Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Jon Ekins and Councillor Barbara Jenney.

The chair invited those who wished to do so to declare an interest in respect of an item on the agenda.

There were no declarations made.

It was noted that no requests to address the meeting had been received.

The annexed circulated report of the Assistant Director of Regulatory Services was received following receipt of an application for the variation to a premises licence for the Half Moon Inn, 42 Main Road, Grendon, Northamptonshire.

The Chair, Councillor Jennie Bone, asked all present to introduce themselves and welcomed Anne Hughes, the applicant to the meeting.

The applicant had submitted an email, dated 4 March 2022 and circulated to those present, stating that she wished to withdraw the following from the application:

·         The proposed later closing time of 1.00am (and maintain the current licence);

·         The playing of live or recorded music outside the premises until late;

·         The daily opening of the premises at 8am.

The email also clarified the reasons for the following request:

·         Daily opening time of 9am – to give access to cyclists, walkers and working people to obtain coffee, cold drinks and breakfast;

·         Removal from the existing licence of the ‘maximum of two performers inside’ – to enable occasional acoustic-led open mic events inside the premises;

·         The playing of recorded music outside until 10.30pm - to enable community gatherings in a designated outdoor space, particularly during the summer months.

The chair invited the Interim Environmental Health Lead, Amanda Wilcox to present her report.

Mrs Wilcox explained that the report was before the sub-committee following receipt of an application to vary the premises licence for the Half Moon Inn, located in Grendon.  Four representations had been received against the granting of the application, three were from interested parties and one from the Environmental Health team all around the licensing objective of the prevention of public nuisance, as prescribed by Section 4(2) of the Licensing Act 2003.

The concerns raised related to the operating hours requested within the application around the potential disturbance to residents from potential noise, from patrons accessing and leaving the premises and from entertainment inside and outside the premises.  The Environmental Health team had suggested adding conditions to control the noise from inside the public house, though there remained concern that noise would travel to nearby properties from external activity and entertainment.

The sub-committee’s decision needed to be made taking into consideration the four licensing objectives of:

·         The prevention of crime and disorder;

·         Public safety;

·         The prevention of public nuisance;

·         The protection of children from harm.

The chair asked the applicant if she wished to address the meeting.

Ms Hughes explained that she had taken over the Half Moon in December 2021, following a two-and-a-half-year period of closure for the pub. The pub was owned by a development company, who had applied for and been refused planning permission. Villagers had raised £325,000 to buy the pub as a community asset, the company had chosen not to sell it, but a community order had been obtained to prevent the premises being demolished and Ms Hughes had taken on a lease for seven years. 

She wished to build the business as the sale of alcohol alone was not sustainable, and wished to offer breakfast options, open  ...  view the full minutes text for item Lic/24