Agenda and draft minutes

The Sub Committee are asked to appoint a Chair for the duration of the meeting.

Councillor Scarth was appointed as Chair for this meeting.

The Sub Committee are asked to declare any intereststhat they may have.

No declarations of interest were made by Members.

The Lead Licensing Officer, presented an application to seek a variation of the premises licence at Hunton Park, Essex Lane, Abbots Langley which sought to:

(i)             Add the Garden Marquee to the existing Premises Licence (same times as existing Terrace Marquee)

(ii)            Add films to the existing Premises Licence

(iii)           Update the filed plan in circumstances where some conference rooms are now bedrooms in the Mansion House

(iv)          Update/remove out of date and unenforceable conditions with appropriate replacements.

The Lead Licensing Officer reported that subsequent to publication of the officer’s report, a new condition relating to noise monitoring which had been recommended by the Environmental Health Officer had been accepted by the applicant.  The objection from Environmental Health had therefore now been withdrawn.  The Sub-Committee’s legal representative advised that approval for the wording of the noise monitoring condition would be sought from the Sub-Committee in order to avoid conflict with the wording of existing conditions in the application.

The Chair invited the applicant to put their case to the Sub-Committee.

Sally Hills, representing the applicant, explained the background to the application and the reason for seeking to add the Garden Marquee to the existing Premises Licence. 

The applicant had purchased the premises in 2022 from an administrator, at which time it had been in a state of disrepair.  A number of issues were inherited, including staffing issues which had been challenging to resolve.  Due to a lack of documentation, it had taken time to establish who had erected the marquee and installed the sound system and within the intervening period the applicant had been obliged to honour bookings made with the former proprietor who had allowed customers to supply their own catering and sound equipment.  The practice of allowing customers to use their own equipment had now ceased, giving greater control and management of sound issues. 

The marquee structure had been repaired and upgraded: the applicant’s representative advised that, should the application before the Sub-Committee be approved, there were plans to further enhance the facilities (subject to any necessary planning consents) which should also help to improve sound performance. The revenue generated by bookings of the marquee was needed by the applicant in order to ensure that the premises remained a viable and sustainable prospect, and in order to be able to maintain the structure of the Grade II listed Mansion House building. 

The applicant and their representatives responded to questions from Members.

The Chair asked the Interested Parties to put their case to the Sub-Committee.

Duncan Baine and Tim Carroll (Chair of the Gypsy Lane Residents’ Association) put the case on behalf of the objectors.  The points made by the objectors included the following:

·        The volume limiting system was not effective in ensuring that the music was inaudible at the premises boundary.  Music could still be heard inside neighbouring residential properties even with their windows closed, and on some occasions even above other noise within the home such as the television. 

·        An objector stated that on occasion he had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.