1.
DETAILS OF THE
APPLICATION
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Applicant |
Ryde
School |
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Premises |
7
Queens Road Ryde Isle
of Wight PO33
3BE |
|
Conversion &
Variation Application |
This application is for a
Premises Licence under Section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003. (Appendix 1) |
The Operating Schedule
shows:
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Designated
Premises Supervisor |
N/A |
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Provision of Regulated Entertainment |
Hours of Licensable Activities |
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(a) |
Plays |
Monday to Sunday 09:00 until 23:00 hrs |
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(b) |
Films |
Monday to Sunday 09:00 until 23:00 hrs |
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(c) |
Indoor Sporting Events |
Monday to Sunday 09:00 until 23:00 hrs |
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(d) |
Boxing or Wrestling |
Not Applicable |
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(e) |
Live Music |
Monday to Sunday 09:00 until 23:59 hrs |
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(f) |
Recorded music |
Monday to Sunday 09:00 until 23:59 hrs |
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(g) |
Performances of Dance |
Monday to Sunday 09:00 until 23:59 hrs |
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(h) |
Anything similar to (e) (f)
(g) above |
Monday to Sunday 09:00 until 23:59 hrs |
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Provision of Entertainment Facilities |
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(i) |
making music |
Monday to Sunday 09:00 until 23:59 hrs |
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(j) |
dancing |
Monday to Sunday 09:00 until 23:59 hrs |
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(k) |
entertainment similar to
(i) & (j) above |
Monday to Sunday 09:00 until 23:59 hrs |
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Late Night Refreshment |
Not Applicable |
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Supply of Alcohol |
Not Applicable |
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Other Times Premises Proposed To Be Open To The
Public |
Monday to Sunday 09:00 until 23:59 hrs |
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Non Standard Timings Applicable To All Activities |
Not Applicable |
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Steps to promote the
licensing objectives
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The Prevention of Crime & Disorder |
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Public Safety |
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The Prevention of Public Nuisance |
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The Protection of Children From Harm |
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2.
LOCATION AND
SITE CHARACTERISTICS
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Ryde School occupies a
large site comprising of school buildings and playing fields. The buildings include
teaching blocks sports hall, theatre and gymnasium (appendix 2). The grounds
are surrounded by residential properties on all sides. The buildings are
situated in the South East corner of the site. Vehicular access is from
Queens Road and off road parking is provided for visitors to the premises. |
3.
RELEVANT
REPRESENTATIONS
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Responsible Authorities |
(Appendix 3) |
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Police |
No relevant representations |
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Environmental Health Officer |
No relevant representations |
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Fire Safety Officer |
No relevant representations |
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Planning Officer |
No relevant representations |
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Trading Standards Officer |
No relevant representations |
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Health & Safety |
No relevant representations |
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Children’s Services |
No relevant representations |
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Interested Parties |
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Mary Low |
Concerned about the potential noise disturbance from
amplified music at the premises. |
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Paul Ferguson |
Concerned about the potential disturbance from
increased traffic and noise. |
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Mr Franks |
Concerned about the potential noise levels and
public disorder. |
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C Dewey |
Concerned about the potential noise and disturbance. |
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J Davison |
Concerned about the frequency of use of the premises |
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Frank Cockayne |
Concerned about potential noise nuisance. |
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Mark McCrimmon |
Concerned about potential noise nuisance |
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Mr and Mrs Dodd |
Concerned about the potential noise nuisance from amplified music and
increased traffic |
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Mr Jones |
Concerned about the potential noise nuisance from the premises and
increased traffic. |
4.
LOCAL POLICY
CONSIDERATIONS
It
is considered that the following policies from the Council’s Licensing
Authority’s Statement of Licensing Policy, 2004 to 2007 have a bearing upon the
application.
Members’ attention in respect
of this particular application is drawn to:
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Clause 1 |
Licensing Objectives |
All |
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Clause 2 |
Introduction |
All |
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Clause 3 |
Integration of Strategies and Other Legislation |
3.1; 3.2 & 3.11 |
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Clause 4 |
Approach to Licensing Applications |
All |
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Clause 5 |
Cumulative Effect |
5.1; 5.2 |
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Clause 6 |
Representation, Reviews and Appeals |
6.1 |
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Clause 7 |
Enforcement |
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Clause 8 |
Operating Schedules |
8.1 to 8.27 |
5.
NATIONAL
GUIDANCE
National
guidance regarding control of areas outside the premises is as follows:
3.11
The conditions attached to
various authorisations will be focused on matters which are within the control
of individual licensees and others in possession of relevant
authorisations. Accordingly, these
matters will centre on the premises being used for licensable activities and the
vicinity of those premises. Whether or
not incidents can be regarded as being “in the vicinity” of licensed premises
is a question of fact and will depend on the particular circumstances of the
case.
In
addressing this matter, the licensing authority will primarily focus on the
direct impact of the activities taking place at the licensed premises on
members of public living, working or engaged in normal activity in the area
concerned.
Licensing
law is not the primary mechanism for the general control of nuisance and
antisocial behaviour by individuals once they are away from the licensed
premises and, therefore, beyond the direct control of the individual, club or
business holding the licence, certificate or authorisation concerned. Nonetheless, it is a key aspect of such
control and licensing law will always be part of a holistic approach to the
management of the evening and night-time economy in town and city centres.
National guidance regarding licensing
hours is as follows:
3.29 With
regard to licensing hours consideration, which will be given to the individual
merits of an application. The
Government strongly recommends that Licensing Authorities should recognise that
longer licensing hours with regard to the sale of alcohol are important to
ensure that the concentrations of customers leaving premises simultaneously are
avoided. This is necessary to reduce
the friction at late night fast food outlets, taxi ranks and other sources of
transport, which lead to disorder and disturbance. The Government also wants to ensure that licensing hours should
not inhibit the development of thriving and safe evening and night-time local
economies which are important for investment and employment locally and
attractive to domestic and international tourists without compromising the
ability to resource local services associated with the night-time economy. Providing consumers with greater choice and
flexibility is an important consideration.
National guidance regarding non-duplication of other
regimes is as follows:
3.51 Planning,
building control and licensing regimes will be properly separated, to avoid
duplication and inefficiency.
Applications for premises licences for permanent commercial premises should
normally be from businesses with planning consent for the property concerned.
Licensing applications should not be a re-run of the planning application and
should not cut across decisions taken by the local authority planning committee
or following appeals against decisions taken by that committee. Similarly, the granting by the licensing
committee of any variation of a licence which involves a material alteration to
a building would not relieve the applicant of the need to apply for planning
permission or building control where appropriate.
3.53 There
should be a firm commitment to avoid duplication with other regulatory regimes
so far as possible. Conditions in respect of public safety should only be
attached to premises licences and club premises certificates that are
“necessary” for the promotion of that licensing objective and if already
provided for in other legislations, they cannot be considered necessary in the
context of licensing law. Such
regulations will not however always cover the unique circumstances that arise
in connection with licensable activities, particularly regulated entertainment,
at specific premises and tailored conditions may be necessary.
6.
IMPLICATIONS
UNDER THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 1998
Members
are advised that this application must be considered against the background of
the implications of the Human Rights Act 1998.
There are three convention
rights, which need to be considered in this context:
(a)
Article 6 Right to a
Fair Trial –
In the determination of his
civil rights and obligations or of any criminal charge against him, everyone is
entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an
independent and impartial tribunal established by law.
It has been held that the
fact that there is a right of appeal to the Magistrates’ Court from any
decision of the Licensing Authority is sufficient to make the Council’s
licensing system compliant with the convention rights.
(b)
Article 8 Right to
Respect for Private and Family Life –
Everyone has the right to
respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence. In the case of article 8 there shall be no
interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except as
such in accordance with the law and is necessary on a democratic society in the
interests of national security, public safety or the economic wellbeing of the
country, for the prevention of disorder and crime, for the protection of health
or morals or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
(c)
Article 1 of the First
Protocol Protection of Property –
Every natural or legal
person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. In the case of
Article 1 of the first protocol it states that “no one shall be deprived of his
possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions
provided for by law and the general principles of international law. The preceding provisions (of which articles
6 and 8 are but two) shall not however in any way impair the right of the state
to enforce such laws as it deems necessary to control the use of the property
in accordance with general interest or to secure the payment of taxes or other
contributions or penalties”.
Article 8 is relevant in this case, as the Licensing
Sub-Committee must balance the rights of the applicant to run their business in
the way they wish, with the rights of the neighbours not to be unreasonably
disturbed.
A
licence is viewed as a possession thus making Article 1 relevant in this case.
The Licensing
Authority acknowledges the right of business in its area to operate, but
equally acknowledges the fact that this must be balanced against the rights of
residents not to be disturbed by unreasonable noise and nuisance caused by
licensed premises. The Licensing
Authority needs to be clear as to the rights granted and the need to ensure
that the reasons given for any interference are proportionate and in accordance
with the Council’s legitimate aim.
7.
OBSERVATIONS
The
Licensing Sub-Committee is obliged to determine this application with a view to
promoting the licensing objectives, which are:
·
The prevention of crime
and disorder
·
Public safety
·
The prevention of public
nuisance
·
The protection of
children from harm
In
making its decision, the Licensing Sub-Committee is also obliged to have regard
to national guidance and the Council’s own Licensing Policy.
Of course, the Licensing
Sub-Committee must also have regard to all of the representations made and the
evidence it hears.
The Licensing Sub-Committee
must take such of the following steps as it considers necessary for the
promotion of the licensing objectives:
(i)
Grant the application as
asked.
(ii)
Modify the conditions of
the licence by altering or omitting or adding to them.
(iii)
Reject the whole or part
of the application.
The Licensing Sub-Committee
is asked to note that it may not modify the conditions or reject the whole or
part of the application merely because it considers it desirable to do so. It must actually be necessary in order to
promote the licensing objectives.
As to the objections raised:
Demand: This is clearly not a matter for a Licensing Authority
as advised by paragraph 3.12 of national guidance.
Character/property
values: These are matters for planning. They do not raise issues relevant to the licensing objectives.
The Prevention of Crime & Disorder
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Interested parties have expressed concerns over the
potential for disorder if this licence is granted. |
Prevention of Public Nuisance
|
Interested parties are concerned about the potential
noise disturbance from music at the premises and about the potential increase
in traffic and traffic noise. |
Public Safety
|
None |
Protection of Children From Harm
|
None |
The Head of Consumer
Protection’s opinion is that all matters can be dealt with by conditions and do
not amount to sufficient grounds to refuse the application outright.
Nonetheless it is a matter
for the Licensing Sub-Committee to determine in the light of the above matters
and any other matters it considers material.
8. APPENDICES ATTACHED
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1 |
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2 |
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3 |
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4 |
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9. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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Ryde School have previously
used the premises for the public performance of stage plays under the
authority of an occasional public entertainment licence. No complaints were
received in respect of noise nuisance from the premises. |
Contact Point:
|
David Curtis-Botting Licensing Officer |
Ext 5155 |
ROB OWEN
Head of Consumer Protection