Agenda and minutes

The Chair will open the meeting and welcome all present.

The Chair opened the Hearing and introduced the Members of the Sub-Committee and Officers present. The Chair briefly explained to all parties the procedure to be followed during the Hearing.

To receive apologies for absence and the details of any Councillor nominated to attend the meeting in place of a Member listed.

There were no apologies for absence. It was noted that Councillor Michael Braley was the designated Reserve member.

To invite Councillors to declare any interest they may have in the item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider an objection notice served by West Mercia Police in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003 in respect of a Temporary Event Notice for a planned event at Club Rush, 76 Ipsley Street, Redditch, B98 7AJ.

(Report attached)

The Sub-Committee was asked to consider an application for a Temporary Event Notice in respect of Club Rush, 76 Ipsley Street, Redditch B98 7AJ. The application was subject to a hearing in the light of an objection notice being served by West Mercia Police in accordance with the Licensing Act 2003. The basis of the objection from the Police related primarily to crime and disorder but touched on the other three licensing objectives to a lesser extent.

The Senior Licensing Practitioner introduced the report, noting that the applicant had submitted the Temporary Event Notice more than ten days in advance of the event rendering it a standard Notice. The Objection Notice from the Police had been received on 1^st August  and this was followed subsequently by a witness statement from the Police. The Senior Licensing Practitioner explained that the designation of regulated entertainment on the form incorporated all forms of such regulated entertainment although the specific form to be provided at the proposed Temporary Event was detailed in the application.

Clinton, a business associate of the applicant, presented the case in support of Mr Parchment’s application. He explained that their venue was the only place in Redditch to provide alternative music and, as a result, drew its custom from further afield than other establishments in the town. On this occasion several coaches were travelling from Manchester to attend the event and, in order to fit in the scheduled events, it was proposed to carry on until 6.00am.

It was contended that the premises suffered less from violence than others in the town and generally had a friendly atmosphere, in part the result of the customer base being made up of older people than was generally the case at local night-clubs. Whilst there had been a number of incidents it was suggested that these predominantly took place outside of the premises and generally involved known trouble-makers. The premises had been under the control of the present management for a relatively short period and the staff were still in the process of identifying those who might cause trouble and should be barred from future entry. The Sub-Committee was told that the club did not benefit from a police presence in the early hours of the morning and the management would welcome such a presence. The applicant and his business associate then went on to provide accounts of a number of the incidents detailed by the Police in order to demonstrate that the club was taking reasonable measures to prevent problems occurring.

Mr Paul Bott of West Mercia Police commenced by explaining that, although he had recently ceased to be a Police Licensing Officer, he retained the delegated authority to exercise powers and duties in respect of licensing matters on behalf of the Chief Constable until September of this year. Mr Bott related the incidents which had come to the attention of the Police in recent times within and in the vicinity of Club Rush and which were detailed in his witness  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.