Agenda and minutes

To authorise the Chairman to sign the minutes of the meeting of the Licensing and General Purposes Committee held on 25 October 2021 as a correct record of the proceedings.

The Chairman was authorised to sign the Minutes of the meeting of the Licensing and General Purposes Committee held on 25 October 2021 as a correct record of the proceedings.

The Chairman to ask if any Member present is substituting for another Member and, if so, to declare his/her name as substitute Member and the name of the absent Member.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors R.K. Bird, B.J. Drayson (ex-officio) and K.M. Harmer.

To receive any disclosure by Members of personal and disclosable pecuniary interests in matters on the agenda, the nature of any interest and whether the Member regards the personal interest as prejudicial under the terms of the Code of Conduct.  Members are reminded of the need to repeat their declaration immediately prior to the commencement of the item in question.

There were no disclosures of interest.

Members received the report of the Head of Service Environmental Services, Licensing and Community Safety which detailed how the Council set hackney carriage fares in the district by adopting a fare card. Fares had last been increased in December 2016 and a proposed new table of fares, implementing a 10% (ten percent) increase was attached at Appendix A to the report.

The AA had reported that fuel prices had increased by 24% (twenty-four percent) between October 2016 and 2021. It was important that hackney carriage fares were increased periodically to attract new hackney carriage owners and drivers to work in Rother, as drivers needed to be able to earn a sufficient income.

There was a cost to hackney carriage owners in recalibrating their metres and a cost to the Council in administering this change; the exercise was not therefore to take place too frequently. When an increase was made it needed to be at least 5% (five percent), to justify the costs involved.  An informal survey of drivers found that 70% (seventy percent) supported a 10% (ten percent) increase. A further survey would be carried out in 2023 to see if there was support for a further increase in 2023.  It was also proposed to remove the higher tariff on Sundays as this could no longer be justified.

Hackney carriage fares had not been increased since December 2016. A 10% (ten percent) increase was proposed, which would need to be formally advertised. If there were no objections, the new fare card would be implemented from 7 March 2022. If objections were received, they would be referred to the Licensing and General Purposes Committee for determination.

Members had the opportunity to ask questions and the following points were noted during discussions:

•           the Council set the maximum fare that could be charged, but drivers could charge a lesser fare if they so wished; and

•           it was a legal requirement for the taxi meter to use yards rather than metres (Town Police Clauses Act 1847).

RESOLVED: That:

1)         a 10% (ten percent) increase in hackney carriage fares be advertised; and

2)         if no objections are received, to increase fares from 7 March 2022.

Members received and considered the report of the Head of Service-Environmental Services, Licensing and Community Safety outlining the Council’s proposed licensing fees to be charged from April 2022.  The fees were set to recover the full administration costs of issuing licenses and costs associated with ensuring compliance with conditions attached to licences, but not the costs associated with the enforcement of unlicensed premises and activities.

Appendix A to the report set out the discretionary fees proposed to be charged from April 2022, with changes highlighted in red. Where fees were proposed to increase, they had increased by 1 or 2% (one or two percent). The hiring of horses fee included the veterinary inspection costs, which increased each year. The fees set by the Licensing Act 2003 had not been increased, despite requests by the Local Government Association. Maximum fees under the Gambling Act 2005 were also set by statute. The Council charged the maximum amounts.

Members had the opportunity to ask questions and the following points were noted:

•           advertising campaigns were used to advise the public to only use licensed establishments and posters were issued to establishments to inform the public of their status.  The public were encouraged to report any unlicensed establishments;

•           fees were calculated to ensure the cost of officer time, which was recorded and collated over time, was reflected; and

•           the main increases were concerned with hiring of horses due to increased vet charges.

RESOLVED: That the licensing fees and charges set out in Appendix A to the report be approved and applied from 1 April 2022.

The Gambling Act 2005 (the Act) required Rother District Council, as the Licensing Authority, to formally review and approve its Statement of Principles (SoP) (Gambling Policy) in regard to how it regulated Gaming Premises every three years.  The Statement was based upon the requirements of the Gambling Act 2005 and was developed in line with a nationally accepted template.  The last SoP was approved in 2018.

Operators and personal licences were issued by the Gambling Commission, whereas premises licences were dealt with by the Local Authority.  The Council had never received a representation against the granting of a premises licence under the Act.  For this reason a hearing into an application had never been made and therefore reference to the SoP had not been made by Members. 

Consultees (who included the Police, Gambling Commission, Department of Public Health and existing licence holders) would be advised that there were no significant changes in the regulations issued by the Secretary of State or guidance issued by the Gambling Commission that materially affected the SoP.  

If there were no objections to the SoP, it would be recommended to Council for formal approval and adoption.

The Committee agreed that the draft SoP be approved for consultation and, subject to no objections being received, be recommended to full Council for formal approval and adoption.  Should objections be received, a report would be presented to the Licensing and General Purposes Committee.

RESOLVED: That:

1)         the draft Statement of Principles be approved for consultation; and

2)         subject to no objections being received, be recommended to Council for approval and adoption.

Members received the report of the Head of Service Environmental Services, Licensing and Community Safety outlining street trading controls to be amended in Bexhill and imposing controls in Ticehurst.

The Council could designate certain streets as consent or prohibited streets for street trading. Street trading was prohibited in consent streets unless the Council had granted a consent to do so. Street trading could take place in a street not designated as either consent or prohibited. Street trading controls did not apply to news vendors, rounds men or trading on a shop forecourt.

The Chair of the Bexhill Town Centre Steering Group (Councillor Bayliss) had requested that the existing consent streets for street trading for Bexhill be amended to designate Sackville Road as a consent street, to permit markets to be held there, which was supported by Bexhill Town Council.

In July 2021, Ticehurst Parish Council requested that the northern end of Church Street, the Village Square itself and the High Street, be consent streets. A policy was requested by the Parish Council to be adopted that consents would only be granted during events organised by Ticehurst Parish Council.

In October 2021, Members of the Licensing and General Purposes Committee resolved to advertise the intention to make street trading controls. A Public Notice was placed in local newspapers, namely the Bexhill/Battle/Rye Observer and Sussex Express on 29 October 2021.

The Committee was requested to consider re-designating all streets in the district (Battle, Bexhill, Robertsbridge, Rye and Ticehurst) so that the extent of street trading controls throughout the district could be ascertained from one document, if designating Sackville Road as a consent street and further streets in Ticehurst. 

Officers had delegated authority to grant consents if the policy adopted by the Council applied. In other cases, applications would be determined by this Committee. It was recommended that Members delegate this function to the General Licensing Panel.

A copy of the notice of intention to make the resolution was sent to the Chief Officer of Police and East Sussex County Council Highways for representations.  Appendix C to the report set out the representations received when the intention was advertised for Members’ consideration. The Council did not have any officers designated to enforce street trading controls, therefore if enforcement was required, officers would have to be taken off their existing duties.  The Police, however, could enforce the Orders, but would normally look to the Local Authority to take the lead.

Members considered the streets in each town in turn and the following points were noted during the discussions:

•           there would be no limit to the number of events held in Sackville Road, Bexhill per year (as was currently the case with Devonshire Road and Devonshire Square, Bexhill), but any applications outside the policy would be referred to Members for determination;

•           the details of the consent for Sackville Road, Bexhill had been mistyped in the Appendix and Members agreed it be amended to state ‘from its junction with Western Road to Marine Parade’;  ...  view the full minutes text for item LG21/13.