Agenda item

The Chairman summarised the procedure for the Sub-Committee hearing. All those present were introduced or introduced themselves.

The Senior Licensing and Enforcement Officer presented his report covering an application for a new time limited premises licence made on 3 March 2022 by Integrated Event Management Ltd under Section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003, for a festival to be held at Hillside Farm, Hillside Lane, Great Amwell, Ware, Hertfordshire.

The Senior Licensing and Enforcement Officer said that the application was resubmitted on 9 March 2022 after errors had been identified in respect of the requested dates. The Sub-Committee was advised that the application had been correctly advertised and consulted upon as required by legislation and regulations. Members were advised that the application sought the following licensable activities to be granted:

·                                   Live and recorded music and the performance of dance between 11 am and 11 pm Thursday to Sunday;

·                                   Late night refreshment between 11 pm and 1 am

Members were advised that the application, if granted, restricted these times to two events to be held at the premises over two weekends between 9 May and 1 August 2022.

The Senior Licensing and Enforcement Officer said that the applicant had stated a number of steps to promote the licensing objectives and these included a requirement that all operations would be carried out in conjunction with a comprehensive management plan. Members were advised that the management team would consist of eight senior managers and there would be a risk assessment produced for the event. There would be a minimum of four personal licence holders to supervise the sale of alcohol at all times.

The Sub-Committee was advised that there would be a suitably sized team of SIA personnel wearing body worn cameras. The event would have a comprehensive drugs policy, prohibited items policies and search policies. The Senior Licensing and Enforcement Officer said that competent medical provider would be present and a competent contractor would be appointed to review all risks and review the use of noise management plan.

Members were advised that the applicant would employ a cleansing team to remove litter and waste in line with a no trace policy. A Challenge 25 policy would be in place as well as a policy to ensure the protection of children from harm. These measures were further supported by conditions which had agreed with Environmental Health.

The Sub-Committee was advised that 2 representations against the application were received during the consultation period; one of which was from the parish council and the other was from a resident who was concerned about noise and public safety. The representations engaged the following licensing objectives:

·                         Prevention of public nuisance

·                         Public safety

The Senior Licensing and Enforcement Officer said that in respect of the gas pipe line in the locality, the applicant had taken advice from Cadent Gas regarding temporary structures. The Event Management Plan (EMP) had been through the Safety Advisory Group (SAG) and it had been concluded that no further meetings were necessary.

The Sub-Committee was advised that the report looked at the East Herts Statement of Licensing Policy and the revised guidance under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003. The report included information submitted by the applicant and the interested parties making the representation.

The Senior Licensing and Enforcement Officer said that the Sub-Committee should determine the application with a view to promoting the four licensing objectives. Members must consider whether they believe the applicant had provided evidence that the licence if granted would promote and not undermine the licensing objectives.

The Sub-Committee was reminded that this evidence should be balanced against the representations provided by the interested parties in respect of the undermining of the licensing objectives. Members should grant the application as requested if they believed it would not undermine the licensing objectives.

The Senior Licensing and Enforcement Officer set out the options open to the Sub-Committee and said that the determination should be evidence based and justified as being appropriate for the promotion of the four Licensing Objectives and proportionate to what Members intended to achieve.

Councillor Bolton sought and was given clarification that Environmental Health Officers had contacted the applicant and conditions had been agreed. The Senior Licensing and Enforcement Officer confirmed that there had been no representations from responsible authorities and he was not aware of any conditions that had been agreed between the applicant and Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue.

The applicant’s legal representative said that the matter of the display of blue notices on site should be addressed. He asked for clarity in terms of whether the Council considered that the application had been correctly consulted upon. In response to further questions from the applicant’s legal representative and the interested party, the Senior Licensing and Enforcement Officer commented in detail on this point and confirmed that the application had been correctly advertised on site and consulted upon in line with the correct procedures.

The legal representative for the applicant said that conditions three and four in paragraph 3.8 (sub-paragraphs one to nine), were duplicate conditions. He drew the attention of Members to a condition covering a detailed noise management plan with measures agreed by the local authority not less than three weeks prior to the event.  

The Senior Licensing and Enforcement Officer said that it would be clearer if the matter of the noise management plan and the communications strategy were covered by a separate condition.

The applicant’s legal representative confirmed that the licensable area would not be open to the public after 11:30 pm and there would be no public access to this red lined area after 11:30 pm. He said that the fire safety plan would be line with the requirements that had been set out by Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue.

The applicant’s legal representative said that the content of the operating schedule included wording that had been requested by Hertfordshire Constabulary on previous applications. He confirmed that the waste management plan would be compliant with the conditions and advice that had been set out by Environmental Health.

The applicant’s legal representative set out the nature of the application for the time limited premises licence and he set out the intended dates for two musical festival events at Hillside Farm. He spoke about the theme for the established festival events which had all occurred without incident. He said that there had been no police objection and the previous stipulations of the police had been included in the conditions that were part of the application.

The applicant’s legal representative set out how the matter of the gas pipeline had been addressed. He spoke at length about the noise management plan for the first festival and stressed that noise disturbance would not be at a level that would constitute a nuisance. The premises licence holder detailed how complaints would be logged and addressed. The Sub-Committee was advised of the procedure that would be applied in respect of surrender bins, search policies for all entry points and the entry refusals process.

Councillor Page asked about the intended monitoring of the numbers attending the festival events. The Sub-Committee was advised that all tickets would be exchanged for a wrist band on entry to the site. The applicant’s legal representative addressed the matter of a condition requiring that the letter drop containing a contact number for residents.

The interested party addressed the Sub-Committee in respect of noise and the fact this his house had been vibrating during festival events in 2021. He talked about the positioning of the staging and said that the noise propagation maps had made no allowance of wind or the reflection of noise from buildings. He commented on the increase in decibels that could result from certain wind conditions.

The applicant stated that the control of noise propagation was run in line with the ISO standards in respect of wind speeds and an aggregate was taken regarding wind speeds from multiple directions. The interested party said that the site was too small to control noise where it would not impact somebody at some point.

At the conclusion of the closing summary submissions from the applicant and the interested party, the Sub-Committee, the Litigation and Advisory Lawyer and Democratic Services Officer retired to a separate room to allow Members to consider the evidence.

Following this, Members and Officers returned and the Chairman announced that the Sub-Committee had listened to the comments of the Senior Licensing and Enforcement Officer, the applicant and the interested party. The Sub-Committee had considered the representations that had been received and had decided to grant the time limited premises licence subject to the conditions agreed between the applicant and Environmental Health.

The duplicated condition four is to be deleted and the grant of the licence is subject to the following condition that had been offered up by the applicant:

·                        7 days prior to the event, the applicant is required to distribute written information to residents as identified by modelling as being at risk of breach of agreed noise levels without mitigation measures. The Written information is to include the dates and times of planned activities and the noise complaint telephone number for residents to contact.

Informatives:

Condition paragraph 8.6 of the operating schedule, in respect of the fire safety plan, be amended to include the requirements and and/or advice of Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue. Condition paragraph 8.9 of the operating schedule (waste management plan), be amended to include the requirements and/or advice of Environmental Health.    

RESOLVED – that the application for a new time limited premises licence by Integrated Event Management Ltd (Stone Valley South Festival South/Wannasee) for events at Hillside Farm, Hillside Lane, Great Amwell, Ware, Hertfordshire, be granted.

Reasons for Decision:

1.           The Licensing Sub-Committee considered all of the evidence before including the written representations made by the interested party. Members had regard to the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy, the Licensing Act 2003 and the guidance promulgated pursuant to Section 182 of that act;

2.           The Licensing Sub-Committee is required to adopt a presumption in favour of granting a premises licence unless there is clear evidence upon which to base a refusal of modification. There was insufficient evidence before the Sub-Committee to rebut that presumption: and

3.           In reaching this decision Members had regard to the objections received and noted that the licence was sought until 23:00 hours which was not too late for this type of event. Members were also satisfied with the additional condition offered up by the Applicant which would ensure that the noise management plan would afford the representatives protection from the noise disturbance reported in the previous year.

Those present were advised that the decision would be issued in writing within five working days and there was the right of appeal within 21 days to the magistrate’s court.