Agenda and minutes

Members and Officers must declare any disclosable pecuniary interests in relation to any business on the agenda. Declarations should also be made at any stage an interest becomes apparent during the meeting.

If in doubt contact the Legal or Democratic Services representative for this meeting. Members and Officers may seek advice upon any relevant interest from the Monitoring Officer prior to the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no substitute Members.

So as to provide the best opportunity for the Committee to provide the public with the fullest answer, questions from the public should be submitted by midday on Friday 3 May 2024.

Where relevant notice of a question has not been given, the person presiding may either choose to give a response at the meeting or respond by undertaking to provide a written response within three working days.

Questions should be submitted to Democratic Services - democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk

(Note: Public Question Time will last for a maximum of 30 minutes)

There were no questions from members of the public.

Pre-submitted Members questions are pursuant to rule 12 of the Council & Committee Procedure Rules.

Questions should be submitted by midday on Friday 3 May 2024 to Democratic Services, democratic.services@adur-worthing.gov.uk

(Note: Member Question Time will operate for a maximum of 30 minutes.)

There were no questions from Members.

The Legal officer addressed the committee to clarify that although one of the addendums was unsigned and the author of it was unable to attend the meeting, another Officer was present who could confirm the details of the report and answer any relevant questions regarding it. In addition the Legal Officer explained that the second addendum containing a noise diary was also unsigned but that the resident that completed the diaries was also in attendance to confirm the details.

To consider a report by the Director for Sustainability & Resources, copy attached as item 4.

Before the Sub-Committee was a report by the Director for Sustainability & Resources, which has been circulated to all Members, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as item 4. Members were requested to consider and determine an application for a Licence Review from Adur & Worthing Public Health and Regulation Manager.

Presenting Officer outlined the application

The Licensing Officer outlined the application explaining why the application had been brought to Committee. He drew Members attention to the proposal made by the Licence holder within the addendum.

The applicant confirmed that the Licensing Officer had provided an accurate outline of the application.

Questions from Members for the presenting Officer

Members had questions regarding the history of noise complaints for the premises whilst it was Bar Ten. The Officer clarified that although there had been an occasional complaint it was considerably less than the current situation. In response to questions regarding the DBS levels specified on the current licence, the Officer explained that there were no DBS levels set on the current licence which was one of the reasons the conditions were deemed inadequate and were replaced. With regards to the review application the Officer clarified that the review application was due to a breach of an Abatement Notice for Statutory Noise Nuisance and not a breach of licence.

Representation from Applicant

The applicant presented his report explaining the complaints received and the event that had led to the review application.  He clarified that although the licence holder maintained that he had had soundproofing works done within the premises, the complaints from nearby residents and the tests performed within those residences by the Environmental Protection Team, showed that these works had not solved the noise nuisance The Officer stated that the Environmental Protection Team were suggesting altering the terminal hour for entertainment at the premises to 23.00hrs until adequate works to abate the noise nuisance were completed.

Questions from Members to Applicant

Members enquired how quickly the assessment of what recommended works would be necessary and the Officers explained that the actual assessment could be done in a night and it would take approximately a week or two to analyse the results. The Officer also clarified for members that serving a Noise Abatement Notice was a rare occurrence as venues usually engaged with the Environmental Protection Team to find a resolution. This particular case had been ongoing for an abnormally long period. The Officer also explained various aspects of the acoustic report for Members.

Representation from the representors

There were three representations from registered speakers and one from a Ward Councillor speaking on behalf of a resident. They all gave in depth accounts of the level of disturbance that they had been suffering and the effect that it had had on their lives. They explained their frustration at the situation being unchanged following the last variation hearing at which the licence holder had committed to turning the volume down until appropriate works to abate the noise nuisance  ...  view the full minutes text for item LCSC/51/23-24