Agenda and minutes

Councillor Witts expressed a personal interest in agenda item 7 because of his role as Chair of the Friends of the Waterways Museum.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17^th January 2012 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

There were no questions from members of the public.

There were no petitions and deputations received by the Committee.

The Chair welcomed Police Superintendent Gary Thompson, his Deputy Richard Burge and PC Mark Mansfield, who had recently taken up a new role as a dedicated night time economy officer for the City Centre.  Councillor Tarren Randle was also welcomed to the meeting in her capacity as a member of the Evening Economy Group.

The Committee was shown a short film portraying a typical late night patrol in the City Centre and the pressures faced by the Police in controlling drunk and disorderly behaviour.  Members were advised that disorder occurred between 11 pm and 6 am on Friday and Saturday nights, peaking at 4 am to 6 am when revellers left nightclubs and proceeded to fast food outlets.  Police resources and cell capacity was stretched at weekends and the Police welcomed assistance from the Committee and the Evening Economy Group in working together to overcome the problem.

A question and answer session followed the presentation during which the Committee explored the various issues which had been identified in the DVD.   Members thanked Gloucestershire Police for their presentation and confirmed their commitment to working together with the Police and the Evening Economy Group in the future to resolve the issues.

RESOLVED

That the presentation be noted.

The Licensing and Enforcement Manager briefed the Committee on a report which presented:-

1.         A draft revised Policy for the Placing of Advertising Signs on the Highway (generally referred to as ‘A’ boards) for approval by the Licensing and Enforcement Committee for public consultation.

2.         A draft revised Policy for the Placing of Tables and Chairs on the Highway (sometimes referred to as ‘street cafes’) for approval by the Licensing and Enforcement Committee for public consultation.

3.         A review of the current arrangements relating to charging for ‘A’ boards and allowing for tables and chairs on the Highway at nil charge

Members were advised that the current Council policy did not include any detailed criteria to regulate these matters against and therefore it needed updating.  It was also best practice to review such policies at three year intervals.  Comparison of the current policy with those of other local authorities demonstrated that  Gloucester City’s existing version was no longer robust enough to deal with issues arising in a 21^st century City.

The Committee noted that ‘A’ boards were currently licensed at a fee of £50 each, but there appeared to be a growing number of unlicensed and sometimes multiple boards at premises.  Licences for tables and chairs on the highway were currently free, but there appeared to be a growing number of unlicensed tables and chairs within the City.  Additionally, Members were told that there had been a number of complaints relating to the positioning of ‘A’ boards and tables and chairs.

It was explained to Members that consultation with stakeholders would take place over a 6 week period for the two proposed new Policies and that in the future, once approved, the Policies would be routinely reviewed every three years with licence fees being reviewed on an annual basis.

The Licensing and Enforcement Manager concluded her presentation by reminding Members that they were being recommended to:-

a)    Leave the fees at the existing levels for ‘A’ boards (£50) and to continue to allow businesses to place tables and chairs on the highway at no charge.

b)    To approve the two draft Policies so that they could go out to stakeholders for a period of 6 weeks’ consultation.

The following matters were clarified by the Licensing and Enforcement Manager:-

·         The policies would cover all public highways within the City and not just those in the City Centre.  However, the City Council had no jurisdiction under Highway Act 1980 powers to licence ‘A’ Boards and Tables and Chairs on private land including the Docks and Gloucester Quays.

·         ‘A’ boards would be a maximum size and style, but would not be required to be identical.

·         Tables and chairs would match within the perimeter of a premises

·         Data on complaints received was not available at the meeting but would be made available to Members afterwards

·         Information on the additional costs to traders of meeting the requirements of the proposed new Policies would be gathered through the consultation process and would be brought  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

Members were presented with an update on key licensing activities carried out in the last quarter, including feedback on appeal cases heard by the Magistrates’ Court against decisions made by the Licensing and Enforcement Committee.  The report also detailed future work from March 2012 to June 2015. The information was provided for Members’ information with no decisions being required.

RESOLVED

That the report be noted.

Tuesday 26^th June 2012 at 18.30 hours