Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any announcements from the chair and general housekeeping matters.

The chair welcomed everyone to the meeting, outlined the procedure to be followed and advised on emergency evacuation arrangements.

To record apologies for absence. 

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Anne-Marie Simpson.

To adopt and sign as a correct record the General Licensing Committee minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2024.

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 23 May 2024 as a correct record and agree that the Chair sign them as such.

To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests and any conflicts of interest in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.  

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive notification of any matters which the chairman determines should be considered as urgent business and the special circumstances which have made the matters urgent.

There was no urgent business.

To receive any questions or statements from members of the public that have registered to speak. 

There were no registered speakers.

To consider the report of the Head of Communities in relation to the review of the council’s joint street trading policy.

The licensing team leader introduced the report and highlighted that agreement was being sought to carry out a six week consultation on the proposed joint street trading policy. She informed the committee that changes to existing policy were outlined in the report with an explanation at paragraph 7 of the report about an addition to the policy for multiple site traders. Changes also include the addition of proposed measures to be taken by traders to minimise their environmental impact in relation to packaging and waste, to assist with the council’s climate objectives.

The committee discussed the report and highlighted they had concerns about multi trader sites but that there the benefit to streamlining the process was clear. The committee asked if there was provision in the policy that addressed cumulative impact. The licensing team leader advised that section 11.2 i) covered this in relation to the proximity of similar businesses.

Members asked what would constitute a material change or complaint. The licensing team leader advised that a specific number of complaints would not trigger a review instead the severity of the complaints would be assessed to inform the need for a review. She also clarified that a substantiated complaint would be where an officer had witnessed the same occurrence for instance.

The committee asked if there was anything in the policy in relation to the nuisance caused by generators. The licensing team leader advised that any requirement around generators and potential nuisance would be location dependant but that the application form asks the applicant to provide details on this and this information would be available to consultees.

RESOLVED:

The committee authorises the Head of Communities to carry out a consultation on the proposed joint street trading policy at Appendix A.