Agenda and minutes

Special Meeting, Licensing Committee - Tuesday, 23rd June, 2015 4.30 pm

Venue: Lavery Room - City Hall

Contact: Mr Henry Downey, Democratic Services Officer  90320202 x6311

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Minutes:

            Apologies were reported on behalf of Councillors Clarke, Hutchinson, McConville and Magennis.

 

2.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

            No declarations of interest were reported.

 

3.

Non-Delegated Matters

3a

Review of Entertainments Licensing Legislation pdf icon PDF 66 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

            The Head of Building Control reminded the Committee that the Minister for the Environment, Mark H Durkan, MLA, had announced that a consultation exercise on the review of Entertainments Licensing legislation would be undertaken by a Working Group which had been established by the Minister. The Head of Building Control advised the Members that the consultation period would end on 26th June, and that the Committee, at its meeting on 20th May, had agreed to the following course of action:

 

·        that officers would draw up a draft response to the consultation;

·        that Members would email any specific comments to the Head of Building Control for inclusion within the response; and

·        that a special meeting of the Committee, to which all Members of the Council would be invited, would be held to discuss and agree a corporate response to the exercise.

 

            The Head of Building Control confirmed that he had received comments from Councillors Craig, Brown and Attwood and that those would be referred to during the meeting. Accordingly, the Committee considered the following draft response to the consultation exercise:

 

“Recommendation 1

When considering a licence application, councils should give due consideration to preventing, or minimising, any crime and disorder issues associated with the entertainment.

 

The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (NI) 1985 Order (‘the 1985 Order’) already permits the PSNI to object on any grounds, therefore we believe that any views submitted by them can be dealt with at Committee, providing the crime and disorder is intrinsically linked to the provision of entertainment. Belfast City Council (‘the Council’) understands that the industry have concerns that if the specific objective of crime and disorder is included in the legislation the PSNI may attempt to expand the definition to cover other issues not relating to entertainment. The Courts have in the past been critical of the Council where it has imposed conditions that are not directly related to the purpose and extent of the 1985 Order.

 

Recommendation 2

The new licensing regime should apply to the Crown.

 

The Council would welcome this proposal as the Crown organise many large scale events not presently covered by the legislation.  There is no logic, from a safety and public amenity point of view, why these events are not covered as the same principles apply. Additionally, even though the Crown is currently exempt, the Council has acted in an advisory role several times at Stormont and other large events. We believe, through that interaction, there is willingness for Crown properties to be covered by Entertainment Licensing. Should the Department intend to move on this recommendation the Council would welcome clear guidance confirming which Crown premises will fall under the scope of the legislation.

 

Recommendation 3

The dual licensing system for indoor and outdoor entertainment should be replaced by one system covering both.

 

The Council would welcome this proposal. When the existing entertainment licensing legislation was drafted it was mainly for indoor premises. The outdoor provision at that time was designed principally for large outdoor musical events i.e.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3a