Agenda and minutes
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Election of Chairman Minutes: Nominations for Chairman were received in respect of Councillors M. T. Buxton and B. T. Cooper.
RESOLVED that Councillor B. T. Cooper be elected as Chairman for the ensuing municipal year. |
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Election of Vice-Chairman Minutes: A nomination for Vice-Chairman was received in respect of Councillor C. J. Spencer.
RESOLVED that Councillor C. J. Spencer be elected as Vice-Chairman for the ensuing municipal year. |
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Election of Chairman to preside at the meeting Minutes: In the absence of the elected Chairman, Councillor B. T. Cooper and the elected Vice-Chairman, Councillor C. J. Spencer for the ensuing municipal year; a nomination for Chairman to preside at the meeting was received in respect of Councillor P. L. Thomas.
RESOLVED that Councillor P. L. Thomas be elected as Chairman to preside at the meeting. |
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Apologies Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors B. T. Cooper, S. R. Peters, C. J. Spencer and L. J. Turner. The Committee was advised that Councillor K. J. May was attending as the substitute member for Councillor C. J. Spencer. |
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Declarations of Interest To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests. Minutes: No declarations of interest were received. |
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Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 14th March 2016 were submitted.
RESOLVED that, subject to it being noted with regard to the misspelling of Royal Assent, that the minutes of the meeting held on 14th March 2016 be approved as a correct record. |
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Licensing Annual Report 2015/ 2016 Minutes: The Committee considered the Licensing Annual Report 2015/2016 which provided an overall view of the activities, under the Licensing Act 2003, Gambling Act 2005 and other aspects of Licensing, and to inform the Committee on any issues anticipated in the ensuing year. The report detailed the work carried out by Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) Enforcement and Licensing Teams for Bromsgrove District Council.
The Senior Licensing Practitioner, WRS, introduced the report and in doing so informed the Committee that the Street Amenity Policy had now been approved and that a Street Amenity application had been received by WRS.
During 2015/2016 the Council’s Statement of Principles under the Gambling Act 2005 was reviewed and a revised Statement of Principles was published with effect from 31st January 2016.
The Council’s current Statement of Licensing Policy under the Licensing Act 2003 was published with effect from 1st May 2014. The Statement of Licensing Policy was due to be revised prior to the 1st May 2019. In 2016 the Council also consulted on and adopted the first comprehensive policy on the licensing of Sex Establishments within the District.
The report further informed Members that during December 2015 a late night enforcement operation in partnership with West Mercia Police had been conducted. WRS licensing officers and police officers had visited a number of licensed premises in order to carry out spot checks on licensed vehicles. The Council’s depot was utilised to carry out mechanical safety checks on vehicles that had been checked at the roadside but also required additional scrutiny.
The report also detailed the following information:- · New licences issued and granted by Bromsgrove District Council in 2015/2016, under the Licensing Act 2003. · Premises that continued to be licensed by Bromsgrove District Council under the Gambling Act 2005. · The number of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire licensed vehicles and drivers, which had increased slightly over the course of the year. · The number of Site Licenses and Mobile Collector Licences issued under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013.
WRS licensing officers kept in regular contact with the appointed taxi trade representatives by phone and one to one meetings when required and regularly attended and represented Bromsgrove District Council at a number of local and regional meetings.
In 2014 a site management agreement was negotiated and entered into with the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA) in order to regulate face-to-face fundraisers in the town centre.
In response to Members, the Senior Licensing Practitioner, WRS informed the Committee that there was no specific legislation to consider when imposing a ‘cap’ on the number of Hackney Carriage Vehicles licensed in the district. Not many authorities imposed a ‘cap’ on the number of Hackney Carriage Vehicles licensed. Worcester City Council had recently imposed a ‘cap’ whereby no new hackney carriages were granted a licence unless they replaced an existing vehicle.
The Senior Licensing Practitioner, WRS highlighted that the Council would be required to have robust evidence in place in order to impose a ‘cap’ on the number of Hackney Carriage Vehicles ... view the full minutes text for item 7/16 |
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Draft Scrap Metal Licensing Policy - Approval for Consultation Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee considered a report to approve, for the purpose of consultation with relevant parties, the draft Scrap Metal Licensing Policy and Guidelines, as detailed at Appendix 1 to the report, for the licensing of scrap metal sites and collectors in the district.
The Senior Licensing Practitioner, Worcestershire Regulatory Service (WRS) introduced the report and in doing so, reminded Members that the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 was introduced to replace the previous regulatory scheme for scrap metal dealers and for vehicle dismantlers. The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 required anyone who dealt in scrap metal to obtain and display a relevant licence and provided both the police and local authorities with more powers of entry and inspection; as well as allowing a more thorough application process whereby licences could be refused and subsequently revoked if scrap metal dealers were deemed ‘unsuitable’.
Licensing Committee Members had previously received briefing reports during Licensing Committee meetings held on 20th March 2013 and 17th March 2014, on the provisions of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013. The Act came into force on 1st October 2013, with full enforcement powers coming into effect on 1st December 2013.
The Senior Licensing Practitioner, WRS drew Members’ attention to page 19 of the report, paragraph 1.4, which detailed those to be consulted with on the draft Scrap Metal Licensing Policy and Guidelines, as detailed at Appendix 1 to the report.
RESOLVED: (a) that the draft Scrap Metal Licensing Policy and Guidelines, as detailed at Appendix to the report, be approved for the purpose of consultation with relevant parties, as detailed in the report; and (b) that following consultation the responses received be presented to a future meeting of the Licensing Committee. |
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Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAV's) - Consultation results Additional documents:
Minutes: Following on from the Licensing Committee meeting held on 9th November 2015; whereby Members agreed to a further consultation being conducted in order to ascertain if there was an unmet demand for Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs) within the district. Members were asked to consider the results of the additional consultation undertaken by Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) with regards to WAVs.
The Senior Licensing Practitioner, WRS, presented the report and in doing so reminded Members that following consideration of the initial consultation results, Members had expressed their concerns about the low number of licensed Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs) within the district. Licensing Committee Members had therefore agreed that a further consultation be conducted in order to ascertain if there was currently an unmet demand for WAVs as Hackney Carriages within the district or if this was the perception.
In late November 2015 licence holders were sent a copy of the questionnaire, as detailed at Appendix 1 to the report. An additional questionnaire, as detailed at Appendix 2 to the report, was sent to all members of the Bromsgrove Engagement and Equalities Forum, all members of Bromsgrove and Redditch Network (BARN), the Worcestershire and Warwickshire Royal Voluntary Service and the Life After Stroke Centre. A copy was also placed on the Council’s website, a press release was issued in order to draw attention to the consultation and social media channels were also utilised in order to raise awareness of the consultation.
The Senior Licensing Practitioner, WRS, drew Members’ attention to the responses received, as detailed at Appendices 3 and 4 to the report.
The Senior Licensing Practitioner, WRS, highlighted that only two responses had been returned from licence holders, as detailed at Appendix 3. Neither of the respondents currently owned a hackney carriage vehicle capable of carrying a passenger who could remain seated in their wheelchair whilst travelling. Neither respondent had identified any factors that would encourage them to purchase a WAV.
The Senior Licensing Practitioner, WRS, further informed the Committee that there had been considerable opposition from the taxi trade as they did not consider that there was currently a demand for WAVs in the district.
Only seven competed surveys were received to the consultation survey sent out to the relevant organisations, as detailed in the preamble above. A table of those responses was detailed at Appendix 4 to the report. The majority (71%) of respondents strongly agreed that there were not enough WAVs in Bromsgrove. Only one respondent agreed that they found WAVs difficult to access and preferred saloon style vehicles. Six out of the seven who responded either used a wheelchair or cared for a person who did. The vast majority of respondents said that they preferred to travel in a taxi whilst they remained seated in their wheelchair. All of those who responded agreed that they pre-booked taxis that met their requirements.
The Senior Licensing Practitioner, WRS, informed Members that passengers who wanted to remain seated in their wheelchair whilst travelling in a taxi would struggle to find ... view the full minutes text for item 9/16 |
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Licensing Committee Work Programme 2016 / 2017 Minutes: The Committee considered the Work Programme for 2016/2017.
RESOLVED that the Licensing Committee Work Programme be updated to include the items discussed and agreed during the course of the meeting. |