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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, Market Street

Contact: Jo Watt/Gillian Steele 

Items
No. Item

13.

Election of Chairman

Minutes:

It was agreed prior to the meeting that Councillor Rick Jones would chair this sub-committee meeting.

 

14.

Declarations of Interest

To receive any declarations of interest from Members.

Minutes:

Councillors Graham Pask and Tony Linden declared a personal interest in Agenda item 3 by virtue of the fact that they had known the license holder when they worked for West Berkshire Council. As their interest was personal and not prejudicial they were permitted to take part in the debate and vote on the matter.

15.

Application No. : 21/00812/LQN - Newbury Real Ale Festival, Northcroft Lane, RG14 1RS pdf icon PDF 169 KB

Proposal:     Application to review the license.

Location:      Newbury Real Ale Festival, Land between Northcroft Leisure Centre & Newbury Cricket Club, Northcroft Lane, RG14 1RS

Applicant:     Andrew Wyper

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Rick Jones, Chairman of the Sub-Committee, welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained the hybrid meeting process. Those participants who had joined the meeting via Zoom confirmed they had heard and understood the introduction.

Councillor Jones proposed to suspend a procedure rule in accordance with rule 7.7.1 of the constitution and proposed that the Licence Holder was also given an opportunity to address comments made and would do this after the Applicant. This was motioned and seconded.

The Sub-Committee considered a report (Agenda Item 3) concerning Licensing Review Application 21/00812/LQN in respect of Newbury Real Ale Festival, Northcroft Lane, RG14 1RS.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, Brad Timm (Licensing Officer, West Berkshire Council) and Andrew Wyper (Applicant) addressed the Sub-Committee on this application.

Councillor Martha Vickers (Ward member for Newbury Central) and Russell Davidson (Environmental Health) addressed the sub-committee in support of the review.

Miss Sara Dutfield (License Holder), John Payne, Melissa Hughes and Tim Polack addressed the sub-committee in support of the event.

Mrs John Payne, the License holder’s representative, provided some additional material in the form of suggested additional conditions for the license. These were accepted and circulated.

Mr Timm, in addressing the Sub-Committee, raised the following points:

·           West Berkshire Council received an application on 20th September 2021 for a review of the premises license under section 51 of the Licensing Act 2003 for the Newbury Real Ale Festival on the land near Northcroft Lane RG14 1RS.

·           The grounds for review covered all four of the licensing objectives.

·           The 28 day consultation period ran from the 24th September to the 22nd October 2021.

·           The Ward members, Parish Council and Responsible Authorities were advised of the application by email on the 24th September 2021 and a blue notice was displayed at the Council offices on Market Street and on the Public Protection Partnership website.

·           During the consultation period the Licensing department received a representation from one of the responsible authorities, Environmental Health. No other responsible authorities responded.

·           232 responses to the consultation were received from organisations and individuals who are not responsible authorities.

All parties confirmed they had heard the presentation by Brad Timm.

Mr Andrew Wyper, in addressing the Sub-Committee, raised the following points:

·           The event has been running for several years and gradually increasing in size, he and others in the area feel that it has now outgrown the site and had become a music festival rather than a local ale festival.

·           The organisers seemed keen to see the event get bigger and bigger; it no longer feels like a local event.

·           The line of people waiting to get in to the festival was very long, extending down Northcroft Road.

·           While he accepted only a small proportion might drink to excess, but he noted that a small proportion of a very large crowd can still be a lot of people.

·           The atmosphere changes between the daytime portion of the event and the evening; loud and aggressive behaviour  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.