Agenda and draft minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting on Thursday 17^th December 2015

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 December 2015 were confirmed by the members present and then signed by the Chairman.

To receive any apologies of 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:

73 High Street

Markyate

St Albans

Hertfordshire

AL3 8PJ

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

The Chairman asked the Members of the Sub-Committee if they had visited the premises. Councillors Barnes and Howard said they knew of the premises.

The Chairman asked S Taylor if she had anything to add to the report.

S Taylor said members had before them an application for the grant of a new premises licence for 73 High Street, Markyate, Hertfordshire. The application was set out on page 9 of the agenda. S Taylor advised that both the applicants and the person who had made a representation had been invited to attend and address the Sub-Committee; however no response had been received from the objector.

The options available to the Sub-Committee were set out at paragraph 4.1 of the report, and S Taylor reminded them that any steps taken were to be considered appropriate in order to promote one or more of the licensing objectives. Furthermore, the Sub-Committee  must give clear reasons for any decision reached.

The Chairman invited the Applicants to make representations.

G Uddin said he would like to speak on behalf of himself and partner Mr Miah, and made the following submission:

“I make this statement in support of the application by my partner R Miah and I for a Premises Licence in respect for our restaurant

G Uddin accentuated the following points

• Markyate High Street being a mixture of residential and commercial units -  two being public houses and one other restaurant.
• One public house being opposite their restaurant
• The outlining of a strategy in the application that covered the Council’s four licensing objectives
• Expressing their experience in the catering industry and their strict policy that  alcohol was to be sold with food under a calm and controlled environment.”

P Connolly supported G Uddin’s statement by saying the premises was an end of terrace and it had access to the flats above with its own front door.  Furthermore, there was a corridor between the dining hall of the premises and the adjoining property.  Mr Connolly advised that the premises had ceased to be a Post Office in 1999, and A3 use had been granted by the Planning Department in 2002.

The Chairman asked if they still intended to apply to play live music.

R Miah said they had originally applied to play live music and have events four times a year but they had withdrawn this since the objection.

S Taylor asked the applicants to confirm if they were withdrawing Section E and H of the application form, which comprised live music and similar entertainment such as karaoke.

R Miah confirmed that was correct. R Miah asked if they would be allowed background music.

S Taylor confirmed that background music was allowed and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.