Agenda item

The meeting was a hearing under the Licensing Act 2003.

The Chair introduced the members of the Sub Committee.

The Sub Committee’s legal advisor, Giles Salter, outlined the procedure for the meeting.

The Sub Committee considered the application for the grant of a premises licence to allow the supply of alcohol for consumption OFF the premises only on 3^rd June and 4^th June 2023 from a trailer bar located at Orcombe Point, Exmouth.

The applicant, present and entitled to make representations, was Oliver Bainbridge of The Can Do Pub Company Ltd.

Also present, and entitled to make representations, was Debra Quine of Bumble and Sea Café, Orcombe Point, Exmouth.

The Licensing Authority had not received any representations from responsible authorities regarding this application.

The Licensing Officer, Lesley Barber, advised that the objections were relevant to all four licensing objectives.  Comments from the Police, Exmouth Town Council and the East Devon Beach Safety officer were contained in the report.

In response to questions from Members, the Licensing Officer advised the following:

·         The current application is for two days in order to test out the proposal’s suitability.  A new application would be required for any additional dates.

·         The dates of 3^rd and 4^th June had no specific significance.

·         Monitoring of the situation would be by way of any Police report and visits by the Licensing Officer if the pop-up bar is in situ.

·         Regarding the Public Space Protection Order, the only response from the Police to date was set out within the report.

In response to a question from the applicant, the Legal Advisor advised that it was the Sub Committee’s prerogative to decide what weight to give to representations where the objector was not present at the hearing.

The applicant made his case for the application and highlighted the following points:

·         The idea for the application had come from Lyme Regis Brewery which operates a similar event in Lyme Regis.  Many local craft breweries operate in this way along the coast.

·         The applicant cited a similar offering on the seafront at Hangtime by way of an example of a well run event.

·         The applicant was aware of concerns regarding alcohol consumption on the beach and noted that the Police would not have agreed to the application last year.  However, now that the covid pandemic and resulting problems had passed, the Police were happy for the applicant to apply and had no objections.

·         The applicant noted the experience of the Strand in Exmouth where the presence of licencees had, in his view, improved the area, due to having responsible people on hand to act should any issue arise.  The applicant was of the view that, should the application be granted, this could also have the same beneficial effect at Orcombe Point.

·         The applicant had held a licence for 25 years with an exemplary record. 

·         The type of client buying the applicant’s craft beer was not the same type of person who typically caused anti-social alcohol related problems on Exmouth beach. 

·         The applicant advised that beer would be sold in reusable cups which were more sustainable and resulted in significantly less waste.

·         Should the application be granted, the two days would be used to gather evidence.  The Police would not allow another application should issues arise as a result of this application being granted.

The Licensing Officer advised that Hangtime, referred to by the applicant, has, on occasion, been granted Temporary Event Notices for the consumption of alcohol in a defined area on the premises.  The sale of alcohol by Budgens seafront store is only one part of the business.

The interested party, Debra Quine, put questions to the applicant and the responses included the following:

·         The applicant was of the view that the application could result in an improvement to the area at Orcombe Point, rather than a risk.  Having responsible people on site would be positive rather than negative.

·         The applicant regarded 7pm as the most appropriate time to finish the sale of alcohol as, in his view, the risk of anti-social behaviour increased after 9pm.

·         Other locations on the seafront had been considered, but were not appropriate due to local sensitivities and potential conflicts.  Queen’s Drive had also been considered, however, there was already a bar selling the applicant’s craft beer at the site.

·         If the application is successful, the applicant was intending to apply for further pop-up events over the summer period.

·         The reusable cups would be branded and clearly identifiable should they be left at the site.  The applicant would be happy to conduct a beach clean at the end of each day.

·         The applicant confirmed that the trailer would be moved off site each day.

·         The applicant wished to record that his intention was to provide a pop-up offering only.

·         The applicant was not aware of Exe Watersports which has a licence to be on the Orcombe Point part of the beach over the summer.

·         Provision of a portaloo had not been considered as the intention was to provide a pop-up only.

·         The applicant confirmed that ‘Challenge 25’ would be in operation.

·         There would be a small silenced generator on site should the application be granted.

The interested party, Debra Quine, made her case and highlighted the following points:

·         The interested party’s business, Bumble & Sea, has never applied for a licence due to having spoken to the Police regarding anti-social behaviour in the area.

·         Bumble & Sea staff have dealt with significant levels of anti-social and threatening behaviour which resulted in the café being closed while staff had to wait for the Police to arrive.

·         The interested party was of the view that the applicant runs a very good business with a great product but that the proposed pop-up bar is in the wrong location.

·         Should the application be granted, the applicant would leave the site at 7pm, however, Bumble & Sea staff would not leave until 9pm and would therefore have to deal with any resulting anti-social behaviour.

·         It was noted that there is no street lighting at Orcombe Point and that the nearest toilets are some 600-700 metres away, by the lifeboat station, and too far for Bumble & Sea staff to walk.

·         There was concern that the pop-up bar would create the impression that Orcombe Point was a good place for alcohol consumption.

·         Exe Watersports worked with vulnerable children and this should be borne in mind when considering the application.

Members and the applicant had no questions for the interested party.

In his closing statement, the applicant re-iterated that, should the application be granted, this would help to improve the situation with anti-social behaviour at Orcombe Point for the reasons already outlined.  Granting the application would enable evidence to be gathered and this approach had the support of the Police.  None of the responsible bodies had any concerns regarding the application.

The Chair thanked everyone for attending and advised that the decision would be notified in writing within five working days.

This item finished at 10.34am and the meeting was then adjourned until 1pm.