Agenda and minutes

To seek nominations for the election for the position of Chair.

RESOLVED – That Councillor James Gibson be elected as Chair for the meeting.

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 and Scrutiny Support at least 24 hours before the meeting)

There were no appeals.

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.

There was no exempt information.

There were no late items.  Supplementary information for Agenda Item 7 – Application for the grant of a Premises Licence for The Glee Club, Unit 2, 123 Albion Street, Leeds, LS2 8ER was distributed and published prior to the meeting.

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

There were no late items.

To receive and consider the attached report of the Chief Officer, Elections and Regulatory

The report of the Chief Officer Elections and Regulatory presented an application for the grant of a Premises Licence for Against the Grain, Init 1, Regency House, Kirk Lane, Leeds, LS19 7EP.

The following were in attendance:

Mr Lewis Cuddy – Against the Grain

Mr Owen Wilson – Against the Grain

The Legal Officer explained the procedure to be followed.  All parties present agreed to the hearing going ahead with a Sub-Committee of two Members.

The Licensing Officer outlined the application.  The hours of operation applied for were as follows:

Sale by retail of alcohol:

Everyday 11:00 to 22:00

Entertainment of a similar description:

Everyday 11:00 to 22:00

The hours had been reduced from the original application following discussion with the Environmental Protection team.

Representations had been made by the Environmental Protection Team and West Yorkshire Police.  Measures had been agreed to satisfy these representations.  There was still an outstanding representation from a member of the public.

The applicant was invited to address the Sub-Committee.  The following was highlighted:

·  The applicant was aware of the objector’s concerns.  The premises would be operated in a café/European style.  The applicant operated at a similar premises where there had not been any problems with noise or nuisance.  Those premises often received 5 star reviews and return custom.

·  The applicant was confident that there would be measures in place to address any of the objector’s concerns.  At their existing premises there were no problems with noise nuisance and measures taken included low levels of music and control of timings when bins were emptied.

·  The applicant aimed to establish an environment that would build local community and would be happy to meet any objectors to discuss their concerns.

·  The applicant’s other premises had been voted the Best Bar in Leeds.  It was aimed to replicate the same kind of operation and those premises were in a similar location.

·  The premises were not too close to housing and there was already a licensed takeaway in the building which was open until 02:00.

·  It was not anticipated that many customers would use cars to attend the premises and it was felt that this would not be a cause of disturbance.

In response to questions, discussion included the following:

·  There would be a diverse range of beer and wines available and these were sourced from companies with an ethos of sustainability.

·  There was scope for some expansion within the premises and this would need further planning permission.  The proposed capacity was for 51 seats.

·  There would be a charcuterie style food offering with the possibility of pizzas on a weekend.  There would also be cocktails and hot drinks available.

·  The applicant had agreed to reduce their originally proposed hours of opening and include conditions to the license to satisfy the concerns of responsible authorities.

·  The applicant indicated that they would be willing to install noise control technology if required to do so.

·  There would only be background music played and other noise mitigation measures would include restricting the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

To receive and consider the attached report of the Chief Officer, Elections and Regulatory

The report of the Chief Officer, Elections and Regulatory presented an application for the grant of a Premises Licence for The Glee Club, Unit 2, 123 Albion Street, Leeds, LS12 8ER.

The following were in attendance:

Chris Rees-Gay, Woods Whur – Representing the applicant

Mark Tughan – The Glee Club

Peter Rogers – Sustainable Acoustics

The Legal Officer explained the procedure to be followed.  All parties present agreed to the hearing going ahead with a Sub-Committee of two Members.

The Licensing Officer outlined the application.  The hours of operation applied for were as follows:

Exhibition of a film, Performance of a play, Performance of recorded music, Performance of live music, Performance of dance, Anything of a similar description:

Everyday 10:00 to 03:00

Sale by retail of alcohol on the premises:

Everyday 10:00 to 03:00

Late Night Refreshment:

Everyday 23:00 to 03:00

The premises were located within the Leeds City Centre Cumulative Impact Area.  Representations had been made by the Environmental Protection Team and agreement had been reached with proposed conditions.  There were still outstanding representations from members of the public.

The applicant was invited to address the Sub-Committee.  The following was highlighted:

·  Approval for the application was sought as applied for with the addition of the Environmental Protect Team conditions.

·  The applicant operated four similar venues in major cities across the UK and was an industry leader and award winner.

·  The main customer base was between 30 and 54 years old.  Fifty one percent of revenue came from ticket sales of which ninety one percent were sold in advance.

·  The premises would follow a theatre style of operation.

·  Should the licence be granted, this would create thirty five jobs, five of which would be full time.

·  All staff would receive full training and there were training policies and programs to ensure that staff were aware of and met licensing objectives.

·  There had been pre-application discussions with West Yorkshire Police. There had not been any representation from the Police as there were no concerns regarding crime and disorder.

·  There had been sound testing done at the premises and a noise impact assessment.  Conditions had been agreed with the Environmental Protection Team.

·  There had been a meeting with local residents and residents had been given direct contact details should there be any further concerns.

·  The hours applied for were to allow maximum flexibility as on occasion there may be collaboration with other events and festivals.

·  The premises were not within the red zone of the Cumulative Impact Area.

·  The premises style of operation would be different to that of previous uses and it would be a destination venue which was family based and multi-generational.

·  The applicant had not received any complaints regarding noise at their other premises.

·  This would be the only dedicated Comedy Club in Leeds and would be culturally beneficial to the city with the provision of high quality music and cabaret style entertainment.

In response to questions from the sub-committee, discussion included the following:

·  The later opening hours had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.