notification of chairman and outline of procedure

The Chairman opened the meeting by introducing the Sub-Committee and the Officers present. He then outlined the procedure that would be followed.

declarations of interest

No interests were declared.

part b minutes for information

application to vary premises license at the phoenix tavern, abbey street, faversham

The Chairman introduced the report which set out the application for a variation of the premises licence for The Phoenix Tavern, Abbey Street, Faversham.

Mr David Selves, the Applicant, gave an overview of his application. He advised that he lived next door to the premises and it was his intention to make The Phoenix Tavern the hub of the community. He referred the Sub-Committee to the letters of objection included within the agenda and addressed each of the issues raised in turn. He stressed that he always advised local residents when there was live music in the garden and he would continue to do so for future events. He considered that the letters of support demonstrated that the premises were run in a responsible manner and he was considerate of neighbours and the residential location of the premises. He considered that he had a good working relationship with the Police and they had raised no objection to the application.

In outlining his application, Mr Selves proposed some amendments to the original application. These were intended to alleviate some of the concerns of local residents and also to reflect more accurately the variation he was seeking.

The Licensing Officer advised those present of the procedure for Temporary Events Notices (TENs) as an alternative option to variation of the premises licence. She explained that the Applicant could apply for up to 12 TENs per year at the premises; TENs cannot be conditioned, could last up to 96 hours and could only be refused by the Police.

Local residents spoke in objection to the application and raised the following concerns: there was no respite for local residents when live music was hosted in the garden; the proposal for amplified music was daunting to residents; concern that residents would not be informed in advance of dates of events; and the noise nuisance from people using the garden area affected local residents' quality of life.

The Applicant advised that the gates from the garden area were locked at 21:00 on Friday and Saturday nights and the premises had a voluntary code of clearing the garden of customers by 23:30.

The Assistant Environmental Health Officer explained that they had requested that the Applicant provided 21 days notice of events to allow time for noise monitoring to be arranged if necessary.

The Environmental Protection Manager advised that, although he had no issue with the current management of the premises, he was concerned that the variation to the premises licence would allow future owners to host events which could be disruptive to local residents. He considered that the proposals were too broad and given the proximity of the garden to local residents the variation should be refused.

The Assistant Solicitor confirmed that the licence applied to the premises and could not be restricted to the current Applicant.

In summing up, the Applicant stressed that, although he was applying for live music outside every Sunday from May - September, he did not intend to host live music every Sunday.

In summing up, Mrs Doak spoke on behalf of local residents in objection to the application, and made the following points: the premises was set amongst residential houses on a medieval street; the proximity of the houses to the premises meant that amplified music caused vibrations in neighbouring properties; and residents felt trapped in their homes when live music was played in the garden.

Members of the Sub-Committee adjourned to make their decision at 11:18am. Members of the Sub-Committee, the Assistant Solicitor and the Senior Democratic Services Officer left the meeting and returned at 11:38am.