Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Blackdown House, Honiton

Contact: Christopher Lane  Email: clane@eastdevon.gov.uk 01395 517544

Items
No. Item

26.

Public Speaking

Information on public speaking is available online

 

Minutes:

There were no questions raised by members of the public.

27.

Minutes of the previous meeting pdf icon PDF 178 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting of the Licensing & Enforcement Committee held on 16 October 2019 were confirmed and signed as a true record.

28.

Declarations of interest

Guidance is available online to Councillors and co-opted members on making declarations of interest

 

Minutes:

Minute 31 Cranbrook Town Council: Kim Bloxham Cranbrook Town Councillor. Personal interest.

 

Minute 32 Seaton Taxi rank: Jack Rowland Seaton Town Councillor and member of Seaton Seafront enhancement scheme. Personal interest.

29.

Matters of urgency

Information on matters of urgency is available online

 

Minutes:

There were no matters of urgency.

30.

Confidential/exempt item(s)

To agree any items to be dealt with after the public (including the press) have been excluded. Thereare no itemswhich officersrecommendshould be dealtwithin thisway.

 

Minutes:

There were no confidential/exempt items.

31.

Committee Update - Licensing Act 2003, Gambling Act 2005, Taxi & General (Street Trading) Licensing pdf icon PDF 288 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Licensing Manager presented his report to the Committee. It provided an update on the activities of the Licensing Service under the Licensing Act 2003, Gambling Act 2005, taxi legislation and general licensing, including street trading.

 

The Licensing Manager highlighted that the licensing team covered many things across East Devon. This included:

·        All alcohol related matters.

·        Taxis and private hire work.

·        Gambling (excluding online betting)

·        Street trading.

·        Charitable collections

·        Cemeteries and burial bookings.

 

It was noted that on 5 November 2019, officers attended the Ottery St Mary Tar Barrel event checking the various Temporary Event Notices issued for sales of alcohol and late night refreshment food stalls. 25 licensing checks were conducted and the working arrangements involving licensing and the organisers works effectively over many months prior to the event.

 

In December an email was received from the Home Office sent to all Licensing Committee with an attachment letter from Kit Malthouse MP, Minister for Crime & Policing. The contents were provided for the information of the Committee as an Appendix and primarily referred to the government’s desire to improve collaboration between Planning and Licensing Committees.

 

The Licensing Manager reported that the statutory fees prescribed by the Licensing Act 2003 had not been increased since they came into force on 7th February 2005. These fees were set centrally by the Secretary of State and there was no discretion on these fees, which must be administered and collected in accordance with the regulations.

 

Officers from EDDC Licensing and Finance services reviewed costs incurred to grant alcohol licences and notices and identified that a Temporary Event Notice (TEN), having a nationally set fee of £21, actually cost the council in excess of £60 to administer in 2015. The impact of fees not increasing is evident given that the licensing team administered 849 TENs for the year 2018/19 amounting to uncollected fees of more than £30,000.

 

It was noted that the number of taxi/private hire drivers was reducing year on year with fewer new drivers coming forward to replace them. The officers had conducted inspections of taxi vehicles whilst parked on East Devon taxi ranks ensuring that vehicles comply with legislation and meet required safety standards. Officers had also investigated five licence holders over the previous period, three of which concerned vehicle compliance and two relating to the behaviour of drivers resulting in written warnings being administered.

 

Members noted that from January 2020, new regulations introduced by Defra required all licensing authorities in England and Wales to submit details of currently licensed vehicles under the Air Quality (Taxis and Private Hire Vehicles Database) Regulations 2019. On 15th January 2020 licensing officers attended a licensing briefing organised by the Institute of Licensing where staff from Defra provided an update on the air quality Regulations including progress made by the cities creating Clear Air Zones (CAZs). Bristol has announced its aim of preventing privately owned diesel vehicles from entering the central zone in the day time whilst proposing that taxis and buses will pay  ...  view the full minutes text for item 31.

32.

Seaton Taxi Rank pdf icon PDF 249 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Licensing Manager’s report updated the Committee on Seaton Town Council’s request to remove the taxi rank in Marine Place and to relocate it on Castle Hill, Seaton. It was noted that the Town Council had requested this change which would require a series of legal steps to be taken before adopting the change. The Devon County Council Highways Officer had now indicated that they were happy for EDDC to consult on relocating the taxi rank in Seaton. The results of this consultation would be reported to the meeting of the Committee on 15 April 2020.

 

RESOLVED that the Committee note the update.

33.

Street Trading pdf icon PDF 190 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members noted that following introduction of a new street trading regime in October 2017, there had been a number of changes, including removal of application fees in 2018. Through gaining a clearer understanding of how the regime had grown there was a proposal to further revise the policy. It was also proposed to commence the necessary work to require applicants to pay fees for obtaining consent, as detailed in the report, if approved, the changes were to recover costs incurred and to ensure standards were maintained for obtaining street trading consents across the district.

 

During discussions the following points were noted:

·        The £30 Street Trading fee for each individual site may affect the viability of smaller businesses.

·        The Street Trading situation in East Devon was constantly changing and it was not certain what was coming next.

·        Are there any sites in East Devon where street traders know they could operate from? The Licensing Manager reported that this was a work in progress.

·        Question about the rationale for reducing the time that a street traders can trade in once place from 30 to 20 minutes. The Licensing Manager reported this was a proportion timescale, if traders were allowed to stay any longer they could be expected to be charged for a street trading permit.

·        The next meeting will discuss the consultation responses for these changes from Street Traders in East Devon.

 

The Chairman wished to thank the Licensing Office for the report.

 

RESOLVED 1. that the charging fees  for Street Trading Consents with Application and Trading Fees as appended to Appendix B be approved and consultation be undertaken.

 2.   that the revised Street Trading Policy including new guidelines relevant to Cranbrook be adopted.

 3.   that the actions that will be taken as a consequence of the above be noted.