Agenda and draft minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 14 January 2016.

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 January 2016 were confirmed by the members present and then signed by the Chairman.

To receive any apologies for absence

There were no apologies for absence.

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a personal interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered -

(i)            must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent

and, if the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest, or a personal interest which is also prejudicial

(ii)           may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter (and must withdraw to the public seating area) unless they have been granted a dispensation.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Members’ Register of Interests, or is not the subject of a pending notification, must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal and prejudicial interests are defined in Part 2 of the Code of Conduct for Members

[If a member is in any doubt as to whether they have an interest which should be declared they should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer before the start of the meeting].

There were no declarations of interests.

The Sub-Committee were required to consider a licence application for the following premises:

Redz Bar

25 High Street

Hemel Hempstead

Hertfordshire

HP1 3AA

The Chairman introduced herself, the members on the Sub-Committee and the officers present.

The Chairman asked the members of the Sub-Committee to confirm that they had read the agenda. Councillors Mrs Bassadone and Mrs Sutton confirmed they had read the documents at hand.

The Chairman asked the Members of the Sub-Committee if they had visited the premises. Councillor Mrs Bassadone said she was familiar with the premises.

The Chairman asked R Hill if he had anything to add to the report.

R Hill advised that the premises had been licenced previously but had lapsed and this application would be treated as a fresh matter. He drew members’ attention to the 4 objections which were included within the agenda and advised that Environmental Health have withdrawn their representations as additional conditions have been agreed with the applicant and added to the application. He said the other 3 objections were from residents.

The Chairman invited the applicant, Mr Russell, to make representations to the committee.

Mr Russell gave details of his previous employment within the Police service and felt that because of this he was dedicated to the safety of the public. He explained that Redz has been known as various different names and was a licensed premises 25 years ago, after which many residents moved into the Old Town knowing that this venue existed. He said the Old Town had recently undergone a face lift which had attracted new visitors and he would like those people to also visit Redz. He said there was only one entry and exit and all the premises on the ground floor were commercial, not residential. He explained that he has spent a lot of money on Redz to make it attractive, as did the previous owner, Mr Blennerhassett, who was present to support the applicant.

Mr Russell explained that there was a hairdressers above Redz and the owner was aware of the premises and had no objections. He explained that due to no floor covering in the hairdressers, it would cause more noise to Redz than the other way round and he had discussed laying floor boards with the owner.

Mr Russell advised they would be using a jukebox during opening hours and the sound system was hand built by an acoustic engineer. The venue has a reduced amount of speakers, a noise limiter and the amplifiers are locked away in a cupboard. He explained that the operating hours he has applied for were similar to other venues in the Old Town and there was a maximum capacity of 98 which includes his staff members and this was considerably lower than other local premises. He hoped he had addressed most of the issues and welcomed any questions from the committee.

Councillor Mrs Bassadone noted that there were four pubs in the Old Town and queried what time they closed. R Hill advised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.