Agenda item

(Prior to this item being considered, the Chairperson informed the Committee of the need, in accordance with the legal requirements contained within the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014, to restrict the information surrounding the application.

            Accordingly, with the exception of those parties associated with the application and the Council’s Communications Officer, all persons seated within the public area of the room were excluded from the meeting to enable the matter to be considered in private.)

The Committee was reminded that, at its meetings on 20th April and 18th May, 2016, it had agreed to defer consideration of an application by Endless Music Limited for the renewal of a Seven-Day Annual Entertainments Licence for Thompson’s Garage, pending the outcome of a prosecution arising from an incident which had occurred in the premises on 12th March, 2015. It was reminded further that, at its meeting on 19th October, it had obtained clarification from both the applicant and the objector around the delay in hearing that case and associated issues and had again agreed to defer the application until the case had been determined. 

The Building Control Manager reported that the case had centred upon an allegation of assault which had been made by the objector to the application against door staff and a former director of the applicant company.  He explained that the case had been concluded on 6th April and that all charges against the defendants, including the former director, had been dismissed. The company was now keen to have its application considered by the Committee, given that it had been deferred on a number of occasions and that its plans for the expansion of the business had been delayed and had arranged for representatives to attend this meeting. However, the objector, who had confirmed that he still wished to object to the application and to address the Committee, was unable to attend the meeting due to travel commitments and had provided evidence to that effect. The Building Control Manager highlighted the fact that the objector had already addressed the Committee and that his representation form was appended to the report and pointed out that it was a matter for Members to decide if they wished to consider the application in his absence.

The Divisional Solicitor provided further details around the factors which had contributed to the judge dismissing the case, which had been obtained from the Public Prosecution Service, following which the Committee agreed to consider the application, despite the absence of the objector.

The Building Control Manager provided an overview of the application and outlined the nature of the objection which had been received, which related to the owner’s fitness to hold an Entertainments Licence and the issues which the objector had experienced on the night of 12th March, 2015. 

He informed the Members that Thompson’s Garage was licensed currently to provide entertainment from Monday to Sunday between the hours of 11.30 a.m. and 3.00 a.m. in the ground floor bar and the mezzanine floor, which had a maximum capacity of 225 and 190 persons respectively. The applicant company had informed officers that it was in the process of refurbishing the premises and was working to secure a lease for an adjoining property which, when completed, would enable patrons to enter and leave via Upper Arthur Street, rather than Patterson’s Place, as had been the case previously, Those proposals, which would be subject to both Planning and Building Control approval, had been discussed with representatives of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the company was of the view that they would assist in eradicating some of the problems which had existed previously.

He explained that the Police Service of Northern Ireland had indicated that it had no objection to the application, on the basis that it had been liaising closely with the applicant company throughout the application process and that it had been involved in discussions with the company and with representatives of the Council and the Security Industry Authority around the operation of the premises generally. The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service had indicated also that it had no issues with the application and that it would, at any time, be willing to meet with the applicant company to discuss, for example, the proposed alterations to the venue.

The Building Control Manager reported that the Security Industry Authority, which had been consulted in relation to the provision of door supervisors at the premises, had confirmed that it had, over the years, engaged with the applicant company on a number of occasions to address concerns around the conduct of door staff and had provided advice and recommendations around the re-training of some staff. It had highlighted two incidents of note, in June and October, 2015, relating to allegations of assault which had been made by members of the public against door supervisors. Those had required investigation by the Security Industry Authority, in partnership with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, following which it had been determined that only the incident of October, 2015, could be attributed to the premises. A number of door supervisors who had had their licences suspended whilst those investigations had been taking place had since been reinstated and Council officers understood that they were still employed at the premises and held valid licences.

He reported further that, since the Entertainments Licence for Thompson’s Garage had last been renewed, the Council had received only one complaint of noise breakout from the premises. That had been caused by a fire door being used temporarily by staff to remove empty bottles and had been resolved following discussions with management. He added that, since the current application had been considered initially, officers had visited Thompson’s Garage on seven occasions whilst entertainment had been taking place and had, each time, found that it was being operated in accordance with the Entertainments Licensing legislation.

The Building Control Manager reminded the Committee that, under the provisions of the Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, it was required, when considering any application for the grant, renewal or transfer of an Entertainments Licence, to have regard to any convictions of the applicant relating to an offence under the Order which had occurred within a five-year period immediately preceding the date on which the application had been made.

With that in mind, he drew the Committee’s attention to the fact that Mr. S. Boyd and Endless Music Limited had each been convicted on 13th May, 2014 and 24th May, 2016 of two offences under the Order. On the first occasion, officers had found that management had failed to adhere to the permitted occupancy levels between licensed areas and, on the second occasion, had found the second floor to be overcrowded. They had each been fined £800 and £750 and been instructed to pay court costs of £69 and £66 for the respective offences. He pointed out that, following those offences, representatives of the applicant company had met with officers and, in addition to accepting full responsibility for the breaches, had outlined new measures which would be implemented to prevent a recurrence. They had indicated also that, should their application be approved by the Committee, they would be agreeable to a special condition being attached to the Entertainments Licence requiring them to attend, as and when required, meetings with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Security Industry Authority and other relevant parties, which would be facilitated by the Council, to discuss any issues arising from the operation of the premises.

The Committee agreed that it would be beneficial to obtain further details on the application from the representatives of Endless Music Limited and Mr. S. Boyd, Director, and Mr. L. Murray, its legal representative, were welcomed by the Chairperson.

Mr. Murray highlighted the detrimental impact which the continued delay in determining the application had had upon his client’s business. He drew the Committee’s attention to the fact that the case arising from an allegation of assault against door staff and a former director of Endless Music Limited had now been dismissed and stressed that there was now nothing to prevent it from determining the application. He added that, given that the objector had made those allegations, the Committee should disregard his representation.  

He then outlined the extent of the measures which had been taken by the company to address issues which had been raised over the course of the application, which had included the removal of a former Director from the company and from the day-to-day management of the business. In terms of the two previous convictions which had been highlighted by the Building Control Manager, he pointed out that the company had acknowledged the seriousness of the offences and had engaged external advisors to ensure that the appropriate systems and processes were now in place. In addition, it had organised training for staff, through the Security Industry Authority and other external providers, and had acquired a lease for an adjoining property, which would address the migration issues which had been experienced in the past. However, despite a significant investment, the company had not been able to provide entertainment in that area, due to the ongoing delay in processing its application. Mr. Murray concluded by again requesting the Committee to determine the application at this meeting in order to prevent the company from incurring a further loss in revenue and indicated that, should it be granted, it would be agreeable to a condition being imposed requiring it to attend regular meetings with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Security Industry Authority and other relevant parties and for those to be facilitated by the Council.

Mr. Boyd and Mr. Murray then provided clarification on a number of issues which had been raised by the Members, particularly, around the financial impact which the failure to have the Entertainments Licence renewed had had upon the company and the

utilisation of the new area to date, and were thanked by the Chairperson.

The Chairperson then welcomed to the meeting two representatives of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, namely, Inspector J. Hughes and Constable S. O’Hare.

Constable O’Hare confirmed that he met with Mr. Boyd on a regular basis and that he had always been helpful in providing, for example, statements, evidence or CCTV footage. He provided information on the number of assaults and other incidents which had been recorded in and around Thompson’s Garage in recent years, some of which were still ongoing, and highlighted the fact that, since Patterson’s Place was linked for recording purposes with Donegall Square East and Upper Arthur Street, not all of those could be attributed directly to that venue.

Inspector Hughes informed the Committee that, in the opinion of the Police Service, the company had implemented all possible measures to address the issues which had been raised previously around door supervisors, including the use of body cameras and the provision of training and, on that basis, it could offer no objections to the renewal of the Entertainments Licence.

The representatives were thanked by the Chairperson for their contribution.

After discussion, the Committee agreed, in its capacity as Licensing Authority, to renew a Seven-Day Annual Indoor Entertainments Licence in respect of Thompson’s Garage, 3 Patterson’s Place, with a condition to be attached requiring the licensee to attend, as and when required, meetings with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Security Industry Authority and other relevant parties, to be facilitated by the Council, to discuss any issues arising from the operation of the premises.