Agenda item

            The Committee considered the following report:

 

“1.0     Purpose of Report/Summary of Main Issues

 

1.1       To consider an application for the renewal of a Seven-Day Annual Indoor Entertainments Licence for the Hawthorn Bar based on the Council’s standard conditions to provide music, singing, dancing or any other entertainment of a like kind.

     

Premises and Location	Ref. No.	Applicant
Hawthorn Bar, 1- 3 Hawthorn Street, Belfast, BT12 7AQ	WK/201701273	Mr. Philip McCann, 84 Glen Road, Belfast, BT11 8BU

 

1.2       Members are reminded that objections were received from local residents regarding the initial grant application. However, in the lead up to your meeting on 15th March 2017, an agreement was reached between all parties that the objections would be withdrawn, subject to the applicant agreeing to a number of conditions of licence.

 

1.3       As a result, you agreed to grant the Entertainments Licence for a period of six months.

 

1.4       A copy of the minute of the meeting of 15th March has been circulated to Member.

 

1.5       A location map has been forwarded to the Committee.

 

 

2.0       Recommendations

 

2.1       Taking into account the information presented and representations received in respect of the application you are required to make a decision to either:

 

1.     approve the application for the renewal of the Seven-Day Annual Entertainments Licence, or

2.     approve the application for the renewal of the Seven-Day Annual Entertainments Licence with special conditions, or

3.     refuse the application for the renewal of the Seven-Day Annual Entertainments Licence.

 

2.2       If the application is refused or special conditions are attached to the licence to which the applicant does not consent, then the applicant may appeal the Council’s decision within 21 days of notification of that decision to the County Court.

 

3.0       Main Report

 

            Key Issues

 

3.1       The areas currently licensed to provide indoor entertainment are the:

 

·        Ground floor bar with a maximum capacity of 40 persons.

 

3.2       The days and hours during which the premises are currently licensed to provide entertainment, are:

 

·        Thursday to Saturday:  11.30 a.m. to 1.00 a.m.

 

3.3       Following your meeting on 15th March, the following special conditions were attached to the licence:

 

1.     the licence will operate for a period of six months;

 

2.     entertainment will be restricted to a Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with the hours of operation being 11.30 a.m. to 1.00 a.m. the following morning;

 

3.     a maximum of 40 persons will be permitted in the ground floor bar whilst entertainment is taking place;

 

4.     the licensee will attend meetings, as and when required, with the Police Service of Northern Ireland and representative groups drawn from local residents, with those to be chaired by Council officers;

 

5.     the licensee will proactively clean around the perimeter of the premises;

 

6.     the licensee will ensure that bottles and glasses are not disposed of by staff at closing times;

 

7.     the licensee will provide residents with a direct point of contact and the contact number of the person responsible for managing door staff;

 

8.     the licensee will erect and maintain signage inside the premises and in the rear external area requesting patrons to respect local residents and keep noise levels to a minimum;

 

9.     the licensee will ensure compliance with the requirements of the Noise Report, to the satisfaction of the Council, and the Entertainments Licence will be issued only when all technical matters have been addressed; and

 

10.  taxi notices will be kept and maintained on the premises and will warn patrons and taxi firms that undue noise or disturbance will not be permitted and that the licensee shall take such action, including legal action, if necessary, to enforce that requirement.

 

            Representations

 

3.4       As a result of the application to renew the licence both the original objectors and the PSNI initially advised that they wished to object to the application. Several meetings have been held with all parties and both the PSNI and the residents have confirmed that they wish to withdraw their objections.

 

            Objectors Representations

 

3.5       A letter, signed by a number of residents of the area, has been received and a general summary of their representation is listed below including:

 

·        serious concerns about the operation and management of the premises, which has caused serious distress for many years, given the fact the bar is located in a highly populated residential area;

·        regular complaints have been made to PSNI and Belfast City Council in relation to the unacceptable level of noise in a built up residential area from noisy patrons, amplified music and taxi horns;

·        concerns regarding the applicant complying with the law relating to the Liquor Licence and Entertainments Licence as they have been complaining that patrons have been drinking in the bar beyond their permitted hours;

·        witnessing anti-social behaviour, public urination, alcohol consumption and sexual acts within the alleyways;

·        residents have been subjected to verbal abuse and foul language from staff; and

·        Concerns regarding vermin, rubbish and storage in the alleyway.

 

3.6       The letter also makes reference to the premises Liquor Licence and applications which Mr. McCann has made to the Court to renew the licence and to extend the permitted hours to 1.00 a.m., under Article 44 of the Licensing (NI) Order 1996. A copy of the letter has been circulated to the Committee.

 

            PSNI

 

3.7       The PSNI initially objected following inspections of the premises which found that the applicant was allegedly operating without a Liquor Licence after failing to renew his Liquor Licence. This is currently being investigated by the PSNI.  A copy of its response has been forwarded to Members.

 

3.8       Police Officers will be available at your meeting to answer any queries you may have in relation to the application.

 

            Liaison meetings

 

3.9       As stated, several meetings have taken place since Committee granted the premises an Entertainments Licence. The meetings were attended by PSNI, objectors and the applicant. One of the meetings was also attended by Councillor Tim Attwood.

 

3.10     An agreement has been negotiated and an Action Plan developed, which all parties have signed up to. The Action Plan is based on a number of the previous conditions, together with additional conditions the PSNI and residents have requested to be included.

 

            Agreement

 

3.11     The applicant has confirmed that he is willing to agree to the Action Plan and to the following conditions being attached to the terms and conditions of his Entertainments Licence. A copy of the Action Plan has been circulated to the Committee.

 

1.     the licensee must attend meetings, as and when required, with the PSNI and representative groups drawn from local residents, chaired by the Council, to discuss issues relating to Entertainments Licensing;

 

2.     the licensee must install and maintain a suitable CCTV system both internally and externally to the premises. The position of cameras must be in agreement with the PSNI and any footage must also be made available to them and/or the Council should it be required;

 

3.     the licensee must maintain signage internally and externally to the premises and provide announcements at the end of the night asking patrons to respect the residents in the area and keep noise to a minimum when leaving;

 

4.     the licensee must ensure that noise from entertainment and patrons does not cause unreasonable disturbance to residents in the neighbourhood;

 

5.     the licensee or a nominated responsible person shall be available during the whole time that the premises is open to the public, and shall be assisted by sufficient staff;

 

6.     taxi notices must be maintained on the premises. The notices shall contain a warning to patrons and taxi firms that undue noise or disturbance will not be permitted and that the licensee shall take such action, including legal action if necessary to enforce that requirement;

 

7.     the licensee must regularly and proactively clean around the perimeter of the premises and ensure they cause no obstruction within the rear alleyways;

 

8.     the licensee must ensure patrons do not carry opened or unopened bottles or glasses off the premises at any time;

 

9.     the licensee must ensure bottles and glasses are not disposed of by staff at closing times;

 

10.  the licensee must maintain a regular point of contact for residents to relay any concerns they may have;

 

11.  shutters outside final exit doors to be secured in open position to ensure that they will not impede escape; and

 

12.  all doors on means of escape to be free from restrictive fastenings other than panic bolt type mechanisms.

 

 

            Committee Protocol

 

3.12     As a result of the negotiations and the development of the Action Plan, both the objectors and PSNI have withdrawn their objections.

 

3.13     The applicant and/or their representatives will be available at your meeting along with a delegation of objectors should you have any queries in relation to the application.

 

            Health, Safety and Welfare Issues

 

3.14     A total of four during performance inspections have been carried out on the premises by Officers from the Service since your meeting on 15 March 2017. The inspections included monitoring and observations outside the premises. On each of these occasions no entertainment was taking place.

 

3.15     As part of the renewal application process an inspection was carried out and all technical requirements and associated operational and management procedures were found to be satisfactory. The inspection also verified that noise measures previously stipulated are being managed effectively.

 

            NIFRS

 

3.16     The Northern Ireland Fire Rescue Service has confirmed that it has no objection to the Entertainments Licence being renewed.

 

            Noise Issues

 

3.17     The Environmental Protection Unit (EPU) has been consulted in relation to the application and confirmed that it has received a total of four noise complaints since your meeting on 15th March, 2017. The complaints were received over two separate nights and related to loud entertainment music and patron voices from the premises.

 

3.18     The Noise Team responded to two of the complaints and on both occasions the bar was closed and no noise was witnessed. On the other two occasions, the Noise Team were unable to respond to the other complaints received due to their workload and time constraints. Officers of the Building Control Service followed up with all parties thereafter.

 

 

3.20     Financial and Resource Implications

 

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

 

3.21     Equality or Good Relations Implications

 

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

 

            The Committee agreed that it would be beneficial, in advance of considering the application, to obtain details around the current status of the application for the renewal of the venue’s Liquor Licence. Accordingly, Inspector A. Swann, representing the Police Service of Northern Ireland, was welcomed by the Chairperson. 

 

            Inspector Swann informed the Committee that a Liquor Licence was required to be renewed every five years and that the licensee of the Hawthorn Bar had informed the Police Service of Northern Ireland that he had been unaware of the fact that his licence had not been renewed. He confirmed that it was his understanding that the application had been adjourned by the Court on 7th December, at the request of the applicant’s representative, and that it would now be considered on 18th December.

 

            In terms of the venue’s Entertainments Licence, Inspector Swann pointed out that the detailed action plan which had been agreed between the licensee, the objectors, the Council and the Police Service of Northern Ireland would form the basis for the effective management and monitoring of the premises in future.   

 

            Inspector Swann was thanked by the Chairperson.

 

            It was reported that Councillor Attwood had requested the opportunity to address the Committee on behalf of the objectors to the application and he was welcomed by the Chairperson.

 

            Councillor Attwood reminded the Committee that it had, in renewing the premises’ Entertainments Licence in March, attached a number of conditions, on the basis of objections which had been raised and subsequently withdrawn around the operation of the premises. He explained that, shortly afterwards, those issues had re-emerged, which had led to the objectors to object initially to the current application.

 

            He welcomed the fact that the action plan, which had now been agreed by all parties, had included the installation of closed-circuit television, both inside and outside the premises, and concluded by urging the Council and the Police Service of Northern Ireland to ensure that the plan was fully adhered to.       

 

             Councillor Attwood was thanked by the Chairperson, who then welcomed Mr. P. McCann, the licensee of the Hawthorn Bar, to the meeting.

 

            Mr. McCann informed the Committee that he had worked in the licensed trade for forty-two years and that he had owned the Hawthorn Bar for the last eighteen years. He explained that the closed-circuit television which had been operating in the bar since he had assumed control had been upgraded and that, as had always been the case, recordings would be made available to the Police Service of Northern Ireland or others, should it be requested. 

 

            In response to a number of questions from the Committee, Mr. McCann confirmed that his application for the renewal of the Liquor Licence had not been adjourned and that it was being heard for the first time by the Court on 18th December. He stated that he had a good relationship with the residents of Hawthorn Street, some of whom frequented the premises and were supportive of his application, and that the objections to the renewal of his Entertainments Licence had originated primarily from Cavendish Street. He pointed out that an arrangement was in place with a taxi company for the collection of patrons and that its drivers were well aware of the need to refrain from sounding their horns whilst outside the premises. He added that he should not be held accountable for vehicle noise generally, given that the bar was situated on a main thoroughfare and concluded by highlighting the fact that the Council’s Environmental Protection Unit had received only a minimal number of complaints regarding noise nuisance from his premises.    

 

            Mr. McCann was thanked by the Chairperson. 

 

            During discussion, the Building Control Manager addressed a number of issues which had been raised by Members during the course of the presentations. He confirmed that, should the Committee agree to defer the matter, the applicant could continue to operate under the terms of his current Entertainments Licence until his application had been determined and that the licence could be renewed in the absence of a Liquor Licence. He confirmed also that, in accordance with a condition which had been placed upon the Entertainments Licence, a liaison meeting, involving all of the relevant parties, had taken place in July.  Further meetings had taken place, albeit with limited success, up until a meeting in November at which agreement had been reached around the current action plan.

 

            After discussion, it was

 

Moved by Councillor Bunting,

Seconded by Councillor Hussey,

 

      That the Committee agrees to defer consideration of the application for the renewal of the Seven-Day Annual Indoor Entertainments Licence in respect of the Hawthorn Bar, 1-3 Hawthorn Street, until such time as the application for the renewal of the Liquor Licence had been determined.

 

            On a vote by show of hand five Members voted for the proposal and eleven against and it was declared lost.

 

            Accordingly, the Committee agreed to renew the Seven-Day Annual Indoor Entertainments Licence in respect of the Hawthorn Bar, 1-3 Hawthorn Street and to attach to the licence the special conditions which had been agreed within the action plan, as set out within paragraph 3.11 of the report.