Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Councillors.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors N Decent and L Williams.

To receive information on any changes in the membership of the Committee.

Note – When a member of a Committee is unable to attend a meeting of a Committee or Sub-Committee, the relevant Political Group Leader (or their nominated representative) may, by notice to the Monitoring Officer (or their nominated representative) prior to the meeting, appoint a substitute member from within the same Political Group. The contact details on the front of this agenda should be used for notifications.

Notification was received from the nominated representative of the relevant Political Group Leader that Cllr L Fear would substitute for Cllr N Decent and Cllr D Borthwick would substitute for Cllr L Williams.

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest submitted on this occasion.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Licensing Committee meeting held on 19 May 2021 and the Licensing Sub Committee meetings held on 12, 13, and 27 May, 7 and 9 June, 21 July, and 4 August 2021.

Note: The full minutes of the Sub Committees held on 27 May and 4 August 2021 are restricted documents as at each of these meetings the Sub Committee resolved that under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for an item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1 and 2 in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act and that the public interest in withholding the information outweighs such interest in disclosing the information.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Licensing Committee held on 19 May 2021 and of the Licensing Sub Committees on 12, 13 and 27 May, 7 and 9 June, 21 July and 4 August 2021 were confirmed as a correct record and signed.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution, which is available to view at the following link:

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeID=151&Info=1&bcr=1

The deadline for the submission of a public question is 4 clear working days before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a public statement is midday the working day before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a petition is 10 working days before the meeting.

The Chairman reported that one statement had been received by a Member of the Public in relation to Agenda Item 7 (Sex Establishment Policy), the statement was read out by Democratic Services on their behalf.

Statement from Sara Armstong

In 2010 Bournemouth was ranked among the worst 10 places in the country for sex crimes. Dorset Police said that numbers were skewed due to large numbers of people visiting the town for the clubs. With alcohol fuelled ASB it’s difficult to attach incidents to particular venues, yet this evidence is admissible when considering licences. Therefore, it follows that numbers of sexual assaults should be considered for SEVs. With increasing sexual assaults - gardens, beach and Old Christchurch Road, and rising DV, the licensing board must take responsibility for the culture they are creating and the consequences for women visitors and residents

The Chairman thanked Sara Armstrong for her statement.

The Council is required to publish a Statement of Licensing Principles under section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005 (the Act) every three years. The purpose of the Statement is to define how the Licensing Authority will exercise its responsibilities under the Act. This is will be the first Statement of Licensing Principles to be published by BCP Council since its creation in April 2019. The draft policy has been prepared by officers for consideration and amendment by the Licensing Committee ahead of required public consultation for 12 weeks.

The Licensing Manager presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The Committee was advised that Council is required to publish a Statement of Licensing Principles under section 349 of the Gambling Act 2005 (the Act) every three years, and that the purpose of the Statement is to define how the Licensing Authority will exercise its responsibilities under the Act.

Further to this the Committee was advised that this will be the first Statement of Licensing Principles to be published by BCP Council since its creation in April 2019, and that the draft policy has been prepared by officers for consideration and amendment by the Licensing Committee ahead of required public consultation for 12 weeks.

The Committee discussed the paper and raised the following amendments to be made prior to the policy going out to consultation: -

-       references to ‘lives sufficiently close’ be amended to read ‘resides’

-       legacy email addresses be removed (those which reference legacy councils)

-       reference to ‘poole betting’ on page 180 of the agenda be amended to read ‘pool betting’

In addition the Legal Advisor informed that the document would be checked for typos, missing words and grammar and corrected accordingly before being sent out for consultation.

RESOLVED that subject to the amendments above being incorporated the policy as presented be released for the required 12 week public consultation as soon as is practicable.

Voting: Nem. Con. (1 abstention)

(Councillor G Farquhar requested that his abstention be recorded).

Sex Establishment premises are regulated and licensed under Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982. This legislation originally provided for the licensing of sex shops and sex cinemas before being amended by section 27 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 to extend the scope of the schedule to include sexual entertainment venues.

Prior to Local Government Reorganisation, Bournemouth Borough Council and the Borough of Poole had existing Sex Establishment Policies. 

On the 5 January 2021 BCP Council passed a resolution that this legislation should apply within the BCP Council area, allowing the council to control and regulate the operation of sex establishments within the conurbation assisted by way of the Sexual Establishment Policy once finalised and agreed by Full Council.

The BCP Council Sex Establishment Policy has now been subject to a second round of public consultation following recommended changes to the draft policy presented to the Licensing Committee on 19^th May 2021.

The Policy sets out how BCP Council will control the type and number of sexual establishments within its area. These establishments include Sex Shops, Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEV’s) and Sex Cinemas. It sets out the Conditions to be applied to any such licences granted and there are clear requirements set out for applicants when they are seeking to apply for a licence. The policy states that the character of the locality and its proximity to different types of premises as set out in the policy, will be considered in respect of each application.

The policy does not impose a limit to the number of sexual entertainment licences permitted within the BCP area. However, any proposed location will be considered on the basis of the character of the locality and whether the grant of the application would be inappropriate having regard to the proximity of the location to the local characteristics listed within the policy. Each application will be considered on its own merits. The characteristics include proximity to residential premises, cultural facilities, public leisure facilities, premises used by children, hospitals, and tourist attractions.

During the second consultation period, a Councillors’ briefing took place on 29^th June 2021 to ensure all BCP Councillors had the opportunity to ask questions of officers and discuss the rationale behind the proposed policy.

The views of workers within the local SEV’s were sought and in the majority of cases the feedback was that they feel safe and secure in their chosen work environment and they did not feel exploited but empowered. They are self-employed with their choice of venues and working shifts, and venues invest in facilities and security to attract the better dancers.

Equalities issues were addressed via the EIA and approved by the EIA panel.

Overall, the impact of the policy is positive, strict licence conditions should ensure safe well managed venues for both patrons and dancers. There is no indication of crime associated with local venues therefore, there is no negative proven impact on the safety of dancers, patrons or members of public  ...  view the full agenda text for item 18.

The Licensing Manager presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The Committee was advised that Sex Establishment premises are regulated and licensed under Schedule 3 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, and that this legislation was originally provided for the licensing of sex shops and sex cinemas before being amended by section 27 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 to extend the scope of the schedule to include sexual entertainment venues.

In relation to this the Committee was informed that prior to Local Government Reorganisation, of the three legacy Councils, Bournemouth Borough Council and the Borough of Poole had existing Sex Establishment Policies, Christchurch Borough Council did not have an existing Sex Establishment Policy. 

The Committee was further informed that on the 5 January 2021 BCP Council passed a resolution that this legislation should apply within the BCP Council area, allowing the BCP Council to control and regulate the operation of sex establishments within the conurbation assisted by way of the Sexual Establishment Policy once finalised and agreed by Full Council.

In relation to this the Committee was informed that the BCP Council Sex Establishment Policy has now been subject to a second round of public consultation following recommended changes to the draft policy presented to the Licensing Committee on 19^th May 2021, and that the Policy sets out how BCP Council will control the type and number of sexual establishments within its area. These establishments include Sex Shops, Sexual Entertainment Venues (SEV’s) and Sex Cinemas, and that it sets out the Conditions to be applied to any such licences granted and there are clear requirements set out for applicants when they are seeking to apply for a licence. Further to this the policy states that the character of the locality and its proximity to different types of premises as set out in the policy, will be considered in respect of each application.

The Committee was further advised that the policy does not impose a limit to the number of sexual entertainment licences permitted within the BCP area. However, any proposed location will be considered on the basis of the character of the locality and whether the grant of the application would be inappropriate having regard to the proximity of the location to the local characteristics listed within the policy. Each application will be considered on its own merits. The characteristics include proximity to residential premises, cultural facilities, public leisure facilities, premises used by children, hospitals, and tourist attractions.

The Committee was informed that during the second consultation period, a Councillors’ briefing took place on 29^th June 2021 to ensure all BCP Councillors had the opportunity to ask questions of officers and discuss the rationale behind the proposed policy.

In addition the Committee was advised that the views of dancers within the local SEV’s were sought and in the majority of cases the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

To consider the latest version of the Committee’s Forward Plan.

Members considered the Committees Forward Plan and in relation to this requested that the Update on Taxi and Private Hire Policies 2021-2025 item be referred to the Licensing Committee in the new year.

In addition the Chair advised Members that it was intended to hold a working group to review the Gambling Policy and that those members interested in sitting on the working group should advise the licensing manager.