Agenda and minutes

The Sub-Committee will elect its Chairman for the meeting.

It was moved by Councillor  Kotz, seconded by Councillor Cossens and:

RESOLVED – That Councillor Wiggnins be elected as Chairman for the meeting.

The Committee is asked to note any apologies for absence and substitutions received from Members.

There were no apologies for absence, or substitutions.

To confirm and sign as a correct record, the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee, held on Tuesday 8 August 2023.

It was RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Premises/Personal Licences Sub-Committee held on Tuesday 8 August 2023 be approved as a correct record.

Councillors are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, Other Registerable Interests of Non-Registerable Interests, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest by Councillors in relation to any item on the agenda for this meeting.

To consider the following:

That under Regulation 14 of the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005 the public be excluded from the meeting for the items of business to be considered below on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in part 14 paragraph 2 of the Act:

14.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the hearing shall take place in public.

(2) The licensing authority may exclude the public from all or part of a hearing where it considers that the public interest in so doing outweighs the public interest in the hearing, or that part of the hearing, taking place in public.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2), a party and any person assisting or representing a party may be treated as a member of the public.”

It was proposed by Councillor Kotz, seconded by Councillor Cossens and:

RESOLVED that under Regulation 14 of the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings) Regulations 2005 the public be excluded from the meeting for the items of business to be considered below on the grounds that the public interest in so doing outweighs the public interest in that part of the hearing taking place in public. For the purposes of this decision, a party and any person assisting or representing a party shall not be treated as a member of the public.

To provide information in order that the Premises/PersonalLicensing Sub Committee can determine the application for the grant of a personal licencefollowing objection received by Essex Police during consultation.

In accordance with the written procedure for hearing the Sub-Committee heard representations from Essex Police and the case for the Applicant.  After each had asked questions of the other and of the Sub-Committee, the Sub-Committee excluded all but the Head of Democratic Services and Elections and the Committee Services Officer to deliberate on the case.

After a period of time the Sub-Committee, The Head of Democratic Services and Elections and the Committee Services Officer returned.

The Chairman of the Sub-Committee informed all parties that the Sub-Committee has RESOLVED:

Not to grant a licence to the applicant as to do so would undermine the Crime and Disorder objective. It weighed heavily on the minds of the Sub-Committee members that Essex Police had serious concerns in granting this Licence to the applicant with the convictions that had been set out. The Character statements received by the Sub-Committee as were considered but did not put the balance in favour of granting the licence in this case.