The subcommittee sat to hear an application for a premises licence by Dangerous Sheep Events Ltd in respect of premises known as Half Penny Green Airport.  The application requests permission for the provision of plays, films, live and recorded music, late night refreshment and the sale of alcohol on varying times 7 days per week.   

It was noted that none of the responsible authorities including Environmental Health, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue and Environmental Protection had objected to the application and the police had agreed conditions with the applicant prior to the hearing as detailed in appendix c of the agenda pack. 

The application prompted a number of objections from local residents who are concerned about the impact of noise, road traffic noise and other issues.  The sub-committee listened very carefully to the representations made by the local residents and their concerns and particular note of the comments made on behalf of the Parish Council. 

The committee also had regard to the fact that Dangerous Sheep Ltd are a new company and the committee does not have any evidence before it to assess the impact of events that it has run at this location. 

The committee listened very carefully to both sides and after great deliberation granted the licence subject to the addition of the following conditions to the licence:- 

Conditions agreed with Staffordshire Police: 

1. CCTV must be installed and cover all internal areas, including all public entry and exit points and any areas where smokers are allowed to congregate. The CCTV unit must be positioned in a secure part of the licensed premises and not within any private area of the location. 

Access to the system must be allowed immediately to the Police, Trading Standards or Local Authority Officers in accordance with the Data Protection Act where it is necessary to do so for the prevention of crime and disorder, prosecution or apprehension of offenders or where disclosure is required by law. 

2. All images must be kept for a consecutive 31 day period and to be produced to the Police, Trading Standards or Local Authority Officers in relation to the investigation of crime and / or disorder issues and suspected license breaches, upon request or within 24 hours of such request where it is necessary to do so for the prevention of crime and disorder, prosecution or apprehension of offenders or where disclosure is required by law. 

3. The CCTV system must be maintained so as to be fully operational and recording continually whilst the premises are open for licensable activities and during all times when customers remain on the premises. 

4. The CCTV system clock must be set correctly and maintained (taking account of GMT and BST). 

5. There must be notices displayed throughout the premises stating that CCTV is in operation. 

6. There must be a member of staff available at all times who is trained and capable of operating the CCTV system and also downloading any footage required by the Police, Trading Standards or Local Authority Officers. 

7. Staff training must incorporate: 

•  Responsible Alcohol Service, including recognising signs of drunkenness, refusal skills, drugs awareness 
•  Managing and resolving conflict 
•  Premises License conditions 
•  Relevant obligations and offences under the Licensing Act 2003, including those associated with the sale of alcohol 
•  Safeguarding awareness in child protection matters (protecting children from harm)  
• Records of training must be documented and kept on the premises for inspection by the Responsible Authorities. 

8. Notices must be prominently displayed at all exits requesting patrons to respect the needs of local residents and businesses and leave the area quietly. 

9. Challenge 25 must be operated at the premises whereby all persons who appear to be under 25 and purchasing or attempting to purchase alcohol must be asked to provide identification to prove they are over 18 years of age. 

10. Both initial and subsequent refresher training in relation to the sale of alcohol must contain a written or electronic test to be undertaken by the staff member and this record must be signed and dated by both the member of staff and the Designated Premises Supervisor. 

11. The only acceptable forms of identification allowed must be a valid passport, valid photo ID driving licence or valid proof of age scheme card with the PASS approved hologram. 

12. Challenge 25 signage must be displayed in a clear and prominent public place at the premises. 

13. All staff must be fully trained in relation to the Challenge 25 scheme before being allowed to sell alcohol and a record must be kept of staff training. Training must be refreshed at least every 6 calendar months. Such training must be recorded and be maintained at the premises and made available for inspection upon request by a Responsible Authority. Records for each person must be retained for a minimum of 24 months. 

14. A refusals register must be held at the premises and contain details of the time and date of any sales that are refused in relation to persons that are under age. This refusals register must be checked on a monthly basis by the Designated Premises Supervisor or Duty Manager and endorsed accordingly. This register must be made available for inspection upon request by a Responsible Authority. Records must be retained for a minimum of 12 months. This register can be written or electronic. 

Conditions proposed by the applicant: 

15. NO Licensable activities shall take place after 23:00 hours (11pm) Monday to Saturday and after 17:00 hours (5pm) on a Sunday.

16. 30minutes after the end of the permitted hours the event site shall be cleared of all members of the public, only employees of Dangerous Sheep Events Ltd and 3rd party employees shall remain on site for security purposes or event set up / take down. 

17. The premise licence holder shall notify all local residents with a minimum of 28 days’ notice of any planned events, and the Licencing Authorities 3 months’ notice.

18. 28 days before an even takes place on the site the Premises Licence holder shall provide two contact telephone numbers to residents to contact the event organiser in the event of any issues and noise complaints

Conditions imposed by the Licensing Sub Committee: 

• 12 events per annum with no more than one event per calendar month
• Of those 12 events 2 of those events may be of a maximum of 2 days duration with the remaining events being no more than 1 day in duration.
• There shall be a maximum limit of 2000 people present at an event at any one time
• Sale of alcohol to take place between 11am to 10.30pm
• All other licensable activities shall concluded by 11pm Monday to Saturday and 5pm on Sunday

• The event management plan that is to be submitted to the Local Authority in accordance with the operating schedule shall include details of traffic management and car parking plans
• No open containers of alcohol to be removed from the perimeter of the site

In making its decision the sub-committee had regard to the Licensing Act 2003, the Section 182 guidance together with its own statement of licensing policy.  In accordance with Section 10.8 and 10.10 of the statutory guidance the committee imposed conditions as it had regard to the location, type and characteristics of the premises where the activities are to take place. 

The sub-committee considers these conditions to be an appropriate and proportionate response in order to promote the licensing objectives and address the concerns that formed the subject of the hearing. 

The committee also reminds the residents that they have the right to bring the matter back for review at any time in the event that they consider that the licensing objectives are not being met