Minutes:
The Building Control Manager reported that the Twaddell and Woodvale Residents’ Association had requested that the Committee give consideration to permitting an outdoor musical event to run until 1.00 a.m. on the night of 11th July within the Woodvale Park.
He explained that the Residents’ Association, which had, on 9th May, been granted the use of the venue by the People and Communities Committee, had, for several years, been an active participant in the Council’s Bonfire and Cultural Expression Programme and that it had been involved in the design of the bonfire beacon, as an alternative to the traditional bonfire. The organisers had stated that the event taking placeon the night of 11th July would bring to a close a family fun day, consisting of live entertainment, face painting and other activities and would conclude a week-long programme of cultural celebration.
He reminded the Committee that, in June, 2016, it had approved a similar request for an event which had been held in the park on 11th July, 2016 and that it had, at recent meetings, agreed that the standard hours on the Entertainments Licences for Custom House Square be extended beyond 11.00 p.m. to facilitate a number of events/festivals taking place there over the coming months. He pointed out that, since the Residents’ Association 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 previous events of this nature had helped to ease tensions within the wider area. Both the Fire and Rescue Service and the Police Service would be invited to attend meetings in advance of the festival in order to examine public safety, transport, traffic management and wider operational issues.
He reported further that inspections in previous years by officers of the Building Control Service of similar events being held on the night of 11th July in the Woodvale Park had revealed no issues. Officers were working currently with the organisers to agree an event management plan and a layout plan for the site and to formulate an appropriate information letter to be forwarded to local residents. He added that the Council’s Environmental Protection Unit had confirmed that it had received no complaints in relation to last year’s event 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.
After discussion, the Committee agreed 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 Tuesday, 11th July, as part of the programme of cultural celebration taking place with the park during that week, subject to all technical requirements being met to the satisfaction of Council officers.