Agenda and minutes

There were no declarations made at the meeting.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Licensing Committee held on 25th June, 2015, be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Licensing Sub-Committee Meeting held on 5th August, 2015 be noted.

Members were presented with the Statement of Licensing Policy 2016 following its quinquennial review.

The Committee were informed that under the Licensing Act 2003, the Council were required to produce and review the Policy, and the Licensing Policy before them, was now the fourth Statement of Licensing Policy produced by the Council. Members noted that the Policy was 5 years since it had been revised, and the Business Safety Manager aimed to provide an overview of the key points.

 Formal consultation had been undertaken over a period of time, and this was summarised in Appendix B attached to the report. A number of responses received as a result of the consultation were significant, and these were brought to the attention of the Committee.

South Yorkshire Police had responded with regard to the CIZ currently in place within Doncaster Town centre and requested that this be continued, with the addition of additional areas including Market Place and Cleveland Street. This CIZ had currently been in place for 8 years and had proven to have a positive impact on crime relating to alcohol and antisocial behaviour in this area. At the present time, this CIZ only applied to bars but there was the suggestion that this may be better applied to all licensed premises.  Members were in support of this proposal, and certainly felt it wasn’t appropriate to remove the CIZ at the current time.

A discussion followed with regard to the proposal to create a new Cumulative Impact Zone in an area of Wheatley, around the Nether Hall Road area. There were high statistics of alcohol related crimes in this area which linked to the point that outside the Town Centre, this area had the highest density of off licences. By creating this Zone, it was therefore hoped that it would help to work towards addressing this problem.

A consultation response had been received from Bawtry Town Council with regard to a request for a Cumulative Impact Zone in the town centre. The Chair invited Mr David Kirkham, a representative from Bawtry Town Council, to speak at the meeting in support of this request, and outlined their reasons behind this. Mr Kirkham commented to the Committee that whilst crime and disorder wasn’t a problem at the present time, there was the fear that it could be in the near future. There were a lot of licensed establishments in the centre of Bawtry which on Friday and Saturday nights brought a lot of people into the town, causing noise and disturbance and increasing concerns. Whilst there was a marshalling system in place, there was no control over people’s behaviour once they were out of the establishments and the risk of the town deteriorating was a worry. At the present time, there was a good mix of shops, cafes, bars and restaurants and the local residents and Town Council wanted it to stay that way, and pointed out the risks if the area became predominantly roads full of bars. The Committee acknowledged the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

The Committee considered the Statement of Licensing 2016 – Gambling Act 2005 following its triennial review. Following consideration by the Licensing Committee, this would then be considered by Cabinet prior to consideration and final approval by Council.

This was the fourth Statement of Policy produced by Doncaster Council under the Gambling Act, and would set out the framework for all Licensing decisions to be taken by the Authority over the next three years.

The changes made to the Policy were largely minor but guaranteed that the Gambling Policy adopted by the Council was robust and fit for purpose.

The Committee had a brief discussion on this item, and Members indicated that they were in support of the Policy.

RESOLVED that the Committee support the Statement of Policy – Gambling Act 2005 and recommend it to Cabinet prior to its approval by Full Council.

Members were presented with a report that provided an update on the Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP) in Askern, Norton and Campsall. This was currently running in the North of Doncaster and aimed to address underage drinking and any associated behaviour.

The Committee noted that the CAP model was a unique scheme that recognised that the heart of the problems with alcohol associated behaviour often lay with retailers and licensees, and the model therefore looked to impact on the problem at grassroots level. Members were informed that the scheme had now been running for over a year, and had proven to have a positive effect on the areas involved. The scheme did not cost the Council any money, and funding had been received with which the Council had been able to buy resources to support the partnership.

Members were pleased with the success that the CAP had had in the North of Doncaster, and it was noted that there were less young people seen hanging around on the streets which was encouraging. They welcomed the update and were pleased to see it was continuing and hoped that it would have continued success in other areas of the Borough.

RESOLVED that the Committee note the update provided on the Community Alcohol Partnership.