Agenda and minutes

In accordance with the Council's current Code of Conduct (adopted July 2012), which includes all the provisions relating to Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI), personal and prejudicial interests , Members are asked to declare any DPI and also any personal interests (and whether or not such personal interests are also "prejudicial") in relation to any matter on the Agenda for this meeting. A DPI is defined in The Relevant Authorities (Disclosable Pecuniary Interests) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012 No. 1464) and Appendix 3 of the Council’s Code of Conduct.  A personal interest is defined in paragraph 2.8 of the Code and a prejudicial interest is defined in paragraph 2.9. In the interests of complete transparency, Members of the County Council, who are not also members of this committee, are encouraged to declare any interests they may have in any matters being discussed even though they may not be under any obligation to do so under any relevant code of conduct.

There were no declarations of interest made by Members of the Sub-Committee.

The Chairman delayed the start of the meeting by 10 minutes to allow a representative of Merriott Recreation Ground to join the meeting.  At the conclusion of 10 minutes, no representative had joined the meeting and it was agreed to proceed.

The Sub-Committee noted the procedure to be followed when considering Licensing Applications under the Licensing Act 2003.  The Chairman introduced the members of the Sub-Committee and the Officers present at the hearing.  It was confirmed that the Officer’s report relating to the case, the procedure to be adopted during the hearing and the documents which the authority is required to provide under the Regulations had been received by all Parties in advance of the meeting, together with the relevant virtual meeting joining details.

It was confirmed that no representations had been withdrawn.

The Chairman advised that an objection to the Temporary Event Notice for Merriott Recreation Ground had been received from Avon and Somerset Police.  Although a representative of the Merriott Recreation Ground had not joined the meeting, it was the intention of the Sub-Committee to consider the application for a Temporary Event Notice on the information received and come to a decision. 

She said that in normal circumstances, she would invite the Licensing Specialist to present the report and then invite the interested parties to address the Sub-Committee.

However, the current Government guidelines for sports and recreational activities required events to have a written Coronavirus Assessment Plan and a risk assessment, neither of which appeared to have been provided for the proposed event.

The Licensing Specialist confirmed that no such plan or risk assessment had been received. 

The representative of Avon and Somerset Police confirmed that she had received further information from the applicant in response to a request, but, the information provided was still too vague, therefore, the police were not satisfied that the licensing objectives could be met at the proposed event. 

The Chairman then proposed that the Temporary Event Notice (TEN) be rejected because of the lack of information received from the applicant on the key licensing objectives, particularly relating to public safety and Covid-19.  This was agreed by the Sub-Committee members and therefore the TEN was rejected.

The Chairman invited any further comments from Members, officers and the police representative and all parties confirmed that they were satisfied with the conduct of the hearing.

Notice of Decision

In respect of the Temporary Event Notice submitted under the Licensing Act 2003 for Merriott Recreational Ground, 86 Broadway, Merriott, Somerset, TA16 5QS, the Licensing Sub-Committee has determined, to REJECT the proposed temporary licensable activities due to take place on 30 August 2020 in accordance with the Notice.

The Sub-Committee carefully considered the Temporary Event Notice in the absence of the Notice-Giver and took into account the submissions of the Police. The Committee were concerned Government guidelines for sports and recreational activities required events to have a written Coronavirus Assessment Plan and a risk assessment, neither of which appeared to have been provided for the proposed event and no further details of the event had been provided. The Committee took the view that it did not have sufficient evidence to be satisfied that the notice giver had demonstrated that they could promote the licensing objectives.

All parties are reminded that there is a right of appeal against the decision of the Licensing Authority.  Such an appeal is to be made within 21 days of the date of receipt of the formal Notice of Determination, and should be made to the South Somerset Magistrates Court.