Agenda and minutes

Venue: Microsoft Teams - Remote

Contact: Dawn Drury  01757 292065 Email: ddrury@selby.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

16.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors D Brook and M Jordan

 

 

 

17.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 319 KB

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Licensing Committee held on 7 December 2020.

Minutes:

The Committee considered the minutes of the meeting held on 7 December 2020.

 

RESOLVED:

To approve the minutes of the Licensing Committee meeting held on 7 December 2020.

 

18.

Disclosures of Interest

A copy of the Register of Interest for each Selby District Councillor is available for inspection at www.selby.gov.uk.

 

Councillors should declare to the meeting any disclosable pecuniary interest in any item of business on this agenda which is not already entered in their Register of Interests. Councillors should leave the meeting and take no further part in the consideration, discussion or vote on any matter in which they have a disclosable pecuniary interest.

 

Councillors should also declare any other interests. Having made the declaration, provided the other interest is not a disclosable pecuniary interest, the Councillor may stay in the meeting, speak and vote on that item of business.

 

If in doubt, Councillors are advised to seek advice from the Monitoring Officer.

Minutes:

There were no disclosures of interest.

 

19.

Procedure and Taxi Licensing Policy pdf icon PDF 106 KB

To confirm the procedure to be followed at the meeting, including the Council’s Taxi Licensing Policy.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee noted the Licensing Committee procedure and the Council’s Taxi Licensing Policy.

 

20.

Chair's Address to the Licensing Committee

Minutes:

The Chair started his address by wishing all Members and officers a Happy New Year and welcomed them back to the first Licensing committee hearing of 2021. 

 

Members noted that since the last licensing committee in December the district had moved into tier 3 on 31December 2020, which meant that all licensed premises closed, this then escalated to a national lockdown expected to continue to at least mid-February 2021.

 

The Chair informed the Committee that prior to Christmas he had taken part in one of three multi-agency premises licence enforcement evenings across the district and stated how impressed he had been with all partners who had participated.  Members heard that officers had worked with premise licence holders to give advice when possible or take any necessary enforcement when required, and that the Licensing Manager would provide an update on the enforcement evenings as part of the next item.

 

21.

Verbal Update on Covid-19

Minutes:

The Licensing Manager informed Members that during December 2020 Selby District Council licensing, enforcement and community safety teams, in partnership with North Yorkshire Police licensing and neighbourhood patrol officers, had taken part in three nights of action held in support of the night-time economy across the district. In addition, support was put in place by the Council for additional “night marshal” officers to patrol Selby town across three whole weekends.

 

The Committee noted that the aim of the evenings was to visit licensed premises in the district to engage and encourage Covid compliance amongst businesses and members of the public and to offer advice, support, and guidance.

 

Members heard that of the 57 premises visited over the course of the three nights action, two fixed penalty notices had been issued to licensed premises in Selby, and five Council Improvement notices (CINs) had been issued in Selby and Tadcaster.  It was confirmed that due to the current national lockdown, the CINs had been paused until the district was moved back into the tier process.

 

The Licensing Manager confirmed that work would be undertaken by Selby District Council enforcement and community safety teams over the next few weekends to ensure that licensed premises were closed and adhering to the current national restrictions.

 

In response to a query regarding if licensed premises in rural areas had been visited during the three nights, it was confirmed that the visits had been district wide.  

 

The Chair thanked officers for their continued hard work.

 

RESOLVED:

To note the update.

22.

Private Session

That, in accordance with Section 100(A) (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, the meeting be not open to the Press and public during discussion of the following items as there will be disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12(A) of the Act.

Minutes:

It was proposed, and seconded, that the Committee sit in private session due to the nature of the business to be transacted.

 

RESOLVED:

That, in accordance with Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted the meeting be not open to the press and public during discussion of the following items as there will be disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12(A) of the Act.

 

23.

Application for a Saloon type vehicle to be licensed as a Hackney Carriage vehicle

To receive the report, which asks the Committee to consider an application for a Saloon type vehicle to be licensed as a Hackney Carriage vehicle.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Licensing Manager presented the report, which asked the Committee to consider an application for a Saloon type non-wheelchair accessible vehicle to be licensed as a Hackney Carriage vehicle.   It was noted that the application had been brought before the Committee due to the application being contrary to Selby District Council’s Taxi Licensing Policy 2020 which stated, where a new application was made for a Hackney Carriage vehicle, the licence would only be granted if the vehicle was wheelchair accessible and under five years old.

 

The applicant was present remotely and was able to respond to questions asked by the Committee concerning the report.

 

The applicant and the Licensing Manager left the meeting at this point and did not return.

 

The Committee noted that the applicant had been a licensed Selby District Council Hackney Carriage driver for a number of years and were of the view that this was a late renewal due to an oversight on the part of the applicant who had no previous history of transgressions.  However, the Committee considered that it was the drivers’ responsibility to check that any paperwork pertaining to his vehicle was correct and up to date, and that such an oversight should not happen again.

 

The Committee agreed that there were exceptional circumstances to depart from the Policy and grant the licence, but that a strongly worded written warning should be sent to the applicant to emphasise the concerns of the Committee. The Solicitor confirmed that the written warning would be kept on the applicant’s file permanently.

 

RESOLVED:

i.                 To grant the application for a saloon type non-wheelchair accessible vehicle to be licensed as a Hackney Carriage vehicle.

 

ii.               That a strongly worded written warning be issued to the applicant to emphasise the concerns of the Committee.

 

Reason for decision:

The Committee granted the application as they felt that the late renewal of the licence had been oversight on the part of the applicant but wished to emphasise to the applicant the seriousness of the oversight in relation to the vehicle’s paperwork.