Challenges to the night time economy had been discussed with night time economy businesses to identify measures they could implement to address them, these included:

-  The shift in business - People seek to pre-drink alcohol before going out later in the evening and people sought more experience-led entertainment. The city had become increasingly weekend focussed and had an increased resident population.

-  Management of grey space – information was passed to Highways on taxi ranks and vehicle movements around the city.

-  Management of Social media – particularly it’s influence on people’s perceptions of the city and the fear of crime.

·  Opportunities for additional measures to further improve the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

To consider the report of the Chief Officer, Elections and Regulatory, presenting a review of the Harehills element of the Harehills and Burmantofts Cumulative Impact Assessment which has been subject to public consultation in February. The report includes a copy of the Harehills and Burmantofts Cumulative Impact Assessment and outlines the consultation responses.

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer, Elections and Regulatory, presenting a review of the Harehills element of the Harehills and Burmantofts Cumulative Impact Assessment which has been subject to public consultation in February. The report included a copy of the Harehills and Burmantofts Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) and outlined the consultation responses. The CIA would come into effect once it was approved by Licensing Committee.

The Principal Licensing Officer, Entertainment Licensing, introduced the report and provided the background to the review, highlighting the following key issues:

-  The Harehills CIA had previously focused on alcohol dependent street drinkers and had not reflected problems currently experienced in the area, which included large family groups congregating in the street and consuming alcohol and causing a nuisance.

-  Statistics from West Yorkshire Police (WYP) and Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team (LASBT) informed the CIA.

-  There were 30 off licences in Harehills which meant alcohol was readily available.

-  The “Clear Hold Build Strategy” had been successful – recently the Licensing Authority had dealt with 12 reviews of premises licence brought by WYP, resulting in 7 revocations.

During discussions, the following matters were considered:

·  Displacement and concern that operators in Harehills were looking to move their business to the Burmantofts and Richmond Hill ward. The Committee noted the opportunity to establish a CIA for the ward.

·  The nature of on-street drinking had changed from lone on-street drinkers to large groups of social drinkers, who could cause more nuisance to residents.

·  The work undertaken by LASBT with communities in Harehills to address group drinking.

The Committee expressed thanks to officers and partners for the work undertaken to engage with the Harehills community and refresh the CIA. The Chair also expressed his thanks to the Committee for Members work and cross party approach throughout the year.

RESOLVED - That the Harehills and Burmantofts Cumulative Impact Assessment 2024 be approved.

To note that the date and time of the next meeting is proposed as Friday 24^th May 2024 at 11.00 am.

RESOLVED - To note the proposed date and time of the next meeting as Friday 24th May 2024 at 11.00 am.