Agenda item

            The Committee was reminded that, at its meeting on 18th January, it had agreed, as an additional deterrent, that, in future, as soon as a licence holder had been convicted of an offence, they would be invited to appear before the Committee to outline the reasons why their licence should not be revoked.

            Accordingly, the Building Control Manager drew the Committee’s attention to an inspection which had been undertaken in July, 2016 of the Belfast Barge in Lanyon Quay, whilst entertainment had been taking place. Officers had found that the exit door to the rear of the multi-function space had been obstructed by the band’s equipment and that the emergency light above that exit had not been illuminated. In addition, both the external gate on the rear escape walkway and one leaf of the main entrance/exit door had been locked in a closed position and the appropriate pre-entertainment checks had not been carried out. As a result, Lagan Legacy Limited, the licence holder, had on 23rd May, been convicted of the offences and been fined £150 and ordered to pay £76 in costs.

            He informed the Committee that, in addition to considering the potential revocation of the Entertainments Licence, it was required to determine an application for the renewal of the licence, to allow entertainment to continue to take place within the multi-function space and the gallery restaurant between 8.00 a.m. and midnight on each day of the week. He reported that no written representations had been received in relation to that application and that neither the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service nor the Police Service of Northern Ireland had offered objections. Since the offences had been detected, officers had met with the management of the premises to review their fire safety procedures and to ensure that appropriate measures had been put in place to ensure the safe evacuation of patrons in the event of an emergency. Two subsequent inspections of the venue had revealed no further issues and officers were satisfied that it was now being managed effectively. The Council’s Environmental Protection Unit had indicated also that, since the licence had last been renewed, it had received no complaints regarding noise breakout or patron dispersal. 

            He pointed out that a representative of the applicant company was in attendance and that, once the Committee had heard his submission, it was required, firstly, to decide if it wished to revoke the barge’s Entertainments Licence. Should it decide against that, it was then required to consider the application for the renewal of the licence.

            The Chairperson then welcomed to the meeting Mr. J. Crooks, a Director of Lagan Legacy Limited.    

            Mr. Crooks informed the Members that Lagan Legacy Limited accepted full responsibility for the serious offences which had been detected in July, 2016. He explained that, immediately following that inspection, the company had appointed a new manager, revised its safety procedures and implemented a comprehensive training regime for staff, with a view to ensuring that there would be no further breaches of the Entertainments Licensing legislation.

            The Chairperson thanked Mr. Crooks for attending the meeting.

            After discussion, the Committee agreed not to revoke the Entertainments Licence for the Belfast Barge, Lanyon Quay and, accordingly, approved the application for the renewal of the licence.