CHIS
(Clifton and Hotwells Improvement Society)
CHIS Licensing
RoseMary MusgraveLegal Briefing Note to all Members
Amendments to Licensing act 2003 affecting all Members as of 29 January 2010Section 33 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 has made two significant changes to sections 13 and 69 of the Licensing Act 2003. The changes are as follows:
- Members of the Licensing Authority can as of 29 January 2010 make representations as Interested Parties to licensing applications in their own right without the need to live in the vicinity or be asked to represent someone that does live in the vicinity or someone that runs a business in the vicinity.
- Members can now call for a review of a premises licence in their own right, which they were unable to do previously as this function was restricted to Responsible Authorities.
Naseem Aziz, Solicitor, Legal Services
Licensing Applications
We now get all the applications weeklyPlease note that only the Police may object to a temporary event notice and as such the applicant should have supplied the police with a copy of this application ten working days prior to the event.
| 1 Mar: Grant | TENS | Variation | - |
| 18 Feb: Grant | TENS | Variation | Review |
| 10 Feb: Grant | TENS | Variation | Review |
| 4 Feb: Grant
Note Clifton Kitchen: 112 Princess Victoria Street |
TENS | Variation | Review |
| 1 Feb: Grant
The Greyhound, 32 Princess Victoria Street, Clifton, Bristol Applicant name: Enterprise Inns Plc Application received date: 26 January 2010 Application ref number: 09/05635/PREM Representation End Date: 26 March 2010 Times and licensable activities applied for:
|
TENS | Variation | Review |
| 21 Jan: Grant | TENS | Variation | |
| 7 Jan: Grant | TENS | Transfer | |
| 31 Dec: Grant | TENS | Transfer | |
| 17 Dec: Grant | TENS
Albion open until 3am on New Years Eve. Only the Police may object |
Variations | |
| 10 Dec: Grant | TENS Apparent Cafe being busy | Variations | |
| 3 Dec: Grant | TENS | Transfer | Variations |
| 26 Nov: Grant | Transfer | Variations | |
| 19 Nov: Grant | TENS | Transfer | Variations |
How can I make a representation to the Licensing Committee?
Residents who are affected by the business of the Committee, may present a petition or submit a statement at ordinary meetings of the Licensing Committee and at Licensing Sub-Committee meetings. Petitions and statements presented to the Licensing Sub-Committees can be received only in respect of hearings already decided and licence applications not subject to a hearing. Petitions and statements in respect of licence applications are subject to restrictions as to who may make representations and the timescale within which they must be made and further information on such representations is available from the Licensing Office telephone: 0117 9142500If you wish to make a statement or submit a petition to the Full Licensing Committee you should notify the Democratic Support Officer by 12 noon on the day before the meeting.
Contact Details / Queries
If you have any queries about making a statement or submitting a petition at a meeting or if you would like to attend and have special needs, please contact us.
Democratic Support Team,
Room 220,
Bristol City Council,
The Council House,
College Green,
Bristol
BS1 5TR
Telephone: (0117) 9222115
Fax: (0117) 9222146
Minicom: (0117 ) 9222115
Email: democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk
Greyhound, Princess Victoria St
Sept:Application for beer gardenPortcullis, Wellington Terrace
Nov:Application to restore beer garden!!June:Application for beer garden refused
Former ABC Cinema, Whiteladies Road.
The Licence application and plans for the premises to be known as 'Vanity ' have been examined. They are confusing but it is clear that the activities proposed - eating, drinking, live music, recorded music (DJ) and dancing, include all the elements of a nightclub. Combined with the hours sought - to 4am, it is hard to imagine a more damaging use for the old cinema. It would bring more of the noise and other anti-social behaviour of the city centre 'club scene' into our streets. Although we would all like to see 'The Whiteladies' repaired and back in use this cannot be at the price of major nuisance for residents.
Licensed Premises
All licensing applications in Bristol 8 are being looked at by CHIS. If people are opposing please email Rosemary (R.Musgrave@bristol.ac.uk) a copy of their letter so that she can, if appropriate, support local residents.THIS IS WHAT EVERY RESIDENT CAN DO.
If any licensed premises starts to cause you regular problems then you have the right to give notice to the licence holder of the premises and the licensing authority that you call for the licence to be reviewed. This can result in a range of sanctions, from new conditions being imposed or the hours or activities being cut back to the licence being suspended for a period or even taken away for good. This is a new and potentially very effective power for residents to get something done about a licensed premises that is causing problems. But the onus is on you to initiate the review.
Your reasons must be related to at least one of the four licensing objectives and be based on evidence. The four licensing objectives are:
- the prevention of crime and disorder
- public safety
- the prevention of public nuisance
- the protection of children from harm
Crime and Disorder
Crime and disorder and public safety are primarily matters for the Police who should be called as soon as possible if there is an incident. You can call the local Police on 0845 4567 000 or 999 if it is an emergency.Keep your own record of what you see, the date and time. Next day ring again and ask for the reference number for the incident. This will mean that if you give evidence at a review Police records can be called as evidence.
Public Nuisance.
This is noise, urinating in streets and gardens etc. This is where evidence is of paramount importance.- Keep a written note or a diary. Note down the date, the time and a brief description of any incidents that take place.
- If you can, supplement your notes with a sound recording, a picture or a video recording. It also helps if you can get other people in the area to also make notes about what happened (or keeps happening). Corroboration is important.
- Keep recording such evidence over time. A licensee can, perhaps rightly, argue that something was just a one-off problem and promise it won’t happen again. If there are regular repetitions of the problem and you have got them all noted down, then your case is much stronger.
- Check your facts and make sure they are accurate because your case can be easily undermined if you exaggerate or make allegations which turn out not to be true.
- If the problem is simply the nuisance, or crime and disorder caused by the numbers of people in the streets near you late at night you will have to try and be very clear why the premises you are complaining about should be singled out for action. It may be better in such cases to request simultaneously reviews of all similar types of premises in the area at one time. For example, ask for reviews of all the premises in a defined area operating after a certain hour. To stand any chance of succeeding in such group reviews you will need very clear evidence of the problems you allege. This will take time to gather and it may be best to work with as an association of residents and with the Police.
The new conditions and hours came into force on 24 November 2005.
To be successful at a review you will need to prove that the new conditions have made the situation worse. To do this you will have to record accurately in the next 4 weeks what the current situation is, the good and the bad evenings. If this is not done, you have no evidence. Without evidence you have a very poor case.
Most important, please refer to the Institute of Alcohol Studies to find a summary of the Act which has been produced by the Civic Trust and is the most comprehensible we have seen. It is worth people reading this before writing a letter - it will probably make it more effective.
Licensing Reform.
Annual Reports
Useful websites:
- Redland and Cotham Amenities Society
- Bristol Civic Society
- Network of Residents' Association (includes licensing information)
- Civic Trust
- Bristol Evening Post
- Bristol City Council
- BBC
- multimap. Enter a postcode (Clifton is BS8), or a street name (eg West Mall, Clifton)- and see a detailed map of the area. You can switch to an aerial photo of the same area. Incidentally this facility covers other countries too!