Agenda item

S&A Entertainment Ltd have made an application for a new premises licence to be used for a “Taste of the Caribbean Food & Drink Festival”.

The date for 2026 has been set for 20th June 2026, thereafter, the event will take place on a consecutive Saturday and Sunday for one weekend each year between May and September with dates to be confirmed with BCP Council on a yearly basis.

The application seeks to permit live and recorded music and the sale of alcohol from 10:00 to 20:00 on the Saturday and Sunday.

The application attracted 7 representations from other persons on the grounds that to grant the application would undermine the prevention of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance, public safety and the protection of children from harm licensing objectives.

Present:

 

From BCP Council:

Sarah Rogers – Licensing Officer

Andy McDiarmid – Legal Advisor to the Sub-Committee

Christiane Tan – Clerk to the Sub-Committee

 

The Chair made introductions and explained the procedure for the hearing which was agreed by all parties.

 

The Licensing Officer presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated and a copy of which appears as Appendix A to these minutes in the Minute Book.

 

The Sub-Committee was asked to consider an application for a new premises licence for an event known as “Taste of the Caribbean Food & Drink Festival” by S&A Entertainment Ltd in Muscliff Park, Shillingstone Drive, Bournemouth BH9 3LR, to permit live and recorded music and the sale of alcohol from 10:00 to 20:00 on Saturday and Sunday. In response to the application representation(s) had been received from seven Other Persons on the grounds of the grant of the application would undermine the prevention of crime and disorder, prevention of public nuisance, public safety and the protection of children from harm licensing objectives.

 

The following persons attended the hearing and addressed the Sub- Committee to expand on the points made in written submissions:

 

• Damien McClean - Event Manager and Applicant

 

The Sub-Committee asked various questions of all parties present and were grateful for the responses received. All parties had the opportunity to ask questions. All parties were invited to sum up before the Sub-Committee retired to make its decision. Before concluding the hearing, the Legal Advisor advised all parties of the right of appeal.

 

RESOLVED that the application for a Premises Licence at Muscliff Park (Taste of the Caribbean Food & Drink Festival), Shillingstone Drive, Bournemouth, BH9 3LR for live and recorded music and the sale of alcohol from 10:00 hours to 20:00 hours on 20^th June 2026 and thereafter on a consecutive Saturday and Sunday annually between May and September, with dates to be confirmed with BCP Council and permitting no more than 4999 people to attend at any one time including staff and exhibitors, be GRANTED subject to conditions set out in Part M of Premises Licence application.

 

In addition, the following mediated conditions relevant to the promotion of the prevention of public nuisance licensing objective and agreed by Applicant and Environmental Health prior to the hearing on 3^rd June 2026 be attached to this premises licence. These conditions are set out in Appendix 5 to the Licensing Officer’s report, namely:-

 

1.     The event organiser shall ensure that residents that are likely to be affected by the noise from the event are informed of the details of the event including the times of performances, the likely disturbance and shall provide a contact telephone number for complaints to be made at least 14 days prior to the event. This dedicated phoneline must be manned throughout the event.

 

2.     The control limits set at the mixer position shall be adequate to ensure that the Music Noise Level shall not at any noise sensitive premises exceed 65dB(A) and 70dB in either of the 63 Hz or 125 Hz octave band frequencies over a 15 minute period throughout the duration of the event. Measurements shall be taken at 1 meter from the façade of the closest noise sensitive premises.

 

3.     The Licensee shall ensure that the promoter, sound system supplier and all individual sound engineers are informed of the sound control limits and that any instructions from the noise control consultant regarding noise levels shall be implemented.

 

4.     The noise levels at the sound mixer position shall be continually monitored and the sound engineer shall be advised accordingly to ensure that the noise limits specified in condition 2 are not exceeded. Environmental Health shall have access to the results of the noise monitoring at any time.

 

5.     Monitoring by a competent person with a sound level meter must take place periodically during the event and a written record must be kept of measured sound levels as well as observations and corrective action taken if monitoring confirms target levels are exceeded.

 

6.     Noise must be managed in accordance with the Noise Management Plan submitted to Environmental Health. Any changes to the noise management plan must be agreed in writing by the Environmental Health Department.

 

7.     Where the event is held over two days, it shall be programmed in accordance with BCP Council’s existing programmed events for the site. In any event, the total number of days on which amplified music takes place at the site shall not exceed three days in any calendar year.

 

Additionally, the Sub-Committee imposed the following conditions, reflecting Appendix D of the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy. The Sub-Committee deemed the said conditions appropriate to promote the Licensing Objectives, in particular the Prevention of Crime and Disorder:-

 

·        Each Refusals Record referred to in Part M of this premises licence application, shall be maintained and used to record any and all occasions upon which any person is refused the sale of alcohol (or delivery of the same) with a note of the reason for the refusal, the date and time and a brief description of the person(s) concerned

If the refusal relates to a delivery, the record shall also contain a note of the delivery address and the name of the customer concerned

The register shall be kept on the premises by the applicant for the duration of this licensed event, retained for a minimum period of 12 months and made available for inspection by Police, Licensing Authority and other authorised officers on request.

 

·        An incident log shall be kept on the premises for the duration of this licensed event and retained for a minimum period of 12 months as provided below. The log should include the date and time of the incident and the name of the member of staff involved

The log to be made available on request to an authorised officer of the Licensing Authority or the Police, which will record the following;

(a) All crimes reported to the venue as having occurred within or immediately outside the premises

(b) All ejections of patrons

(c) Any complaints received relating to crime and disorder

(d) Any incidents of disorder

(e) All seizures of drugs or offensive weapons

(f) Any faults in the CCTV system or searching equipment or scanning equipment. The incident log shall be kept by the applicant for a minimum period of 12 months and be made available for inspection by Police, the Licensing Authority and other authorised officers on request.

 

Reasons for Decision:

 

The Sub-Committee gave very detailed consideration to all of the information which had been submitted before the hearing and contained in the report for Agenda Item 6, including written representations relating to all four licensing objectives, and the verbal submissions made at the hearing by Sarah Rogers, Licensing Officer, and Damien McClean, Event Manager on behalf of the Applicant, S&A Entertainment Limited. 

 

The Licensing Officer presented the application, clarifying that this would be a rolling-on licence that would be applied to the annual two-day event ‘Taste of the Caribbean Festival’ held at Muscliff Park by S&A Entertainment Limited, with the first year starting with one day. It was noted that S&A Entertainment Limited have not previously held licensed events within the BCP Council area.

 

The Sub-Committee noted that police and majority of other responsible authorities did not make representations.

 

Character of event

 

The applicant made the Sub-Committee aware that ‘Taste of the Caribbean Food and Drink Festival’ was a touring event that has taken place with 20 different councils and Safety Advisory Groups (SAG) for the past six years with the same trained employees. It was clarified to the Sub-Committee that the event attracts a large demographic that includes families and individuals aged 45 and older. The Sub-Committee noted that the event is not intended to be a large-scale music festival based on alcohol consumption – instead, it presents tribute bands to provide background music and nostalgia, and a relaxing environment for families to enjoy culture, food and child friendly games. The applicant stated that he had received at least five noise complaints for a single touring season of 18 events. The Sub-Committee acknowledged that the event does not have a set schedule, which encourages staggered arrival times.

 

The applicant addressed the common concerns relevant to the Licensing Objectives raised by all who had made written representations, including:-

 

Noise and amplified music

 

The Events Manager gave assurances and the Sub-Committee noted that the event subject to this premises licence application was not intended to be a large-scale music festival with headline performers, that instead there would be tribute bands to give a sense of nostalgia and provide background music. The Sub-Committee heard that a detailed noise management plan would be implemented and monitored throughout the event to make sure that the event stayed within permitted and agreed sound levels, and also that the residents of surrounding streets would be provided with a direct contact number to report noise concerns which would be investigated by the applicant, who would also take action where necessary to ensure compliance with agreed noise limits.

 

Traffic, parking and emergency access

 

The Events Manager advised the Sub-Committee, who duly noted, that the event had been designed around staggered arrival and departure patterns. The Sub-Committee also heard that the applicant actively advertised through its website, ticketing platforms and social media platforms that there was no public event parking available and that attendees were encouraged to use public transport, taxis and other alternative methods of travel. This message was also reflected through direct e-mail traffic issued to all ticket holders by the applicant prior to the event. Additionally, the Sub-Committee acknowledged that the applicant was in the process of having the car park at Muscliff Park closed to prevent traffic, though this was not a raised by SAG when it addressed the application. The applicant agreed to the advice given by the Sub-Committee to include the contact number for the Parking Authority in their next communication letter to the surrounding residents.

 

In addition, the Sub-Committee heard how emergency access routes would be monitored to ensure that emergency services could access both the event site and surrounding residential areas, if required.

 

Alcohol, public safety and anti-social behaviour

 

The Sub-Committee noted verbal submissions by the Events Manager that the ‘Taste of the Caribbean Food & Drink Festival’ was not an event based on alcohol consumption, instead its focus was on food, culture, family entertainment and community engagement, that the sale of alcohol would operate under strict licensing controls and conditions which included Challenge 25 age verification procedures, trained alcohol vendors, SIA security staff,  CCTV coverage, search procedures, welfare and medical provision and robust incident management procedures. In addition, the Sub-Committee noted that all the bar stations would have a Personal Licence holder present and that underage alcohol sales would not be tolerated. The Events Manager said that the applicant would work closely with police and all relevant local authority departments via the SAG to ensure that the licencing objectives were met and appropriate controls were implemented. 

 

Wildlife and park protection

 

The Sub-Committee noted the Events Manager’s verbal submissions that the applicant fully recognised Muscliff Park as a valued community space, that protecting the park and minimising any impact upon it was extremely important to the applicant. Proposed measures were to include dedicated cleaning teams operating throughout the event, continuous litter pick during operational hours, full post-event site cleaning, waste management procedures and site reinstatement procedures following the event. 

 

Additionally, the applicant informed the Sub-Committee that no open food or drink would be permitted to leave the secured premise, which would prevent littering around the premise.

 

The Sub-Committee was satisfied that if the premises operated in accordance with the conditions offered in the operating schedule of the application, and the conditions agreed through mediation with the Environmental Health Officer, and the conditions applied by the Sub-Committee, that the premises should not undermine the licensing objectives and as such the application should be granted. 

It was noted however that a review of the premises licence may be sought at any time by a Responsible Authority or any other person should future issues arise that may undermine the licensing objectives.

 

The Sub-Committee was very appreciative of the Events Manager’s very detailed verbal submissions which focused on the representations and objections.

 

In conclusion, the Sub-Committee was satisfied that if the premises operated in accordance with conditions as offered, mediated or imposed by the Sub-Committee that the premises should not undermine the licensing objectives. 

 

In relation to the additional conditions imposed by the Sub-Committee, the Events Manager verbally indicated the applicant’s consent to a licence condition requiring that all records of refused sales offered as a condition in Part M of this premises licence application, be accessible and disclosable to police officers, licensing officers and other authorised persons. By contrast, provision for an incident log was not included within Part M of the premises licence application and the Sub-Committee agreed that it was appropriate for the prevention of crime and disorder licensing objective that this licence condition be imposed.

 

In making this decision the Sub-Committee have had regard to the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council Licensing Policy, the revised guidance, as set out by the Secretary of State and the licensing objectives, as set out in the Licensing Act 2003.

 

All parties to the application have the right to appeal to the Magistrate’s Court within the period of twenty-one days beginning with the day on which the applicant is notified by the Licensing Authority of this decision in writing.