Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Swale House, East Street, Sittingbourne, ME10 3HT. View directions

Contact: Democratic Services, 01795 417330 

Items
No. Item

174.

Emergency Evacuation Procedure

The Chairman will advise the meeting of the evacuation procedures to follow in the event of an emergency. This is particularly important for visitors and members of the public who will be unfamiliar with the building and procedures.

 

The Chairman will inform the meeting whether there is a planned evacuation drill due to take place, what the alarm sounds like (i.e. ringing bells), where the closest emergency exit route is, and where the second closest emergency exit route is, in the event that the closest exit or route is blocked.

 

The Chairman will inform the meeting that:

 

(a) in the event of the alarm sounding, everybody must leave the building via the nearest safe available exit and gather at the Assembly points at the far side of the Car Park. Nobody must leave the assembly point until everybody can be accounted for and nobody must return to the building until the Chairman has informed them that it is safe to do so; and

 

(b) the lifts must not be used in the event of an evacuation.

 

Any officers present at the meeting will aid with the evacuation.

 

It is important that the Chairman is informed of any person attending who is disabled or unable to use the stairs, so that suitable arrangements may be made in the event of an emergency.

 

 

 

Minutes:

The Chairman drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

175.

Minutes

To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 9 April 2019 (Minute Nos. 601 – 607) as a correct record and to accept the minutes of the Licensing Sub-Committee meeting held on 1 July 2019 (Minute Nos. 99 – 103).

 

 

 

 

Minutes:

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 9 April 2019 (Minute Nos. 601 – 607) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

 

The Minutes of the Licensing Sub-Committee held on 1 July 2019 (Minute Nos. 99 – 103) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

176.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for  themselves or their spouse, civil partner or person with whom they are living with as a spouse or civil partner.  They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.

 

The Chairman will ask Members if they have any interests to declare in respect of items on this agenda, under the following headings:

 

(a)          Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI) under the Localism Act 2011.  The nature as well as the existence of any such interest must be declared.  After declaring a DPI, the Member must leave the meeting and not take part in the discussion or vote.  This applies even if there is provision for public speaking.

 

(b)          Disclosable Non Pecuniary (DNPI) under the Code of Conduct adopted by the Council in May 2012.  The nature as well as the existence of any such interest must be declared.  After declaring a DNPI interest, the Member may stay, speak and vote on the matter.

 

(c)          Where it is possible that a fair-minded and informed observer, having considered the facts would conclude that there was a real possibility that the Member might be predetermined or biased the Member should declare their predetermination or bias and then leave the room while that item is considered.

 

Advice to Members:  If any Councillor has any doubt about the existence or nature of any DPI or DNPI which he/she may have in any item on this agenda, he/she should seek advice from the Monitoring Officer, the Head of Legal or from other Solicitors in Legal Services as early as possible, and in advance of the Meeting.

 

Minutes:

No interests were declared.

Part B Minutes for Information

177.

Licensing Update pdf icon PDF 72 KB

Minutes:

OLEV/ULEV grants

 

The Resilience and Licensing Manager introduced the Office for Low Emission Vehicles/Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV/ULEV) grants update.  She reported that Kent County Council (KCC) were leading the project and work was progressing on installing a charging point in the Borough.  The charging point would be installed outside the police station in Central Avenue, Sittingbourne by the end of March 2020.

 

In response to questions from a Member, the Resilience and Licensing Manager said that the charge to taxis for using the charging point was not yet known.  She explained that the criteria of the grant allowed only taxis, not other vehicles, to use the charging point.

 

A Member asked if there would be further charging points added within the Borough, and the Resilience and Licensing Manager explained that the installation of this charging point was as a result of this specific grant application.

 

Taxis

 

The Resilience and Licensing Manager introduced the taxi update. 

 

In response to questions, the Resilience and Licensing Manager explained that some penalty points imposed on taxi drivers were linked to DVLA standards and others more specific to the taxi business.  The points remained on the driver’s licence for three years.  She explained that more information on this could be found in the appendices of Swale’s taxi policy, which could be found online, or Members could request a copy.

 

National Licensing Week

 

The Resilience and Licensing Manager explained that the National Licensing Week had been held in June 2019 and the Swale licensing team took part for the first time this year.

 

The Licensing Officer explained that this would be an annual event, recommended by the Institute of Licensing.  She welcomed ideas from Members on initiatives that they could get involved with during this week.  In response to a question, the Licensing Officer outlined the activities that they had been involved with, which included working alongside HM Revenue and Customs, trading standards, the Police and Swale’s Environmental Response Team.

 

Kent Community Alcohol Partnership (KCAP)

 

The Licensing Officer introduced the update and explained that the aim of this initiative was to reduce underage drinking through work with retailers, publicans and enforcement agencies.  Work included the promotion of Challenge 25.  He reported that premises had been invited to join the partnership.  The premises were mapped and colour-coded red at the start of the process, through to green to show progress.

 

A Member asked about the process of Challenge 25, and the Licensing Officer explained that after training, there would be another Challenge 25, and if the premises failed that, a review would take place.  Another Member said that KCAPs had been launched in the same areas where there were PSPOs (Public Spaces Protection Orders), and as such asked whether that meant that PSPOs were not working?  He also suggested that supermarkets were compliant with Challenge 25, but it was the smaller premises that needed more assistance.  The Licensing Officer explained that KCAP included advice and education, and so was different from PSPOs.

 

Local Area Profile

 

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 177.

178.

Presentation on licensing inspections

Minutes:

The Licensing Officer gave a presentation entitled ‘When a Licensing Officer calls’ which provided a background to their work behind the scenes.

 

The presentation included the following themes:

 

Licensed Premises

 

Types of visits by Licensing Officers; Priority Risk Rating Scheme; Planned General Inspections; Format of Inspections; Documentation; and Action Required.

 

Gambling Premises Inspections

 

Permits; Categories of Gaming Machines; and Inspections.

 

Taxis

 

Types of Licence; Inspections and Investigations – vehicles, drivers and operators; and Enforcement.

 

The presentation also included information on Other licences and permits; Why we have written policies; and Enforcement possibilities.

 

In response to questions, the Licensing Officer explained that if a licensed premises did not comply with the conditions on their licence/legislation, they could be called to attend a Licensing Sub-Committee for a review, with a variety of sanctions and the possibility of having their licence revoked.  She advised that there were 13 betting shops in the Borough, and when penalty points were given, these applied to the driver generally, but could extend to the operator if appropriate.

 

The Licensing Officer encouraged Members to be proactive in letting the licensing team know of any issues they had either with licensed premises or taxi drivers/vehicles.

 

The Resilience and Licensing Manager then provided some updates for Members. She reported that fees and charges were being reviewed; some were statutory and could not be changed, others were discretionary and could be.  She stated that street trading fees had not been looked at for a long time, so these would also be reviewed.  The Resilience and Licensing Manager also added that the Officers were nearly up-to-date with inputting data onto their internal system, and that would then free more time for enforcement.

 

The Licensing Officer confirmed that the presentation would be emailed to Members.

 

Resolved: 

 

(1)      That the presentation be noted.