The report of the Head of Planning, Building Control and Licensing is attached.

It was noted that agreement had been reached with both GMP and Licensing Out Of Hours Team, (LOOH) and both of whom had required more stringent conditions and the LOOH had wanted the opening times reducing to thirty minutes after the licensable activities ceased so that the premises closed at 2330 hours Sunday through to Thursday and 0030 hours Friday/Saturday and Saturday/Sunday.

They noted the objection received from a residential household and noted they did not object to the grant of the licence but to the operational times; it would appear they were requesting the Applicant should operate only until 9pm as at their previous venue.

The Committee was satisfied that the licence conditions relating to public nuisance were sufficient to address those concerns as the conditions addressed both interior and exterior potential noise disturbance and therefore the licensing objective of the prevention of public nuisance would not be undermined.

Similarly, the more stringent conditions agreed with GMP regarding the CCTV equipment, staff training, security staff and signage promoted the prevention of crime and disorder.

The licence was therefore granted in the agreed terms.

Decision

To grant the application subject to the agreed terms and conditions. 

The report of the Head of Planning, Building Control and Licensing is attached.

This item was withdrawn from this agenda prior to the meeting and treated as a Determination on 28 January 2019.

The report of the Head of Planning, Building Control and Licensing is attached.

The licensing officer presented on behalf of the Local Authority and outlined the relevant legislation i.e. section 27 of the Policing and Crime Act 2009, paragraph 2A of Schedule 3 defining the meaning of ‘relevant entertainment’ for the purposes of this Application and section 12(1) – (3) of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 outlining the mandatory and discretionary reasons for refusal to grant or renew a licence which had also been incorporated into the Manchester City Council’s Sex Establishment Policy Document

With reference to the said policy, he explained the following: -

·         There was no information within the objection received in relation to section 2.2 (a) or (b);

·         In relation to section 2.2© a number had not been set by the Local Authority and whereas there was a rebuttable presumption not to grant a licence in such circumstances where the number exceeded that considered appropriate, this was not applicable to renewal applications;

·         The objection(s) received did relate to section 2.2(d) in terms of the character of the relevant locality.

He also drew the Committee’s attention to section3.12 of the policy, “No weight shall be given by the Council to objections made on moral grounds or that are, in the opinion of the Council, frivolous or vexatious”.

Long Legs had been operating for 23 years with an unblemished record having been regularly scrutinised by the police and Licensing Out Of Hours Department, (LOOH) and the way they operate the premises had stood up to that scrutiny.

Following the change of legislation in 2010, the Applicant has been required to apply to renew the licence every twelve months; this has been the 8^th application and the first one to be objected to.

It was submitted there was little in the objection(s) that related to the policy or legislation other than the discretionary grounds, (Section 2.2(d)(i) of the policy).Chinatown is a business district with lots of bars and restaurants and whereas there were some residential properties, there had not been any objections now or previously from any other residents.

With reference in the objection to Manchester Art Gallery but it was submitted this was some distance away, but the same distance it had always been and they too would have been entitled to object but had not done so. In any event, the premises closed at 5pm, and although Long Legs was open at that time, their true operation was later than this and therefore children were unlikely to be aware of the premises.

The reference to the character of the vicinity would normally refer to the presence of schools, playgrounds etc. however this was not the case; there were numerous other late night venues and the locality had not changed in any significant way.

Similarly, the Long Legs premises had not changed in the last twelve months and clearly had been deemed a suitable and appropriate premises; the owner had previously provided photographs of the interior and also confirmed there were no private booths within and it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.