Agenda and minutes

The Chair advised that the proceedings were being recorded by the Council and that the meeting was being livestreamed and broadcast from the Civic Suite, Castle House.

NOTED          that no Member or Officer declared any interest pursuant to any statutory requirement in any matter discussed or voted upon at the meeting.

AGREED      that the minutes from the meeting held on 12 December 2024 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Committee considered the report presented by the Principal Legal Officer which provided Members with details of the proposed changes to the remit of both the General Purposes and Licensing Committees and also sought their consideration as to merging the two committees into one single committee. 

The report provided a summary of the remits of the two committees and noted that the Council’s Audit & Governance Committee were undertaking a review of the Council’s Constitution, which included a review of the General Purposes and Licensing Committees.  It was further reported that an informal working group met in October 2024 to undertake a desktop review of the current committee terms of reference.  The proposed changes resulting from that were a clarification the terms of reference and remove functions that were no longer relevant.  The suggestion of merging the two committees was also discussed with the opinion being reached that a single committee was preferable. 

In considering the report, Members agreed that the proposal to merge the two committees be supported.

AGREED      (unanimously) that:

a)            the contents of the report be noted; and

b)            the proposal to merge the General Purposes and Licensing Committees into a single committee be supported.

The Committee considered the report presented by the Business Manager – Public Protection which provided Members with details of the outcome of an investigation where the Ombudsman found fault with the Council.

The report set out the background to the Ombudsman’s findings, which had been as a result of a complaint lodged by a resident in relation to the time it had taken the Council to act in respect of a statutory noise nuisance.  The actions taken in response to the nuisance were documented in the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman final decision statement which was attached as Appendix 1 to the report which had also been presented to the Audit & Governance Committee in December 2024.  Paragraph 4.0 of the report advised that when a complaint was upheld, it was important that lessons were learnt, details of which were reported in paragraph 4.2 of the report. 

In considering the report, Members raised the issue of receiving complaints direct from residents, querying whether they would also receive information from licensing enforcement as to what investigations and/or enforcement actions were currently being undertaken.  The Business Manager advised that should Members receive a complaint directly from a resident, they should refer this to the Licensing Team for action.

AGREED      (unanimously) that the report and lessons learnt be noted.

Application for the Review of Premises Licence for Club X, Castle Gate, Newark

NOTED       the Minutes of the Licensing Hearing held on 11 December 2024 in respect of Club X, 18 Castle Gate, Newark.

Application for the Review of a Premise Licence for The Roaring Meg, Barnby Gate, Newark

NOTED        the Minutes of the Licensing Hearing held on 23 December 2024 in respect of the Roaring Meg, Barnby Gate, Newark.

NOTED       the Temporary Event Notices received and acknowledged between 1 October until 31 December 2024.

NOTED       the various activities undertaken by the Licensing Team in relation to the different types of licensing matters covered by the Licensing Act 2003 between the period 1 October to 31 December 2024.