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 Sarah Williams, seconded by Cllr Brian Heatley.

Decision: that Cllr Emma Parker be elected as chairman for duration of the meeting. 

To receive any apologies for absence.

An Apology for absence was received from Cllr Paul Harrison, substituted by Cllr Brian Heatley.

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 were no urgent items.

An application has been made for a new premises licence for Smoke on the Water, High Street, Swanage for supply of alcohol, on and off the premises and for Late Night Refreshment, indoors and outdoors. The application has been out to public consultation and has attracted a relevant representation. A Licensing Sub Committee must consider the application and representations at a public hearing.

The Licensing Team Leader presented the report and supplementary information had been published online to remove all the non-standard hours from the application. The Sub-Committee only considered the sale of alcohol on and off the premises from 9.00 to 23:00 hours.  

In response to questions from Cllrs. The applicant, Mr Tillman informed that the Smoke House and Restaurant would specialise in American style smoked meat. Served in a shared style, with a bottle of wine, local beers, and ciders. He added that there was no targeted specific group of people, and anyone was welcome. Off-licence was not crucial but would enable customers who had come in for an evening to take a bottle or glass home of beer, wine, or cider. He had been in the catering trade for 12 years and the 3 partners had a minimum of 10 years each and were all long-standing Swanage residents. He added that they knew the area very well and tried to give back when they could. There would be 35-40 seats inside the premises and 40 outside on the terrace area, but this was not a set number as they were currently still building the restaurant. There would be a separate bar area on one end where people could come in to have a drink.

Miss Codd was given the opportunity to read out her statement. She raised concerns about the disturbance of peace and quiet, the premises takeaway element, the smoking area and litter. As the premises would be licenced from 9 am to 11 pm, 7 days a week, all year, and the playing of live and recorded music. Within 50 meters of the premises, there was a sanctuary garden being constructed for a place of quiet reflection. Litter in Swanage was exacerbated by takeaway purchases, and irresponsible disposal of cigarette butts and glass from bottles that could end up on the beach in the sand and endanger children.  She informed that Swanage was a much-loved town, peaceful and old fashioned in nature. The venue would be located in a peaceful and quiet area, and within a residential building. It would not be the only licenced premises in the area, but the terms of the licence appeared to be quite different from what is in place nearby. The closest licenced neighbour was a sea food restaurant which closed throughout winter and offered food and drink from 11 am to 9 pm. On the pier there was a bistro which opened between 9 am to 4 pm. Both have outside seating but neither play external live or recorded music.

The Applicant responded to Miss Codd’s concerns. He said that he would not want to ruin Swanage in anyway. He appreciated the sanctuary garden and did not want to clash with the garden but tie in with it. He wanted customers to visit the gardens and then stroll down and enjoy the views with a glass of wine and a meal. There were no plans to play outside music but would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 193.

There are no exempt items scheduled for this meeting.  

There was no exempt business.