Meeting documents

Venue: The Olympic Room, Aylesbury Vale District Council, The Gateway, Gatehouse Road, Aylesbury, HP19 8FF

Contact: Alice Fisher; Email: afisher@aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk; 

Items
No. Item

1.

Temporary Changes to Membership

Any changes will be reported at the meeting.

 

Minutes:

There were none.

2.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 87 KB

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 4 July 2016 attached as an Appendix.

Minutes:

RESOLVED –

 

That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 July 2016 be approved as a correct record.

3.

Animal Licensing Policy pdf icon PDF 593 KB

To consider the attached report.

 

Contact Officer: Peter Seal 01296 585605

Minutes:

It was reported that AVDC’s Licensing services were responsible for licensing a number of animal related activities. These included kennels and catteries, riding establishments, pet shops, businesses involved in the breeding of dogs, the keeping of "dangerous wild animals" and zoos.

 

Each type of licence was determined by its own legislative background and there were similarities in the licensing regime for each. The various legislation was listed in the introduction to the draft policy, which was in itself attached to the officers report as an appendix. Although not fully enacted at this time, the Animal Welfare Act 2006, also consolidated a common approach to all animal related businesses.

 

Although it was not a legal requirement for the Council to produce such a document, it was considered good practice and helpful for the Council to consolidate its current structures and procedures in relation to animal related licences into one document. This also gave the Council the opportunity to update all the standard conditions consistent with current Codes of Practice and industry standards, and at the same time acknowledge the current and future impact of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

 

The draft policy set out the law and principles of licensing, and incorporated the overarching nature of the Animal Welfare Act, 2006. It also set out the requirements for each type of licence, with standard conditions appended to it.

 

The proposed standard conditions for animal boarding establishments (kennels and Catteries) followed the latest recommendations from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health. However, it was acknowledged that a number of long standing businesses would not immediately be able to meet the proposed new conditions. They had been inspected by a veterinary surgeon and Council officers in the past and were not considered to be a threat to animal welfare. The draft policy proposed an exemption for existing businesses with a caveat that any alteration should meet the new standards and should the business be sold or change hands, the new licensee be given five years to bring the establishment in line with the new standards.

 

However, there had been opposition during the consultation to the above suggestion in that it could create two standards and would not achieve the objective of improving conditions across the Vale. It was acknowledged that there would be some businesses adversely affected by the new conditions, however this would need to be balanced against the need to ensure all licensed premises comply with current industry standards.

 

It was recommended that a transitional period be introduced for those premises that could not immediately meet all the conditions, particularly in respect to the physical size of accommodation after which time all premises would need to be compliant. It had been proposed that officers undertake an impact assessment and bring a recommendation back to the licensing committee in due course and that Paragraph 3.3.4 of the draft policy be re-drafted to reflect this. However, whilst Members agreed that a transition period would be reasonable, a prolonged timescale would result in an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.