Agenda and minutes

Councillor Lemon and Ms Coombs made their representations to the Panel against the application.

Councillor Lemon raised the following concerns:

·         His main concerns were regarding noise, especially when played outside in the open air. There were houses in the vicinity of the premise and it would be unacceptable for the noise to affect those residents. There were a couple of similar venues in Hatfield Heath and White Rodings, which were used for weddings, and due to the concerns around noise, they were not allowed to play music in the open air or open windows at night if they were playing music.

·         There were no car parking facilities on site, so cars were parking on the narrow rural roads nearby. This was causing obstructions for residents and other drivers as well as noise disruption when customers were leaving at night.

·         He had received a complaint of noise by a resident during a recent Halloween Party at the venue. When the resident called the police, they were referred to the Council’s Environmental Health emergency number, but they did not receive have a response. He was concerned about how noise would be dealt in future with if the venue was being too noisy. 

·         Signs had been erected which were blocking the view of the traffic.

Ms Coombs, on behalf of Ms North and Mr and Mrs McNamara, made the following points:

·         Affinity Water and Essex Highways had both opened formal investigations against the applicant due to potential criminal activity.

·         The light pollution emitted by the venue was a nuisance to the community.

·         There were concerns around the erection of road signage which could cause serious injury or death.

·         The Essex County Fire and Rescue Service were conducting an emergency inspection, following recent complaints from residents about possible risks to public safety.

·         Another complaint had been made around the noise from a party at the venue on 5th November 2022. 

·         The applicant had removed a balancing pond on the property, which had increased the flood risk to nearby homes.

·         Neighbouring properties had concerns around the traffic which the venue had caused on nearby roads.

Ms Coombs requested an adjournment until she had received responses from the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, Essex Highways and Affinity Water in relation to potential criminal charges against the applicant.

To receive any apologies for absence and declarations of interest.

There were no apologies for absence.

All members declared that they knew Councillor Lemon through their capacity as District Councillors.

To consider the application for a premises licence for Stone and Coal, Warwicks, White Roding.

Members considered Ms Coombs’ request for an adjournment whilst she awaited a response from the relevant authorities regarding the alleged criminal activities with the balancing pond and water supply. The Senior Licensing Compliance Officer confirmed that they had not received any new representation from consultees, alleging this behaviour.

Following deliberation, the Chair said that they were minded not to approve the request, as they had not seen documentation to back up the allegations. Furthermore, the points raised by the objector were not directly linked to the Licensing Objectives which were under consideration by the Panel.

The Licensing Support Officer provided their report for an application by Stone and Coal for a Premise License. The proposed licensable activities were as follows:

·         Recorded Music

·         Late night Refreshment

·         Supply of Alcohol

In response to questions, the Licensing Support Officer confirmed that the applicant had offered the opportunity for a mediation meeting to those who were opposing his application, however this was rejected.

The applicant, Mr Forway, made his representation to the Panel. He explained that he felt there was a lot of confusing around both the intention and concept of his business, and as a result, individuals were rejecting the application without an understanding of what it was for.

He said that he had worked in the hospitality for 17 years and Stone and Coal was an offshoot of his business. He had been running a coffee bar on his parents’ property for several months and had recently expanded to also open a pop-up restaurant. To date, he had held seven events using Temporary Event Notices (TENs), and had received a good response from customers.

He was applying for a Premises Licence for the pop-up restaurant so that he wouldn’t have to keep applying for temporary licenses. Due to the premise being outdoors, its operation would be seasonal, and the applicant had no intention of being a late-night venue.

He said that anyone opposing the application was invited to speak to him, however residents had chosen to oppose it without giving it a chance.

In response to questions from the Panel, the applicant clarified the following:

·         He was applying for the provision of music and the sale of alcohol up to 23:30 on Monday to Thursday, 00:00 on Friday and Saturday and 22:30pm on a Sunday. Should an event be intended to go beyond these hours, then he would seek to apply for a TENs to temporarily extend the licensing hours.

·         He was currently taking legal advice in relation to a Planning dispute so was unable to comment as to why a Planning Application had not come forward and if he intended to submit one. Licensing Officers confirmed that they had no opinion as to whether a Planning application would be required.

·         There were no parking restrictions on the roads around the premises and he believed that the venue was not currently causing any obstructions. Based on the feedback from their previous seven events, he had no intention to amend their car  ...  view the full minutes text for item LIC31