Agenda, decisions and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors……

None.

To receive and note any declarations of interests in respect of any matters included on the agenda for consideration at this meeting.

(The other registrable interests of Councillors of Somerset Council, arising from membership of City, Town or Parish Councils and other Local Authorities will automatically be recorded in the minutes: City, Town & Parish Twin Hatters - Somerset Councillors 2023 )

The procedure was noted.

On the evidence before it, having considered all the circumstances, in particular the business interests of the applicant against the interests and concerns of the Other Persons, the Sub-Committee grants the Application for the Premises Licence as applied for subject to the offered amendments as set out below and with the conditions as contained in the Operating Schedule:

The amended conditions are:

·       The amended conditions from the operating schedule, circulated by the Democratic Services Officer in the email to relevant parties on the 13 July 2023 at 21:17

·         Atcondition 10under thePublic SafetyObjective, the applicant wasprepared to reduce the number of people from 1500 to 1000 to require an Event Management Plan to be produced.

At condition12 underthe Preventionof PublicNuisance objective,the wording

“exceptfor filmswhich willcease at00:00 wherethey occur outside.”

to beremoved, sothat thecondition nowreads –

“Regulated activitiesoutside willcease at23:00.”

The mandatoryconditions requiredby theLicensing Act2003.

The Sub-Committee delegates the authority to the Licensing Officer to add these to the Operating Schedule on the License as issued.

The Licensing and Business Support Officer was invited to present her report.  She explained the Council had received an application from Wookey Hole Limited for a new Premises Licence at Bucklegrove Caravan Park, Wells Road, Rodney Stoke, Cheddar, BS27 3UZ.

The report said the Bucklegrove Holiday Park was a family friendly park situated at the foot of the Mendip Hills on the outskirts of Rodney Stoke, which was just over 3 miles from the town of Cheddar.   The Park was approximately 7.5 acres in size.  The Park offered a range of accommodation including:

• 3 lodges with hot tubs

• 34 static caravans (of which 6 were privately owned)

• 40 seasonal pitches for touring caravans

• 2 woodland camping cabins

• 1 pod

• 36 camping pitches

• 25 touring caravan / motor home hard standing pitches

Park facilities included:

• A heated, indoor swimming pool and toddler pool

• Games room

• Outdoor play area

• Shop and guest reception

• The Lodge – Bar & Restaurant

• Guest toilets, shower facilities and laundrette

The premises already had a premises licence.  However, a new application had been submitted for the sale by retail of alcohol, the provision of regulated entertainment and the provision of late-night refreshment.  The timings for the licensable activities in the application were:

Supply of Alcohol, Monday - Sunday 08:00 - 02:00, On/Off the Premises

Regulated Entertainment, Monday – Sunday 06:00 - 02:00, Indoors/Outdoors

Plays, Monday - Sunday 23:00 00:00, Indoors/Outdoors Indoor

Sporting Events, Monday - Sunday 23:00 - 00:00

Late Night Refreshment, Monday - Sunday 23:00 - 05:00, Indoors/Outdoors

The Council had received 8 representations from Other Persons that related to at least one of the four of the Licensing objectives.  Several site visits had been undertaken during the representation period with the applicant and the Licensing Authority, Somerset Council’s Environmental Protection team, Avon and Somerset Constabulary’s Liquor Licensing Officer and the Chairperson of Rodney Stoke Parish Council.  At the end of the representation period the representations from Other Persons remained and were considered under the Act as relevant.  The matter was therefore presented to the Licensing Sub-Committee to determine.

Included in the some of the representations were concerns/points raised in relation to Planning, but these were classed as not relevant as Planning and Licensing acted independently of each other.  It was the responsibility of the premises to ensure they were compliant with both Licensing and Planning conditions.  Residents had also raised concerns in relation to the highway and sewage networks, both of which were part of national infrastructure and under The Licensing Act 2003 were not classed as valid. 

Relevant grounds for objection to the application included:

•       The hours of operation which were seen to be excessively long and potentially operating every day of the year.

•       Noise and disturbance until very late, particularly as the site was elevated,

•       Large scale events would have to be held outside due to the limited capacity of the clubhouse, thus the noise may disturb neighbours.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.