Agenda and minutes

To receive from Members, declarations of the existence of any disclosable pecuniary, or nonpecuniary, interests and the nature of those interests in relation to any agenda item. Please see Agenda Notes.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on the 14^th June 2022.

The minutes of the meeting held on the 14th June 2022 were confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

To receive any questions from members of the public provided that a question does not relate to:

·  Matters which are the subject of current or pending legal proceedings or

· Matters relating to employees or former employees of the Council or comments in respect of individual Council Officers.

To ask a question at this meeting, please submit it to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12pm on Thursday 8^th September 2022 or telephone 01452 396203 for support.

A local resident asked whether it was an appropriate time to conduct a Street Trading Policy Review and to potentially prohibit street trading within Eastgate and Westgate Street. He noted that the trade had a difficult three years, particularly with the COVID pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. In response, the Senior Lawyer highlighted that the report was only recommending beginning the consultation process.

A local resident asked whether it was an appropriate time to consult about the Street Trading Policy Review, amid a cost of living crisis. In response, the Chair stated that her question had been noted.

To receive any petitions and deputations provided that no such petition or deputation is in relation to:

· Matters relating to individual Council Officers, or

· Matters relating to current or pending legal proceedings.

To present a petition or deputation at this meeting, please submit it to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12pm on Thursday 8^th September 2022 or telephone 01452 396203 for support.

There were no petitions or deputations.

To receive the report of the Licensing Team Leader seeking approval to undertake a 12-week consultation in respect of a review of the draft Street Trading Policy as well as a review of the designation of streets in certain areas of Gloucester as prohbited and consented streets.

The Licensing Team Leader presented the report of the Director of Communities. The purpose of which was to seek the Licensing and Enforcement Committee’s approval to undertake a 12-week consultation in respect of a review of the draft Street Trading Policy as well as a review of the designation of streets in certain areas of Gloucester as prohibited and consented streets.

Councillor J.Brown noted that she had read through the report and asked why there was a proposal to potentially prohibit Eastgate and Westgate Street from street trading. In response, the City Centre Manager explained that it formed part of a wider vision for Gloucester to turn the city into distinct quarters and to support regeneration. He added that it would provide a ‘blank canvass’ to support a wider vision for Gloucester.

Councillor Radley noted that the City Centre Manager had proposed to support regeneration through the suggested changes. She asked how potentially removing street traders from Eastgate and Westgate Street would achieve this. In response, the City Centre Manager replied that perhaps the term ‘regeneration’ was not the correct one but that the move would help to support the wider vision that the Council had for the City. He said that on Eastgate and Westgate Streets already, the Council had asked for phone boxes to be removed and for Gloucestershire Highways to remove bollards to create space as part of supporting the wider vision for the city.

Councillor Patel noted that that he was unhappy that prior to the publication of the report, he was not made aware of the potential prohibiting of Eastgate and Westgate Street from street trading. He said that when he went into town, the markets were bustling, and this encouraged footfall and people to come into the city. Councillor Patel expressed concerns that prohibiting Eastgate and Westgate Streets from these purposes would have the opposite impact than what they hoped and would lead to less people entering Gloucester. In response, the City Centre Manager said that this was the first time it had been brought before the Committee in report form because the recommendation in the report was only to begin the start of the consultation process. He said that these proposals would have also been discussed in great detail already at meetings of the Senior Management Team and leadership meetings, including meetings with the Leader of the Council, for them to give the go-ahead to start the process of consulting.

In regard to Eastgate and Westgate Streets and the potential prohibiting of street trading in those streets, The City Centre Manager advised Members that they were only discussing the possibility of stopping street trading in those specific streets and not in the entire City Centre. He said that the Council had started the process of consulting street traders about the possibility of potentially moving to areas such as Southgate Street and closer to areas that could see more footfall, such as the Transport Hub and the University Campus when that was complete. He  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

To consider the results of the consultation feedback on the draft County CCTV consultation document in Hackney Carriage and Private Hire vehicles.

The Licensing Team Leader presented the report which presented the result of the consultation feedback on the draft County CCTV consultation document in Hackney Carriage and Private Hire vehicles.

He said that the Council had received 8 responses of which four were from Private Hire or Hackney Carriage drivers. He highlighted the recommendations in the report which was for members to note the consultation feedback and delay any decisions to mandate the use of CCTV within licensed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire vehicles for 12 months until further information can be provided on the cost, what systems to be used and the legality on introducing such a condition and for the Committee to request that Officers engage with the trade through the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire trade meetings to better understand their thoughts following the poor response from them to the CCTV consultation document.

Councillor Bowkett noted that the report asked for a 12 month delay to any changes. He asked who would pay for the changes if CCTV was introduced. In response, the Licensing Team Leader replied that the purpose of the report was simply to ask the Committee to delay mandating any policy change in relation to CCTV so a more robust consultation could take place. He said that an open dialogue with the trade would allow to see what the cost implications of mandatory CCTV would be. He said that Police were in favour of mandatory CCTV but that some in the trade were only happy with aspects of it. He said that the Council would also have to work out who the data controller would be. He added that other Councils in Gloucestershire (Stroud, Cheltenham, Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury) were also going out to consultation so that collaborative work on the topic with other authorities would be beneficial.

The Chair asked if Members had any objections to approving the recommendations laid out in the report. There being no dissent, it was:

RESOLVED that the Licensing and Enforcement Committee

1)    Note the consultation feedback and delay any decisions to mandate the use of CCTV within licensed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire vehicles for 12 months until further information can be provided on the cost, what systems to be used and the legality on introducing such a condition.

AND

2)    Request Officers to engage with the trade through the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire trade meetings to better understand their thoughts following the poor response from them to the CCTV consultation document.

To receive the report of the Licensing Team Leader, outlining details of key Licensing Activities carried out from 1^st June 2022 to 31^st August 2022, including applications and service requests received, details of any enforcement work, progress updates of our work plan and any changes in Licensing Law.

The Licensing Team Leader asked if any Member had a query on the content of the Quarterly Update.

Members indicated that they had read the report and understood its content.

RESOLVED that the Licensing and Enforcement Committee note the contents of the report.

Tuesday, 13^th December at 6.30 p.m.

Tuesday 13 December 2022 at 6:30pm in the Civic Suite, North Warehouse.