Agenda and minutes

            An apology for inability to attend was reported on behalf of Councillor McCullough.

            The minutes of the meeting of 18th August were taken as read and signed as correct.  It was reported that those minutes had been adopted by the Council at its meeting on 1st September, subject to the omission of those matters in respect of which the Council had delegated its powers to the Committee.

            No declarations of interest were reported.

            The Committee noted a list of licences for Houses in Multiple Occupation which had been issued under the Council’s Scheme of Delegation.

            The HMO Unit Manager submitted for the Committee’s consideration the following report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

1.1       To consider an application for a Licence permitting the use of premises as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO).

1.2       Members are reminded that HMO licences are issued for a 5-year period, with standard conditions. Where it is considered necessary to do so, the Committee can also impose special conditions. 

            Background

1.3       The property had the benefit of an HMO licence in the name of the previous owner.

1.4       The previous licence, pursuant to Section 28(2) of the Houses in Multiple Occupation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (‘the 2016 Act’), ceased to have effect on 10th September 2019, when the property was purchased by Mr. Padhraig Magill. Had Mr. Magill applied for a new HMO licence before the date of transfer, the existing licence, pursuant to Section 28(3) of the 2016 Act, would have been held until his new licence application was determined.

1.5       On 10th May, 2021, an HMO licence application was received from the owner of the accommodation.  As this was a new application, the HMO Unit consulted with the Council’s Planning Service, which, on 20th May, confirmed that a Certificate of Lawful Use or Developmentwas granted, with the planning reference LA04/2019/1471/LDE

1.6       Following an email exchange on 3rd June between officers from the HMO Unit and the applicant, Mr Magill confirmed that he has been lived in the property since September 2019 (Appendix 3). In accordance with paragraph 9 of Schedule 1 of the 2016 Act, any building which is occupied by the owner or any members of the owner’s household is not a house in multiple occupation. As such, the building has not been an HMO since September 2019, when Mr Magill and his brother took up occupation.

1.7       Pursuant to Section 87(1) General notices of the 2016 Act, the Council specified a number of documents which are required under paragraph 1(1) or (1)(2)(h) of Schedule 2, before an application is considered valid, the last of those documents ‘Proof of suitable funding arrangements’ was received on 28th June, 2021. As such the application was deemed valid on 28th June, 2021.

1.8       In accordance with paragraph 12 of Schedule 2 of the 2016 Act, the Council must decide whether to grant or refuse an application for an HMO licence before the end of a period of 3 months, that 3 month period expires on 28th September, 2021.

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       Taking into account the information presented, the Committee is asked to hear from the applicant and make a decision to either:

                                        (i)     Grant the application, with or without any special conditions; or

                                      (ii)     Refuse the application.

2.2       If the application is refused, the applicant has a right of appeal to the County Court. Such an appeal must be lodged within 28 days of formal notification of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

            The Committee noted a list of licences which had been issued and orders which had been made under the Council’s Scheme of Delegation.

            The Building Control Manager informed the Committee that the Council had received an application from Mrs. Anita Cooley for a Stationary Street Trading Licence to trade at an available designated site in Berry Street, 32 feet from its junction with Royal Avenue.  The designation of the site allowed for the commodity to be determined, but excluded the sale of hot food, and the application complied with the designating resolution.

            Mrs. Cooley had applied to sell hot and cold non-alcoholic beverages, cold food and ice cream from Monday to Sunday, between 7.30 a.m. and 3.00 p.m. and was planning to trade from a custom converted horsebox trailer, measuring 3.15 metres by 2 metres, with an 0.4 metre overhanging hatch door. The Building Control Manager pointed out that, whilst the overall size of the trailer exceeded that stipulated within the Council’s Stall Design Policy, the Committee had discretion to diverge from the Policy.  It had done so previously for three sites within the City centre, including this one, where the previous trader had used a trailer unit of similar proportions as that being proposed. Mrs. Cooley had not previously held a Street Trading Licence with the Council.

            In terms of consultation, the Police Service of Northern Ireland had offered no objection, nor had the Department for Infrastructure Roads Service, other than to highlight the fact that patrons queuing  at the stall would cause an obstruction on the footway for pedestrians. A neighbourhood consultation exercise which had been undertaken by Belfast City Centre Management had failed to receive any formal responses from businesses in the areas.  It had, however, expressed concern, on the basis of previous consultations and responses, that a stall selling food from that site would be in direct competition with established businesses in that area trading in similar commodities. It had also pointed out that Berry Street had, in recent years, undergone extensive public realm improvements which had greatly enhanced the appearance of that area and had requested that the aesthetics of any new stall or trailer be taken into consideration when assessing the application.

            The Committee agreed, on the basis of the information which had been presented, to grant to Mrs. Anita Cooley a Stationary Street Trading Licence to trade at the designated site in Berry Street, 32 feet from its junction with Royal Avenue, with the size of the trailer, the commodities to be sold and the hours of trading, to be as outlined above.