Snowdon
Mountain Railway, Llanberis
To consider
the above application
Minutes:
On behalf of the premises: Mr Chris Jones
a)
The report and recommendation of the Licensing Department.
Submitted – the report of the Licensing Manager giving details of the
application for a premises licence for Snowdown Mountain Railway
Attention was drawn to the details of the licensed activities and the
proposed hours in the report. It was noted that Licensing
Authority officers had sufficient evidence that the application had been
submitted in accordance with the requirements of the Licensing Act 2003 and the
relevant regulations.
Reference was made to the measures recommended by
the applicant to promote the licensing objectives along with the responses
received during the consultation period.
It was noted that three letters had been received objecting to the
application due to concerns that the proposed licensed activities would
undermine two of the licensing objectives - ensuring public safety and
preventing public nuisance. In response to the objections, it was highlighted that a mediation meeting had been held on 20
February 2019 so that the objectors could discuss their concerns with the
applicant. Consequently, the applicant agreed to a substantial compromise, by
proposing changes and accepting new conditions on the application. It was reported that the objectors had now accepted the
application and that it was being presented to the Sub-committee in order to
confirm these changes formally.
In considering the application, the following procedure was
followed:
· Members of the Sub-committee and the applicant were given
the opportunity to ask questions of the Licensing Manager.
· The applicant was invited to expand on the
application.
· Consultees were
given an opportunity to present their observations
· The licensee, or his representative, was invited
to respond to the observations.
· Members of the Sub-committee were given an
opportunity to ask questions of the licensee.
· Members of the Sub-committee were given an
opportunity to ask questions of the consultees.
RESOLVED to approve
the application in accordance with the amended conditions
1. It was agreed to restrict the hours of alcohol sales
at the Trading Post from 09:00 to 18:00.
2.
It was agreed to only sell
'specialist' bottles of beer and spirits at the Trading Post.
3.
It was agreed to sell
alcohol for consumption off the Trading Post premises only.
4.
No recorded music to be played
from the Trading Post or the Car Park at any time.
5.
Hours of licensed
activities and proposed conditions to remain the same as the original
application for the Llanberis Station Cafe and Gift
Shop.
In
reaching their decision, the Sub-committee considered the application form
along with written comments submitted by interested parties, the Licensing
Officer's report, and verbal comments from the applicant's representative at
the hearing. The Council's Licensing Policy and the Home Office guidelines were also considered. All considerations were
weighed up against the licensing objectives under the Licensing Act
2003, namely:
i.
Crime and Disorder prevention
ii. Public
nuisance prevention
iii. Ensuring
public safety
iv. Protection
of children from harm
Specific
consideration was given to the three letters received
from nearby residents, expressing concerns that the application in its original
form would harm the licensing objective of preventing public nuisance and
ensuring public safety. In short, concerns were raised that approving the
original application would mean that the Trading Post specifically was,
·
close to the highway, and therefore attracted
increased activity, that would lead to a public safety problem;
·
close to a
nearby residential property, and therefore playing recorded music would lead to
noise disruption which would, in turn, cause public nuisance problems.
However,
following a mediation meeting, the applicant had agreed to amend the
application in order to mitigate the risk of any public safety or public
nuisance problems that would arise in relation to the Trading Post.
The Sub-committee was not required to make a decision
on the grounds of observations from nearby residents, as this was not needed on this occasion due to the outcome of the
mediation meeting. However, it was accepted that
approving the licence in accordance with the original application could have
led to increased activity and noise surrounding the Trading Post. It was also accepted in principle that these matters could have
led to public safety and public nuisance problems.
Under
these circumstances and on the basis that there were no remaining objections,
the Sub-committee was satisfied that the amended application was in-keeping with the licensing objectives.
Supporting documents: