Agenda and minutes

Members will disclose any pecuniary and any other significant interests they may have in relation to the matters under consideration.

None.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on 21 February 2023.

The minutes of the meeting of the Licensing Committee held on the 21 February 2023 were approved as a correct record.

Report submitted Corporate Director Environment.

Additional documents submitted by Ian Millership of LVSA.  

The Corporate Director Environment submitted a report to inform members of the outcome of the 2022 Wyre Hackney Carriage Unmet Demand Survey.

This had originally been scheduled for 2021, but owing to the pandemic, this had been postponed.

LVSA were commissioned to undertake the unmet demand survey and Ian Millership of LVSA attended the meeting virtually to present the findings to the committee.

He raised the following topics to the committee:

·         Fleet/Industry issues

He explained that the number of hackney carriage licences had been limited to 160 since 1974, but that this number did not affect the number of private hire vehicles which had been growing but were still lower in comparison to 1997. The number of wheelchair accessible vehicles had halved due to firms swapping these for private hire vehicles. The majority of the firms related to three specific parts of the borough, though some had experienced changes in company structure and Poulton had remained dominated by one company with a mixed fleet.

·         Rank activity

Overall, the provision of ranks had remained unchanged, with weekly demand down by 18%; however this trend of decline had reduced from 38% in 2018 despite the pandemic. The top six ranks saw 314 passengers on average per week, but was hard to compare to the last survey which saw 163 passengers weekly across eight ranks, with two now effectively unused. Peak flow had been identified at 01:00 Saturday morning and 22:00 Saturday evening, with this demand now harder to meet due to its peaky nature particularly in Poulton.

·         Public consultation

Those consulted stated that they tended to use licenced vehicles more, with the majority using private hire vehicles. Members of the public were quoted saying that they were more confident waiting at ranks for a taxi, with this usage up nine percent. However, the response to whether the public believed there were enough hackney carriages to meet demand had fallen to 48% from 93% in 2018.

·         Stakeholder consultation

They had received a minimal response from stakeholders, which was a national issue and not specific to Wyre. Only one of the three responses were aware of a rank and had only identified late arrival of bookings for staff as an issue.

·         Disability issues

The survey had identified a reduced level of wheelchair accessible hackney carriage vehicles, with this also seen at ranks. A separate survey for wheelchair accessible vehicles had received 25 responses that identified actions needed across the industry to address this issue, including a change in attitude and operation.

·         Trade consultation

They received a higher response from the trade from the last survey with a four percent increase. One respondent had been identified as solely dependent on rank activity, with the rest mainly relying on bookings. On the issue of the peaky night-time demand, 14% responded that they avoided these awkward passenger hours. The trade responded, with 79%, that they felt the number of hackney carriage vehicles was sufficient and there was a strong support for retaining the current limit.

·         Unmet  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

Report of Corporate Director Environment.

The Corporate Director Environment submitted a report to help the committee consider a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) proposed to cover licensable activities at Lancashire College of Agriculture, St Michaels Road, Bilsborrow on 24^th and 25^th June 2023.

The Chair introduced the committee and the officers to those present.

The Chair asked the representative of the applicant to introduce herself, and to confirm that they had submitted all necessary documentation. The representative of the applicant confirmed this.

The Senior Licensing Officer introduced the report. He explained that as the licensing authority, they had received a TEN on behalf of the Lancashire Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (Lancashire FYC) for Lancashire College of Agriculture for the 24^th and 25^th June 2023. Following submission, it had been circulated to the Environmental Health team at Wyre Council and Lancashire Constabulary, with the EH team objecting as they consideredit would undermine the licensing objective of prevention of public nuisance. A hearing was therefore needed to consider the TEN and the objection, and for the committee to conclude whether the event could take place, or to agree with the objection and issue a counter notice advising that the event not go ahead.

The representative of the applicant addressed the committee, outlining the reasons for the submission of the TEN and the nature of the event.

Members raised questions over the capacity of the event and the organisation’s previous experience at hosting similar events. The representative clarified to the committee that capacity was capped at 500 but that this number included staff, therefore members were restricted to 450 for the evening event. They had held similar events in the past but not at this location at Myerscough College. She explained that all members of the Lancashire YFC were registered on an online database and when purchasing a ticket, would be checked against this database. Any attendees or guests of those attending would have to give personal details to the hosts, and those attendees under the age of 18 would not be allowed to bring guests.

The Environmental Health Officer addressed the committee. He explained that the main issue was the noise of the recorded music and also potential antisocial behaviour resulting from the event. He told the committee that the suggested noise level of 95 decibels was very loud, and given the rural location felt that it would result in unacceptable levels of noise and public nuisance for properties in the surrounding area; given the flat nature of the land surrounding the event, the noise could very easily travel far from the college buildings. He also raised concerns over the suggestion of monitoring the noise level via a mobile phone app, and would have expected a qualified acoustician to be on site using more accurate and reliable equipment. He said that he had suggested the applicant submit a premises licence application instead of a TEN, as they could then negotiate conditions on the noise level and would have been content with this.

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.