Agenda item

The Committee considered the following report:

 

“1.0     Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

 

1.1       To consider applications for Entertainments Licences where the applicant has been convicted of an offence under the Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions (NI) Order 1985 (the Order) within the previous five years.

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       Taking into account the information presented, the Committee is requested to:

 

1.     approve the applications, or

 

2.     should you be of a mind to refuse any of the applications, or approve any applications with additional special conditions, an opportunity of appearing before and of being heard by the Committee must be given to the applicants.

 

3.0       Main Report

 

            Key Issues

 

3.1       Members are reminded that the normal process for dealing with Entertainments Licence applications which are not the subject of objections is that the licence will be granted as provided for in the Council’s Scheme of Delegation.

 

3.2       However, as each applicant has been found guilty of committing an offence within five years of the application for a licence being submitted to the Council, you are required to consider the following applications:

 

Premises and Location	Applicant	Application Type	Offence Details	Date of Conviction and Penalty
Dundela Football Athletic and Social Club   Wilgar Street Belfast BT4 3BL	Susan Gilmore (Secretary)	Renewal	24th November 2012   Overcrowding Obstructed Emergency Exit Route	23rd July 2013   £400 and £69 Court costs
Hole In The Wall   1-3 Baltic Avenue Belfast BT15 2HR	H.I.T.W Limited	Renewal	13th February 2016     An exit route from the side of the bar was blocked with a speaker and a fridge. A mag lock was installed to a final exit door, which prevented the door from being opened, a final exit within the smoking area was locked and a push bar had been replaced with a tea spoon on another fire exit door. An exit route to the fire panel and a final exit was blocked with tables and chairs and a door leading to an exit route was locked.     There were no 'Fire Exit Keep Clear' signs fitted to doorsets, as required, and break glass fire action signs were missing. The emergency exit signs were not illuminated throughout the premises. No evidence of any pre-event log book checks being carried out. No evacuation procedures were in place. Staff were not instructed or trained on the action to be taken in the event of a fire. The noise limiting device was not operating when entertainment was being provided.	On appeal 25th November 2016   £6000 and £66 Court costs.   Original penalty was £9000 but following Appeal by the applicant it was reduced to £6000.
The Cuckoo   149 Lisburn Road Belfast BT9 7AJ	North Down Leisure Limited	Renewal	24th August, 2012   Locked Exit door	26th March, 2013   £400 and £69 Court costs.

 

3.3       Notwithstanding the possibility of refusing an Entertainments Licence on any other grounds, the Council may refuse an application on the grounds that the applicant has been convicted of an offence under the Order.

 

 

            Application History

 

            Dundela Football Athletic and Social Club

 

3.4       Previous renewal applications for the premises were brought before the Committee on 19th February 2014, 21st January 2015 and 15th June 2016 and, after consideration, you agreed to renew the licence on each occasion.

 

3.5       Since then, the premises have been subject to two further during performance inspections as well as the recent renewal inspection to ensure that there has been no recurrence of these or any other safety issues and we have found that management procedures are being implemented effectively.

 

            Hole In The Wall

 

3.6       Members will recall that, at your meeting last month, you agreed to defer consideration of this application due to the applicant not being present or providing any reason as to his non-attendance.

 

3.7       The applicant has given an assurance that he will be attending this month’s meeting and apologised for not attending your January meeting and advised that he had fallen ill.

 

3.8       These are the first offences committed by the applicant and, therefore, this is the first time since the applicant was convicted that the Committee has an opportunity to take them into account in considering the application for the renewal of the licence.

 

3.9       Due to the seriousness of the offences, officers met with the applicant on several occasions to ensure that the problems were resolved and revised measures were put in place to prevent further problems. The meetings involved a critical analysis of the passive and active safety measures as well as the management procedures that the applicant had in place for the premises.

 

3.10     Since then, the premises have been subject to two further during performance inspections as well as a renewal inspection to ensure that there has been no recurrence of these or any other safety issues and we have found that management procedures are being implemented effectively.

 

            The Cuckoo

 

3.11     Previous renewal applications for the premises were brought before the Committee on 18th September 2013, 15th April 2015 and 12th November 2015 and, after consideration, you agreed to grant the licence on each occasion.

 

3.12     The premises has also been subject to three further during performance inspections as well as the renewal inspection to ensure that there has been no recurrence of these or any other safety issues and we have found that management procedures are being implemented effectively.

 

            Representations

 

3.13     Notice of the applications has been advertised and no written representations have been received.

 

            PSNI

 

3.14     The PSNI has confirmed that it has no objections to the applications.

 

            NIFRS

 

3.15     The Northern Ireland Fire Rescue Service has been consulted in relation to each of the applications and has confirmed that it has no objections.

 

            Applicants

 

3.16     The applicants and/or their representatives will be available at your meeting to answer any queries which you may have in relation to their respective applications.

 

3.17     Copies of the respective application forms for each of the premises have been circulated to the Committee.

 

            Financial and Resource Implications

 

3.18     Officers carry out during performance inspections on premises providing entertainment which is catered for within existing budgets.

 

            Equality and Good Relations Implications

 

3.19     There are no equality or good relations issues associated with this report.”

 

            Dundela Football Athletic and Social Club, Wilgar Street

 

            The Committee agreed, in its capacity as Licensing Authority, to renew a Seven-Day Annual Indoor Entertainments Licence for the Dundela Football Athletic and Social Club, Wilgar Street.

 

            Hole in the Wall, 1-3 Baltic Avenue

 

            The Committee agreed that it would be beneficial to obtain further information on this application from the applicant and, accordingly, Mr. G. Conn was welcomed by the Chairperson.

 

            Mr. Conn informed the Committee that he had been unable to attend its meeting on 15th January due to illness and proceeded to address the issues which had given rise to his conviction. He explained that, because of personal reasons, he had been absent from the premises in the period leading up to the inspection by Council officers on 13th February, 2016 and had been under the impression that they were still being managed effectively. However, that had not been the case and, as the licensee, he accepted full responsibility for the offences.

 

            He outlined a number of measures which had since been put in place to improve the overall operation of the bar, which had included the removal of the manager who had been covering for him in his absence, together with a number of other staff. Those staff who remained had been fully briefed on the Council’s Rules of Management for places of indoor entertainment and he would, in future, be present on all occasions on which entertainment was taking place. In addition, a pool table had been removed from the bar area to provide additional space and only traditional or acoustic music would be provided, in order to keep noise levels to a minimum. Mr. Conn concluded by highlighting the significant financial and other pressures which had been placed upon both him and his business as a result of his conviction and assured the Committee that he would continue to work with Council officers to address any issues and had no difficulty with them undertaking regular inspections of the premises.

 

            In response to a question from a Member, Mr. Conn pointed out that the items which had been found to be blocking exit routes had been moved there during refurbishment work which was being carried out on the floor above, which had since been completed.

 

            The Chairperson thanked Mr. Conn for his contribution.

 

            During discussion, the Assistant Building Control Manager confirmed that, since the offences had been detected, officers of the Building Control Service had worked closely with the applicant to improve the overall operation of the premises and, at this point in time, they were content with the progress which had been made. He assured the Committee that, should the Entertainments Licence be renewed, officers would continue to implement a robust inspection programme to prevent a recurrence of the issues which had arisen previously. 

 

            The Divisional Solicitor reminded the Committee that, should it renew the licence, on the basis of the assurances which had been provided by the applicant, and he be convicted of further offences, he would, in line with the new approach which it had adopted at its meeting on 18th January, be invited to appear before the Committee to offer reasons why his licence should not be revoked, rather than having to wait until it was due for renewal, as had been the case previously.

 

            After further discussion, the Committee agreed, in its capacity as Licensing Authority, to renew a Seven-Day Annual Indoor Entertainments Licence in respect of the Hole in the Wall Bar, 1 – 3 Baltic Avenue.

 

            The Cuckoo, 149 Lisburn Road

 

            The Committee agreed, in its capacity as Licensing Authority, to renew a Seven-Day Annual Indoor Entertainments Licence in respect of The Cuckoo, 149 Lisburn Road.

 

Responses from Statutory Consultees

 

            At the request of a Member, the Committee agreed that a report be submitted to a future meeting providing information on the responses by statutory consultees to applications for licences/permits which had been processed by the Building Control Service during the past year.