Agenda and minutes

It was noted that there had been a change to the Membership of the Sub-Committee and that Councillor A. B. L. English would not be sitting as a Member. Councillor C. J. Spencer was in attendance as a Member of the Sub-Committee and Councillor P. J. Whittaker was in attendance as the Reserve Member. 

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor H. D. N. Rone-Clarke, therefore Councillor P. J. Whittaker sat as a Member of the Sub-Committee.

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.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chairman welcomed all participants to the virtual meeting and in doing so, checked that Members of the Sub-Committee, officers and the Applicant were all present.

The Chairman asked the applicant if he had been made aware that he could be represented by a legal representative at his own expense during the Hearing.  The applicant confirmed that he had been made aware and was happy for the Hearing to continue.

Councillor H. J. Jones and P. J. Whittaker confirmed that they had carried out an unannounced Site Visit to the proposed trading site.  Councillor C. J. Spencer stated that she was very familiar with the area.

The Sub-Committee then considered an application for street trading consent to sell hot and cold food and drinks from a unit sited on 2A Birmingham Road, Alvechurch, Worcestershire, B48 7TA.

The Technical Officer, Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) outlined the details of the application, together with the reasons why the application had been brought before the Sub-Committee. 

It was confirmed that a representation had been received from Worcestershire County Council (WCC), Highways Department, as detailed at Appendix 2 to the report.  

One representation had been received from a neighbouring business, as detailed at Appendix 3 to the report and two representations had also been received from local residents, as detailed at Appendix 4 to the report.

In response to the Chairman, the Technical Officer clarified that the representations received from the two residents were close to the proposed street trading site.

At the invitation of the Chairman, Mr. H. Fellows, the applicant was asked to put forward his case in support of his application.

Mr. Fellows asked Members to note that there was an error on the officer’s report, his business name at 2A Birmingham Road was Alvechurch Garage Services Limited and not Cms Auto Services.  He would also ask Members to note that he would look to sell hot food only and hot/cold drinks. 

Mr. Fellows continued and stated that he leased the forecourt at the front part of the garage and that the landlord had agreed that he could operate a street trading business from the proposed site.

Mr. Fellows also stated that he was disappointed that no-one from WCC, Highways Department had attended the Hearing. 

Mr. Fellows referred to section 3.7.2 of the Council’s Street Trading Policy, with regards to road safety, adequate provision in the vicinity; and staff and customers being able to park in a safe manner.

With the agreement of the Chairman, Mr. Fellows responded to the representations received and in doing so stated that:

·       The proposed trading hours would be 08:00am until 2:00pm, so trading would take place during the busy school arrival time but not during school departure time.  He also commented that school children of a younger age would be accompanied by an adult whilst walking to school.

·       The premises had previously operated as commercial premises for a number of years.  In 2009 the garage that operated there was granted MOT status, this had not raised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3/20