Agenda and draft minutes

To appoint a Chair for the meeting.

Councillor Lugg was appointed as Chair.

Chair to arrange introductions and to explain the procedures to be followed during the meeting.

The Chair, Members and Officers introduced themselves and the Chair outlined the procedure to be followed.

No declarations were made on this occasion.

To receive the report of the Head of Public Protection.

Report of the Licensing Officer

The Licensing Enforcement Officer presented the report which invited the Sub-Committee to consider an application by Mr Justin Hudson for a variation to an existing Premises Licence in respect of Butlers Venue Bar, 99-101 Eastgate Street, Gloucester, GL1 1PY.

He referred Members to the application at Appendix 1 and paragraph 3.5 of the covering report which outlined the requested variation to the opening hours. He circulated a summary of weekend opening times, and capacity for the venues within the Cumulative Impact Zone (CIL) to all parties. The Licensing Officer confirmed that the applicant had agreed two additional conditions to the application as outlined on page 26 of the agenda pack.

He drew Members’ attention to representations received from the Gloucestershire Constabulary at Appendix 3 of the report, in addition to the late material submitted as an addendum and circulated to all parties.

He referred to the representation received from a local resident at appendix 4 of the report and advised Members that a late item, submitted by Councillor Dallimore in support of the application, had been published as an addendum and circulated to all parties.

There were no questions of the Officer from Members or the Applicant.

Presentation by the Applicant’s Representative

Mr Mike Smith, Mr Hudson’s representative, informed the Committee that Mr Hudson was seeking to extend the licensable activities of Butlers Venue Bar for an extra 30 minutes between Sunday to Thursday and an extra 60 minutes on Friday and Saturday. He advised the Committee that Mr Hudson was an experienced licensee, who had been in the trade for a substantial period, having received his original license aged just 19 years old.

He noted that Mr Hudson was Chair of the Licensed Victuallers Association, Director of the CitySafe and actively campaigned for the closure of Eastgate Street, all of which he carried out in his own time and at his own expense.

Mr Smith advised that Mr Hudson had delayed his application for a variation of his Premises License for upto 12 months to consider the impact of significant changes occurring in the City Centre, such as the development of Gloucester Quays. He reported that the continuing decline in trade within the City Centre meant that Butlers Venue Bar was experiencing a loss in trade and this application was intended to future proof the business and cater for the need for later night refreshment.

Mr Smith reported that on a typical day’s trading, the 18-25 age group would visit the venue before moving on to venues such as Liquid, at approximately 12am, thereafter the more affluent and older age group would frequent the venue and remain until closing time. Mr Smith noted that Butlers Venue Bar were now stocking premium alcohol and spirits to cater for such customers.

Mr Smith commented that the decrease in the number of establishments trading within the CIL, which would indicate a reduction in the crime figures from 2005 onwards, as these venues no longer caused Gloucestershire Constabulary  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Representation received from Gloucestershire Constabulary.

Letter received from Councillor Dallimore in support of the application.