Agenda item

Application for the Grant of a Premises Licence for Tingley Athletic FC Ltd, The Crescent, Casson Avenue, East Ardsley, Wakefield, WF3 2EG

The report of the Chief Officer requests Members consideration on an application for the grant of a premises licence, made by Tingley Athletic FC Ltd, for Tingley Athletic FC Ltd, The Crescent, Casson Avenue, East Ardsley, Wakefield, WF3 2EG. 

 

(Report attached)

 

Minutes:

The report of the Chief Officer Elections and Regulatory presented an application for the grant of a premises licence for Tingley Athletic FC Ltd, The Crescent, Casson Avenue, East Ardsley, Wakefield, WF3 2EG.

 

Members were informed that this application was originally heard on 12th November 2019, but on that occasion neither the applicant nor any objector attended. Members therefore resolved to adjourn the meeting so that the applicant could attend and provide further information regarding the fundraising events during the football off-season. Member’s attention drawn to Appendix B a copy of the decision notice subsequent to the adjournment.

 

The premises currently trades as a football clubhouse and has done for 12 years. The purpose of the application is to allow the sale by retail of alcohol Friday to Monday 12:00 hours to 20:00 hours. It was the applicant’s view that this would allow people to socialise after football games.

 

Members noted that this application had attracted representations from other persons and West Yorkshire Police (WYP). Members were advised that the representation from WYP had now been withdrawn due to conditions being agreed.

 

The Licensing Authority had received seven individual letters of objection, all of which opposed this application on the grounds of public nuisance and crime and disorder. Redacted copies of the representations were attached to the submitted report at Appendix E. Members had read and noted the concerns raised within the representations.

 

In attendance at the meeting were:

·  Mr Daly – Chairman of the Tingley Athletic FC Ltd

·  Mr Walker a local resident

 

Mr Daly provided the Licensing Sub Committee with the following information:

·  The Club had requested numerous Temporary Event Notices (TEN’s) to cover the fundraising events that they have held;

·  The club is a charity run by volunteers and is reliant on fundraising events. The trustees were of the opinion that it would be better to have a premises licence rather than rely on a  personal licence and would be a safeguard setting out clearly defined conditions;

·  The trustees had raised concerns that on some occasions the TEN’s had been a waste of money as many of the events were held outdoors and were weather dependant. It was the view that if they had a premises licence should the weather be unsuitable for an event then the event could be moved to another week without having to rely on applying for another TEN;

·  The clubhouse does not have a bar and they do not wish Tingley FC to become a pub or a club;

·  The request for the premises licence to cover the whole ground was to allow for different pitches to be used for different events dependant on suitability of the pitch. It was not the intention of the club to have drinking all over the pitches;

·  The clubhouse is used as a polling station when necessary;

·  The pitches are an open site with people using them for dog walking and play areas. There have been incidents of anti-social behaviour and the club has suffered vandalism, the Police had been informed;

·  The club is run by volunteers and nobody wishes to be there late as they have jobs;

·  A premises licence is a way of formalising the situation rather than using TEN’s and it would formalise the licensing regulations for events;

·  CCTV had been fitted as part of the conditions imposed by the Police;

·  The club would use plastic drinks containers either single use plastic or reusable plastics.

 

Mr Walker addressed the Licensing Sub Committee and informed the Members of the following points:

·  He had no issue with the Tingley FC Ltd and had grown up playing sports at such clubs. However, he was of the view that there was no need to sell alcohol to parents whilst watching their children playing football, and believed that this did not provide a safe environment for children to play in;

·  When the club have held events, the residents have tried to assist and keep the road as clear as possible;

·  There are a number of young families who live on this road and he believed that no risk assessment had been undertaken;

·  There have been issues with gangs of teenagers using the pitches and the surrounding area;

·  There is a good neighbour agreement drawn up between the residents and the club, although residents do not believe that the agreement works both ways;

·  There is an increase in traffic on match and events days and there is a concern about the speed of the vehicles using the road.

 

Responding to the concerns raised by Mr Walker and the questions from the Members, Mr Daly provided the following information:

·  Just because there was alcohol for sale did not mean that the club was not a safe place for children, lots of sports clubs sell alcohol. He was of the view that sales of alcohol should be policed and monitored, however, people need to take personal responsibility especially in regard to driving after drinking;

·  The application for Friday to Monday 12:00 until 20:00 was to allow events to take place on Good Friday and other bank holidays;

·  There are no draught pumps on site, only bottles and cans to be sold;

·  The club would host league finals with or without a premises licence;

·  There is only one vehicle access to the site;

·  There was a good neighbours agreement tabled at a meeting, however, it was not officially signed off. The club have kept the residents informed on the events that have taken place, and also the application for the premises licence;

·  The club had considered the concerns of the residents but the trustees were of the view that a premises licence would be beneficial for the future of the club and as good neighbours they had written to the residents informing them of their intention to apply for a premises licence;

·  The club have tried to engage with the residents and have set up a community garden which is open to the residents;

·  The club are trying to engage with the wider community by offering the use of the club for other activities especially during the day.

 

Mr Walker was of the opinion that changes made by the club were usually of benefit only to the club and they did not always consider the views or the impact on the residents.

 

The Licensing Sub Committee carefully considered all the information presented to them both in written representations and verbally at the hearing.

 

RESOLVED – To grant a premises licence with the following amendments:

·  Sale of alcohol on Saturday and Sunday 12:00 until 20:00

·  Sale of alcohol on Friday’s and Monday’s would be substituted for English bank holidays 12:00 until 20:00

·  Litter bins to be positioned at all entry/exit points of the site

 

The Members requested that regular meetings should take place with the residents, although this was not a condition.

 

It was noted that large live music events may still require a TEN if the numbers of attendees exceeded 500.

 

 

 

Supporting documents: