Agenda item

            The Committee was advised that an application had been received from the Woodvale and Cambrai Youth and Community Association in relation to an outdoor musical event which it was proposing to hold on the night of 11th July, as part of a week-long programme of Orangefest activities taking place within the Woodvale Park.

            The Building Control Manager explained that the Council’s City and Neighbourhoods Services Department held both a Seven-day Annual Outdoor Entertainments Licence and a Fourteen-day Occasional Marquee Entertainments Licence for the Park, which it transferred to organisers for the duration of their event. Under the terms of those licences, entertainment was permitted to take place from Monday to Sunday between the hours of 11.30 a.m. and 11.00 p.m. and special conditions were attached to each licence in relation to occupancy levels, early consultation with residents and businesses, extended hours and addressing complaints. 

            He reported that the Association had requested that the Committee give consideration to permitting entertainment to run until 1.00 a.m. on the night of 11th July, which would bring to a close a family fun day, consisting of live entertainment, face painting and similar activities, although the overall programme of entertainment had yet to be finalised. He reminded the Committee that it had, at recent meetings, approved requests for similar events taking place in Custom House Square, in Writers’ Square and in the Falls Park and pointed out that, since the applicant was seeking to extend the hours permitted under an existing licence condition, rather than vary the Entertainments Licence itself, there had been no requirement for the application to be advertised. He confirmed that neither the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service nor the Police Service of Northern Ireland had objected to the application and that the Police Service had stated that it had found the Woodvale and Cambrai Youth and Community Association to be both responsible and organised and that their programme of events helped to ease tensions in the area.

            The Building Control Manager informed the Members that, whilst the Building Control Service had yet to receive the relevant event documentation, officers were liaising with the organiser and other Council Departments and agencies to ensure that appropriate measures would be put in place in advance of the event to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of patrons. The Council’s Environmental Protection Unit had confirmed that it had no particular concerns around the request to operate till 1.00 a.m. and that it would seek to ensure that an appropriate noise management plan was developed, in consultation with all relevant parties, with a view to keeping noise breakout and disturbance to a minimum. He added that a special condition attached to the Entertainments Licence placed a requirement on the Association to consult with residents in advance of the event and that officers would approve an appropriate letter in that regard. Furthermore, they would discuss with the Association the process for dealing with any complaints arising on the night of the event.  

            After discussion, the Committee agreed, in its capacity as Licensing Authority, that the standard hours on the Seven-day Annual Outdoor Entertainments Licence for the Woodvale Park be extended to enable entertainment to take place till 1.00 a.m. on the night of Monday, 11th July, as part of the Orangefest event, subject to all technical requirements being met to the satisfaction of Council officers.