Agenda, decisions and minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 25 April 2023 will be submitted to the next meeting of this Committee.

None.

Garage Nation, Mountsfield Park, Stainton Road, SE6 1AN

Lewisham LBC, Licensing Committee

Application for grant of premises licence

DECISION NOTICE

1.    The Festival Crowd Ltd (“the Applicant”) has submitted an application for the grant of a premises licence for a two-day festival on 12 and 13 August 2023 called Garage Nation, to take place in Mountsfield Park, Stainton Road, SE6 1AN (“the Premises”).

2.    The application seeks authorisation for the following licensable activities:

3.    There were three relevant representations in response to the application, received from members of the public before the deadline.  There were no objections from the responsible authorities.

4.    The Licensing Committee held a hearing on 9 May 2023 to consider those representations, which related to all four licensing objectives.

5.    The Applicant’s representative described the objections relating to public nuisance as unfair and unduly alarmist, explaining that the event was for a limited period only and would be carefully managed in accordance with an event management plan agreed with the Council’s Safety Advisory Group.  He pointed out that the objections were not supported by the responsible authorities, which had not submitted any representations against the application and this was an indication that there was no substance to these objections, received from just three residents.

6.    The two residents who attended the hearing described the area surrounding the park as very residential and stated that this was an inappropriate use of a public open space because it would deny access to residents over the course of the weekend.  They made additional points about ecology and biodiversity in the park but the Committee considered that these were not relevant to the licensing objectives.

7.    In making its decision, the Committee has taken into account all of the papers in the reports pack and the evidence and submissions presented by the parties at the hearing.  It has also taken into account the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and the Home Office’s statutory guidance.

8.    The Committee’s decision is to grant the application.  Its reasons are as follows:

·         The Committee was satisfied that the Applicant is an experienced operator that is capable of running an event such as this in a way that promotes the licensing objectives.  The Committee considered that the conditions proposed in the operating schedule were robust and would enable the event to run smoothly and without unduly disturbing residents.

·         The Committee attached particular weight to the fact that the responsible authorities had not objected to the application and that the festival would be operated under the terms of an event management plan which would be subject to scrutiny and approval by the Council’s expert safety advisory group.

·         The application was for a one-off, two-day event with a relatively low capacity (for a festival) and therefore the Committee considered that the impact of the event on local  ...  view the full decision text for item 3.

3.1      The Chair welcomed all parties to the Licensing Committee. She introduced those present and outlined the procedure to be followed for the meeting. She then invited the Safer Communities Officer to introduce the application.

            Introduction

3.2     Ms Mullin said that this hearing was being held to determine a premises licence application made by The Festival Crowd Ltd in relation to a Festival in Mountsfield Park, London SE6 1AN. She clarified that the application was for a one-off weekend event only and would not be an annual event as stated in the agenda.

3.3       The application for the premises licence had been advertised in accordance with regulations. The last date for receiving representations was the 19^th April 2023. During the 28-day consultation period, 3 objections were received by the licensing authority from members of the public. Any objections received after this time were not relevant and could not be considered by the committee when determining this application. The objections, and reasons for these objections, were contained in the report. The representations were received within the specified consultation period and were not considered vexatious or frivolous.

3.4      Ms Mullin then outlined the options available to members under the licensing objectives, when making their decision.

            Applicant  

3.5      The applicant’s legal representative, Bernard Ralph made a presentation in support of the application. He made the following points.

·         The application supported the council’s licensing objectives in encouraging well managed, diverse entertainment. The event would also be good for the local area because it would provide a temporary boost to the economy over the weekend of 12 and 13 August 2023.

·         There had been objections to the application from 3 residents. There were no addresses for these residents; they may not live in the vicinity.

·         Objections were not supported by the responsible authorities, which had not submitted any representations against the application and this was an indication that there was no substance to these objections, received from just three residents.

·         The applicant had collaborated with the events team to ensure that the event was run safely and responsibly. Conditions had been agreed that promoted the licensing objectives and addressed the concerns raised by the objectors.

·         The objections relating to public nuisance were unfair and unduly alarmist, and the event was for a limited period only.

·         Families would be able to enjoy parts of the park for free when the event was taking place.

·         An event management and operating plan would be produced that would be acceptable to relevant authorities including the Police. It would contain details of accredited SIA staff who would operate a zero tolerance drugs policy and search procedures. The plan would also contain details of noise management and any potential dangers at the venue including fire, crowd management, traffic management and extreme weather.

3.6      Councillor Shrivastava asked how many security staff would be employed for the event and the name of the company. The applicant said that the security ratio would be a minimum of 1 SIA staff member  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

This item was withdrawn.