Agenda item

Following objections received, to consider an application for a premises licence at London Road Recreation Ground, Grand Avenue, Camberley, Surrey, GU15 3QH submitted by Event By Event Limited.

The Sub-Committee was informed that the hearing had been convened to decide the outcome of an application for a new premises license for London Road Recreation Ground, Grand Avenue, Camberley, GU15 3QH.  The application had been made for a license to cover a 31 day period between 1 December 2016 and 1 January 2017.  The proposed licence would cover an outdoor ice rink and a range of associated activities including children’s amusements, a refreshments tent and retail stalls.

 

The Sub-Committee was advised that the application had been correctly completed and the application had been advertised and responsible authorities notified in line with statutory regulations.

 

The Sub-Committee carefully considered all the information presented, both written and oral, from:

 

·         the Licensing Officer who outlined the issues;

·         the Applicants Mr James Hitchens and Mr Ian Baird, Event by Event Limited.

·         the Responsible Authorities (1)

·         the interested parties (5) who submitted oral and written representations.

 

together with reference to the Licensing Objectives: Prevention of Crime and Disorder, Public Safety, Prevention of Public Nuisance, particularly noise nuisance, and Protection of Children from Harm, the Council’s own Licensing Policy and the Secretary of State’s guidance.

 

The Sub-Committee noted that one representation had been received from Environmental Health in relation to the application.  The applicant had subsequently undertaken to address the concerns raised by Environmental Health in relation to noise and had withdrawn a request for extended opening hours on New Year’s Eve.  The Responsible Authority stated that they were satisfied with the course of action proposed by the applicant and had no further objections to the application at this time.  The Responsible Authority also indicated that they were working with the applicant to address concerns about noise and light nuisance.

 

The Sub-Committee noted the concerns of the public representations, which included:

 

Crime and Disorder

 

·         The consumption of alcohol could lead to disorderly conduct.  Visitors leaving the attraction in an intoxicated state could impact negatively on local residents.  In addition, no reference had been made to what would happen after they had left the licensed area.

 

Protection of Public safety

 

·         The plan submitted with the application did not show the location of fire safety equipment, toilet facilities or the location of all the attractions that would be on the site.  The application should therefore be considered incomplete.

·         The proposed pedestrian route through the town centre was not the most direct route and was not considered practical because people would want to take the more direct route along Pembroke Broadway.

 

Prevention of Public Nuisance

 

·         The proposed location was primarily residential and it was considered an unsuitable place to locate an attraction of this nature.

·         The lack of detail and a readable scale in the submitted plan made it difficult to fully understand the impact that the attraction might have on neighbouring properties.

·         The roads around the London Road Recreation Ground regularly became congested in the run up to Christmas as drivers queued to access the town centre car parks.  The attraction would add additional vehicular and pedestrian traffic to a residential area at an already busy time.

·         Visitors would attempt to park in the surrounding roads rather than park in designated car parks.  This would impact negatively on local residents.

·         No acoustic reports had been submitted by the applicant.

·         In addition to disruption during the event, neighbouring residents would experience disruption during the construction and break down of the attraction.

·         During the time when the attraction was operational it would require lighting from approximately 4pm onwards.  Consequently neighbouring properties would experience light nuisance from an area that was usually unlit after dusk.

·         The attraction would result in the all-weather tennis courts, the pavilion and the ornamental gardens being out of action for the duration of the event.  This represented a loss of public amenity and thus should be considered as being a public nuisance.

·         No limits had been set in relation to the volume of live or recorded music.  The applicant’s use of the term ‘ambient music’ was ambivalent.

·         Noise from live and recorded music, the public address system, plant and crowds would impact negatively on neighbouring residents.

·         The application made no reference to how litter would be dealt with.

·         Concern was expressed over the fact that it was not clear who would be responsible for ensuring that the London Road Recreation Ground was empty before it was locked for the night.

 

Protection of Children from Harm

 

·         A Child Protection Policy had not been submitted.

·         Visitors would be walking around with alcoholic drinks in an area where children would be present.

 

The Sub-Committee took into consideration the oral submissions of the applicants which included:

 

            General Matters

 

·         Event by Event had been operational for over 8 years and had acquired a track record of staging a wide range of high quality open air events around the Country; all of which attracted high visitor numbers including: Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, the Victorious Festival at Southsea Common and a range of events at the Brighton Pride Festival.

·         A Safety Advisory Group (SAG) had been set up to consider a range of safety matters pertaining to the application.  The Group’s membership included representatives from Surrey Police, Surrey Fire and Rescue Service, Highways, the South Coast Ambulance Service, Parking, Environmental Health and the Licensing Authority.  In addition to SAG meetings the applicant had been working closely with individual members of the Group to ensure that the four licensing objectives were met.

·         The Event Management Plan was a working document.  It would be continually updated in the run up to the event.  It did not form part of the operating schedule

·         A detailed plan showing all the attractions, any temporary structures and any safety equipment would be submitted to the SAG for approval before the attraction opened.

·         In addition to the two main public entrances there would be a third emergency exit at the load in/out point at the rear of the venue onto Southwell Park Road.  A section of the surrounding fencing, near the pavilion, would be constructed from special temporary fencing that would be easily broken down in the event that a mass evacuation was required.

·         Gaining access to the London Road Recreation Ground at the proposed goods in out point on Southwell Park Road had been discussed with the Council’s Greenspaces Team, who held responsibility for the upkeep of the Recreation Ground.  The fencing at this point was modular and removal of the one panel needed to secure the necessary access would necessitate the removal of four bolts.  In addition, assurances had been given that any shrubs removed would be cared for appropriately for the duration of the event and the flower beds reinstated afterwards.

·         A maximum of 1,000 people would be allowed into the venue at any one time.  This figure had been based on a calculation of 2 people per square metre and meant that the attraction would experience crowds that were well below the accepted limits for an event of this type.

·         There would be approximately 50 people working at the attraction each day.  It was expected that the majority of staff would be recruited locally and if they required parking then they would be directed to park in the town centre multi-storey car parks.

·         The ice-rink would have a maximum capacity of 200 people at any one time.  Although there would be limited opportunities for people to just turn up and skate, the majority of visitors would be expected to pre-book a slot on the ice rink.  The booking system would be used to keep numbers below the maximum capacity.

·         A local security firm would be contracted to oversee the security and safety of the attraction.

·         Event staff would work with the police and the locally employed security company to ensure that any disruption was kept to a minimum.  The event would also be part of the town centre radio system so that staff would be able to react to any incidents taking place elsewhere if necessary. 

·         The set up and break down of the attraction would be controlled by the same regulations that governed the construction industry.  Construction activity would be limited to standard office hours and any noisy construction would be for a limited time only and interspersed with periods of quieter construction activity.  All deliveries would be timetabled and staggered and would be overseen by a banksman.

·         In order to minimise disruption and loss of local amenities, the construction and break down would be phased for example the attractions proposed for the ornamental garden area would be installed last and broken down first.

·         The tennis courts were owned and run by Surrey Heath Borough Council on a pay and play basis.  It was confirmed that no tennis clubs currently used the courts.

 

Pedestrian and Vehicular Matters

 

·         The Applicant was working closely with Highways representatives to develop a Traffic Management Plan.  This would be submitted as part of the planning application for the event.

·         Yellow AA Road signs would be displayed on the main access routes to Camberley town centre directing event traffic to the Knoll Road Multi-storey Car Park, where event visitors would be able to park free of charge.  A clearly marked pedestrian route would take visitors through the town centre to the event venue.  There would be a clearly designated pick up and drop off point for taxis.  Separate provision would be made for coach parties and these would be set out in the Travel Plan.  An additional Parking Enforcement Officer would be employed for the duration of the event to help police the area.

·         The proposed pedestrian route through Camberley town centre from the car parks to London Road Recreation Ground had been developed in consultation with traffic and highways officers at Surrey County Council and officers at Surrey Heath Borough Council.  The proposed route made use of existing pedestrianised areas wherever possible to ensure visitor safety was maintained.

·         Surrey Heath Borough Council had applied for a temporary extension of the Controlled Parking Zone in the area.  Surrey County Council had confirmed that the Borough Council could use its powers to enforce parking restrictions in the area.

·         The locally employed security firm would be expected to work closely with the Parking Enforcement Team to ensure that any problems identified could be appropriately dealt with as quickly and appropriately as possible

 

Alcohol

 

·         The supply and consumption of alcohol would not be the primary focus of the event.

·         The application included a request for a licence for off-sales of alcohol so that stall holders could sell alcohol that could be given as gifts for example craft beers.  Any off-sales of alcohol would be made in sealed containers.

·         Visitors would not be able to bring alcohol into the event with them.

 

Light and Noise Matters

 

·         The event would be lit using a combinationof low level festoon lighting and directional floodlights.  All the lighting would be white/yellow low intensity lighting and any floodlights would be positioned so that they were fixed below the surrounding boundary fences and directed onto the event attractions.  The main lighting would be turned off after the event closed at 9.30pm.

·         A battery back-up would be used to ensure that exit routes were lit in the event of a power failure.

·         Two types of music would be in use during the event: background music and live music.  The background music would be kept at such a level that it would be below conversational level.  The live music would be used to provide an additional attraction and would punctuate the background music at key points during the day.  It was envisaged that the live music would take the form of community and school choirs and the Salvation Army and similar bands putting on performances for a maximum of 90 minutes at a time. Timings were not set in stone.  The Applicant indicated that they would be happy to discuss timetabling of the live music with local residents to ensure that disruption as kept to a minimum.

·         Public announcements would be kept to a minimum.  Whenever possible skaters would be informed that their time on the ice had finished by the broadcasting of a single tone of a short duration.  If public announcements were to be made then these would be broadcast through the system used for the background music. 

·         The event venue would have a fixed power supply with generators being supplied to a number of the standalone stalls.  All the generators would be of the bio-diesel hybrid type and would run intermittently during the day.  At the end of each day all the generators would be turned off and the venue would be silent out of hours.

·         The main plant would be decibel rated; the chillers used for the ice rink had a decibel rating in the region of 52 decibels at 10metres.

·         Any infrastructure would be placed in such a way to mitigate any impact on neighbouring properties.

·         An agreement had been reached with Environmental Health that no additional music or plant noise should be audible within 1metre of any façade that contained a window or door.  A number of noise level readings would be taken before the event opened and these would be averaged to determine a background noise level that should not be exceeded.

 

Vulnerable Groups

 

·         The applicant had held discussions with Surrey Fire and Rescue Service in relation to both fire safety and the protection of vulnerable groups.

·         A robust Child Protection Policy, based on detailed policies that had been tested at previous events run by the Applicant, would be in place for the duration of the attraction.

·         To further ensure the safety and welfare of vulnerable groups for the duration of the attraction the applicant would work with a specialist event safety company, Tiger Tea, who they had collaborated with at previous events.

·         A first aid bay manned by DBS checked staff would be located in the refreshment tent.

·         The area covered by the licence would be open to any one of any age although it was expected that children under a certain age would be accompanied by an adult.

·         Children under the age of sixteen would only be allowed on the ice rink if they were accompanied by an adult and limits would be placed on the number of children that one adult could supervise at any one time.

 

Waste

 

·         A Waste Management Plan would be used to reduce waste.

·         All food would be sold in recyclable or compostable packaging and drinks would be served in reusable plastic glasses.

·         Litter bins would be placed at all exit points and visitors would be encouraged by staff at the gates to place rubbish in these as they left.

·         In the event that it was not possible to gain direct access to a sewer then grey and black water would be collected in tanks for removal.

 

It was agreed that the Licensing Sub-Committee would adjourn until Tuesday 30 August 21016 at 10am to enable the following documents to be scrutinised by the Sub-Committee:

·         A detailed plan of the proposed attraction

·         An up to date Event Management Plan

·         A Traffic Management Plan

·         A list of conditions proposed by the Applicant

 

Minutes of Reconvened Meeting of the Licensing Sub Committee held on 30 August 2016

 

Having scrutinised the additional documents, the Sub Committee requested clarification on a number of points and the responses are set out below:

 

Light and Noise Matters

 

·         The discrepancy between the decibel levels proposed in the Event Management Plan and the proposed conditions was due to the fact that the Event Management Plan proposed to measure noise levels at the façade of the dwellings whilst the proposed conditions would measure noise levels at a point that was further away from dwellings.

·         The impact of an increase in noise levels of 10 decibels above background would be attenuated by a normal door or window.

·         The 15 minute average reading meant that a number of readings would be taken for 15 minute periods during the course of the day and then averaged to get a single background noise level at a particular point.

·         The proposed noise level measuring points had been suggested by Environmental Health.  The Applicant indicated that they would be happy to change these if the Sub Committee considered alternative points would be more appropriate for example 30 Southwell Park Road was closer to the perimeter of the attraction than some of the original proposed points.

·         The Applicant indicated that they would be willing to be flexible on the number of days that live amplified music would be broadcast.

·         It was confirmed that noise levels would be monitored on an hourly basis by event staff using calibrated hand held monitors.  Records would be kept and these would be made available for inspection. 

·         It was agreed that additional noise monitoring would be carried out by Environmental Health representatives.

·         It was confirmed that any floodlights used would have cowls/shades to ensure that light was directed appropriately.

·         It might be necessary to spray the rink with super cold water in order to maintain a good skating surface.  This would be done overnight and would require lighting to ensure even application.  It was confirmed that other than this and any essential security lighting the attraction would be dark after it closed in the evening.

 

Event Safety and Security Matters

 

·         It was stressed that 3 was the absolute minimum number of trained and certified security personnel that would be on duty at all times.  The majority of visitors would book their attendance at the attraction in advance and this would enable the organisers to predict when additional security staff would be needed.  The Applicant would be working with a local security firm who had the capacity to provide additional security staff at short notice if required.

·         The Applicant indicated that they would accept a condition limiting the number of people at the attraction at any one time to a maximum of 1,000.

 

Litter and Waste

 

·         Event staff would be deployed to work alongside Council staff to pick up litter in the area surrounding the attraction.  Rather than impose a list of roads that should be covered by these teams it was considered that it would be more appropriate to monitor the situation and deploy staff according to need.

·         It was clarified that toilet facilities would be provided in-line with industry guidelines.  There would be a minimum of 16 toilet units and 5 urinals placed at various positions across the site.  In addition there would be 3 baby change positions on site.

 

Pedestrian and Vehicular Matters

 

·         It was clarified that the 10am start time stated in the Traffic Management Plan was the time that any traffic management activities would need to commence before the attraction opened in order for them to be fully effective.

·         It was confirmed that the attraction would not be open on Christmas Day.

·         The Applicant indicated that they would adhere to the following standard construction industry working hours during the set up and break down periods:

­   Monday to Friday 8am – 6pm

­   Saturday 8am – 1pm

­   Sunday/Bank Holiday – No work permitted

·         It was clarified that the parking bay on Southwell Park Road would only be completely suspended during the event set up and breakdown periods.  When the attraction was running access at this point would be limited to traders and delivery drivers and suspension of only a limited number of parking bays would be required.  The access point would be monitored by security staff when the attraction was operational.

·         It was stressed that the eventual access point would be narrower than that shown on the plan.  A wider than necessary access point was shown to enable any changes to be easily implemented if these became necessary for safety or access reasons.

·         Any construction traffic would be directed appropriately to ensure minimal disruption to residential properties.

 

General Matters

 

·         The Council’s Greenspaces Team had confirmed that creating the access point onto Southwell Park Road would necessitate the removal of a Rhododendron, which was considered to be a weed, and two Cordyline plants.  It was confirmed that the flower bed would be reinstated appropriately once the event had finished.

·         The applicants indicated that they would be happy for the SAG to have input and final approval of any plans and policies.

 

In reaching their decision, the Sub Committee took into consideration the representations made in relation to traffic, noise, public safety and loss of public amenity. However, the concerns did not meet the threshold that would undermine the four licensing objectives.  From the representations made, the Sub Committee had confidence that the Applicant would ensure that the attraction was well managed and would trade as a responsible body, with a clear plan and policies in place to deal with any issues.  In addition, they were assured that the Applicant would recruit staff who would be instructed to ensure that the site, as a licensed premise, within their sphere of control was well managed and people abusing the site would be challenged.

 

The decision making process was a matter of judgement by the Sub Committee having weighed all the evidence provided by the interested parties and the Applicant the evidence came down clearly in favour of granting the licence. The Applicant had clearly addressed their minds to the processes and policies required to ensure that the licensing objectives were promoted.  It had to be recognised that whilst the objectors raised objections under the 4 licensing objectives, the evidence in support of the objections had little evidential support and when weighed in the balance carried little weight.  A number of the representations made by the objectors did not relate to the licensing objectives and as such they were not matters that the Sub Committee could consider.

 

The Sub Committee took into consideration that only one Responsible Authority had made a representation and this had subsequently been withdrawn following discussions between the two parties when a compromise had been reached.  The Sub Committee noted that, as part of their planning processes, the Applicant had spoken with a number of Responsible Authorities including the Police, Fire and Rescue Service, Licensing Authority and the Ambulance Service and were committed to working with these Responsible Authorities until the attraction had been closed, the build taken down and the Recreation Ground restored to its original state.

 

The Sub Committee was aware that there were a number of objections and that those objections were coordinated.  However, the objections were broadly based on what might happen rather than what would happen.  On balance, the Sub Committee decided that granting the new premises licence, in line with the conditions set out at Annex A of these minutes, would promote the four licensing objectives; Prevention of Crime and Disorder, Public Safety, Prevention of Public Nuisance, and Protection of Children from Harm. The Sub Committee found no evidence to justify refusing the new application.

 

The Sub Committee’s Legal Advisor, Mr Gary Grant, shared the conditions that the Sub Committee proposed to impose on the premises licence with the Applicant, the Licensing Authority and the Interested Parties present to enable them to comment on them before a decision was passed.

 

RESOLVED that the application for a new Premises License at London Road Recreation Ground, Grand Avenue, Camberley GU15 3QH shall be granted, in line with the conditions set out at Annex A of these minutes.