Agenda and draft minutes

To elect a chair for this hearing.

A motion moved and seconded, to elect Councillor Ben Manning as chair of the panel was carried on being put to the vote.

RESOLVED: that Councillor Ben Manning be elected as chair of the panel.

To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests, other registerable interests and non-registrable interests or any conflicts of interest in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.  

There were no declarations of interest.

To note the procedure for the meeting (attached).

The chair confirmed that all parties present understood the procedure.

To consider the report of the Head of Legal and Democratic.

The panel considered the application for a Premises License for The Green Room, Henley-on-Thames.

Licensing Officer:

The Licensing Officer laid out the proposed application and noted how many representations had been made regarding the application, 18 representations in total. It was also noted how Mr Payne (objector) was not in attendance at the panel.

The chair allowed the applicants, the panel, and other parties to ask questions for the Licensing Officer, none were asked.

The Applicant:

The applicants put forward their case and began by giving apologies for the lack of clarity provided on the actual requirement of the license sought after, and the distress that may have caused for residents.

The applicants then presented their website to show what their plan was, with acceptance from the panel. This was accepted though the chair did stress that new evidence provided may not be considered in the final decision. The applicants then laid out their business plan and how the license application would work within that plan. The applicants explained that they were members of the Henley community and wished to create a new space for the Henley community.

The chair then allowed members of the panel to ask questions of clarification to the applicants.

Members raised questions about the idea of moving from a daytime workspace towards evening events. Applicants responded to these questions by stating they would only desire between one to two evening events a week to showcase live band performances. Applicants stated they were happy to be flexible with the times to ensure good relations with the neighbourhood. In terms of opening times, normal day-to-day openings will be 8:30am to 5:30pm, the only times the café would be open late is for specific events that have been advertised in advance.

Questions were also raised around the size of the venue and how many people would be able to fit in the venue. The maximum capacity was 93 but it would be capped at around 80 as there were a limited number of facilities on site, being two unisex toilets on site. Questions were raised about the small number of facilities for the number of people within the café.

Members also asked questions regarding CCTV and whether it was both internal and external. The CCTV was confirmed as only internal. Questions were also asked to the applicants on whether they had seen the recommendations given by the Environmental Officer, which they had, and applicants expressed that they could comply with those. The panel then opened questions of clarification from the Licensing Officer, which there were none.

The panel then opened questions from any other party that sought points of clarification. Questions were raised regarding the opening hours in the evening and when they would be open late. In response it was suggested that the café would only be open in the evenings twice a week, otherwise the café would shut at 5:30pm.

Other questions were raised about what the nature of the Premises License was, were they now  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.