Meeting documents

Venue: Council Chamber

Contact: Liz Hornby 

Items
No. Item

7.

APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

To receive apologies for absence.

Minutes:

There were no apologies.

 

8.

MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

            RESOLVED: that the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 7 July 2015 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

 

9.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

To receive any disclosure of disclosable pecuniary interests by Members relating to items on the agenda. If any Member is uncertain as to whether an interest should be disclosed, he or she is asked if possible to contact the District Solicitor prior to the meeting.

Members are reminded that if they are declaring an interest, they should state the nature of that interest whether or not they are required to withdraw from the meeting.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

 

10.

Gambling Act 2005 - Outcome of Consultation

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Members considered the report on the Gambling Act 2005 – Outcome of Consultation and noted that the draft Statement of Licensing Policy had been presented to them at the previous meeting which was duly approved for consultation purposes.

 

The consultation had now taken place and it was noted that three responses were received.  One was from Thames Valley Police which stated they had no comments to make.

 

Members noted that the other two responses were received very close to the deadline and were both from solicitors representing gambling organisations. While both were generally happy with the Council’s policy some suggestions were put forward. It was believed that these were responses that had been sent to all authorities who were reviewing their policies.  One of the solicitors who was representing Coral suggested that reference should be included regarding the ability of betting shops to be located near to schools.  There was also a suggestion that the Policy made specific reference to the fact that moral considerations were not relevant in terms of the determination of applications for gambling.  However, it was noted that there was a betting shop located at the top of Marlow Hill in fairly close proximity to three schools and so this was not considered necessary to include in the policy and the law prohibited moral views from being taken into consideration as this would merely restate legal requirements.

 

The other representation was from a firm of solicitors representing the Association of British Bookmakers suggesting the reiteration of some of the legislation and statutory guidance within the policy although it was not considered that it was necessary given that the Act and Guidance would, in any case, need to be referred to in determining any applications.

 

As a result, it was not considered necessary for any changes to be made to the policy other than the changes which had already been made as a result of comments from Members at the previous committee meeting.

 

Members approved the report to be referred to Council for adoption at their meeting in December.

 

            RESOLVED: that the Policy be referred to Council for adoption at their meeting in December.

 

11.

Licensing Committee Terms of Reference - Constitution Review

As part of the wider review of the Council’s Constitution, each Committee is being invited to review its terms of reference.

 

The Committee’s Terms of Reference is attached and Members are invited to review and agree the contents.

 

This will feed back into the wider review which will be reported in its entirety for consideration to the Regulatory and Appeals Committee early in the New Year.

Supporting documents:

Minutes:

Members noted the Licensing Committee Terms of Reference, Constitution Review.

 

            RESOLVED: that the Licensing Committee Terms of Reference, Constitution Review be noted.

 

12.

SUPPLEMENTARY ITEMS (IF ANY)

Minutes:

A suggestion was made in respect of Licensing Panel hearings, that site visits take place prior to those hearings as this would assist those Panel Members when making a decision.

 

It was agreed that the Clerk would discuss logistics with the Democratic Services Manager and that in future would make arrangements for site visits.

 

It was also suggested and agreed that photographs be taken of the application site which can be displayed on the AV equipment during a hearing. 

 

In relation to training, it was noted that some Members had not received training at the previous meeting.  It was agreed that some 1-to-1 training would be arranged for those Members who wished to attend.

 

            RESOLVED: that in relation to Licensing Panel hearings the following actions points were agreed –

 

·         photographs of application sites would be taken and displayed at hearings;

·         site visits to application sites would be arranged prior to hearings.

 

In relation to training, some 1-to-1 training would be arranged.

 

13.

URGENT ITEMS (IF ANY)

Minutes:

None.