Agenda and draft minutes

To elect a Chairman for the meeting and the Chairman to present and explain the procedure for the meeting.

Proposed by Cllr Les Fry, seconded by Cllr Sarah Williams

Decision: that Cllr Jon Andrews be elected as Chairman for the duration of the meeting. 

To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Cathy Lugg and David Morgan, substituted by Cllrs Les Fry and Sarah Williams.

To disclose any pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interests as set out in the adopted Code of Conduct. In making their disclosure councillors are asked to state the agenda item, the nature of the interest and any action they propose to take as part of their declaration.

If required, further advice should be sought from the Monitoring Officer in advance of the meeting.

No declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests were made at the meeting.

To consider any items of business which the Chairman has had prior notification and considers to be urgent pursuant to section 100B (4) b) of the Local Government Act 1972. The reason for the urgency shall be recorded in the minutes.

There are no urgent items.

An application has been made for a new premises licence for a festival to be known as Dorsom at Seaborough Manor Farm, Beaminster. The application has been out to public consultation and has attracted relevant representations.  A Licensing Sub Committee must consider the application and representations at a public hearing.

The Licensing Team Leader introduced the report. She made the Committee aware that the ward member in the report was listed incorrectly, and that it should have been Cllr Simon Christopher.

The Applicant’s Agent, Mr Semper informed the committee that the first aid kit 21-50 persons was standard and the actual first aid response and provisions would be provided in the forthcoming event management plan (EMP). He confirmed that there would be no event in 2024 and a minor variation would be submitted. As Little Jamaica was thought to have been included within the land but that was not the case, a new plan excluding Little Jamaica would be submitted. Dorsom was a family friendly festival which would appeal to a wide range of musical taste. There would be hot and cold food throughout the event. A maximum of one event per year with the ability of the event to be held on different dates in July. They had planned for an event between 18th and 21st July this year, but they had insufficient time to prepare. He added that the proposed conditions required an EMP which would be a living document changing from one event to the next and would have input from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG).

Mr Semper recognised concerns but reassured that these would be dealt with in the EMP, and the plan could not be written until a licence had been granted. He made the committee aware that there would not be 9999 attendees at the event as it was the first event and festivals take time to grow year on year. There had been no objections from the relevant authority apart from the police whose concerns would be addressed by the EMP. The concerns around security and many other issues would be addressed by the SAG. He did not believe there would be an impact on the SSSI or River Axe as the festival would be over a short period of time and the site plan would be changed to prevent access to the River Axe. There would be a steady stream of people leaving on Sunday and people would not leave at 3am on Sunday morning but instead return to their tents after licensable activities ended. Issues relating to traffic, emergency vehicle access, moving equipment to site and first aid would be on the EMP. As the applicant was unable to attend the hearing, he could not give the location of the main festival field, how far the closest properties were from the premises, the planned demographic of festival goers or the applicant’s experience of running other events.

Mr Bean from Dorset Police made the committee aware that the SAG meeting had not taken place yet. He believed that the event hung on the EMP and that it must be submitted as a comprehensive and fully prepared document. It was important for the SAG to consider the location of the premises. He added that it was strange that an event that was aimed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 200.

There are no exempt items scheduled for this meeting.  

There was no exempt business.