Agenda and minutes

To note any substitution of Committee Members in accordance with Council Procedure Rules.

Apologies for absence was received from Councillor Ian Walsh for whom Councillor Watson attended as a substitute, and from Councillor Jane Quinton for whom Councillor Adrienne Nix attended as a substitute.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 18 June 2024 (previously circulated).

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 June 2024 were approved as a correct record.

There were no items of urgent business.

To note declarations of Members’ disclosable pecuniary interests, non-disclosable pecuniary interests and non-pecuniary interests in respect of items on the Agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

Report of the Executive Director (Resident Services and Climate Change)

The Licensing Team Leader introduced the report which clarified changes to the temporary pavement licensing regime under the Business and Planning Act 2020 (which were implemented as a temporary measure during the Covid pandemic) and the impact of the changes to this regime made by the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 became law last year and the provisions to make the temporary pavement licence scheme permanent came into force on 31 March 2024. The provisions had introduced changes including a new capped level    fee structure for new and renewal applications. The fees levels were capped at a maximum amount of £500 for new applications and £350 for renewals. Licences could be issued for up to two years; the fee for a temporary pavement licence had been £100 for a year. The fees would cover the application process based on officers’ hourly rate and oncosts.

There had been some changes under the Act, one of which was that the duration of the consultation and determination periods would increase from 7 to 14 days. The maximum term of a licence was now two years whereas it had previously been one. Pavement licences could now be amended by the local authority with the approval of the licence holder if it was considered the conditions on the licence were not being met. A new enforcement schedule provided powers to the local authority to remove furniture if a premises was not abiding by the pavement licence’s conditions and hours. Pavement licences would be issued with local and national conditions and were set   out in Appendix B of the report. One of the benefits of the procedures was that once a pavement licence was granted, the premises would benefit from deemed planning permission for the furniture for the duration of the licence.

A member asked how furniture was defined. Officers said it was moveable and could not be fixed to the ground. A-boards were a planning matter.

One of the local conditions was that ‘The licence holder shall provide suitable barriers around the licensed area but only such as have been firstly approved by the council.’ A member noted that occasionally, some premises had tables and chairs outside but no barrier. Officers advised some licences still came under Highways at Hertfordshire County Council as two regimes had run in parallel; the licenses Welwyn Hatfield had issued under the temporary scheme would all have barriers and officers would work with Hertfordshire staff on licences they (Hertfordshire) had issued. Hertfordshire’s licences had been issued under different legislation; the Business and Planning Act had come in during the pandemic to facilitate getting people outside of premises. Older licences granted under the Highways Act would subsequently come under Welwyn Hatfield.

RESOLVED

(Unanimous)

The Committee:

1. Agreed to recommend to full Council for approval the new maxima fees of £500 for a new two-year pavement licence and £350 for a renewal pavement licence; and
2. Approved the new policy for pavement licensing.

Report of the Executive Director (Resident Services and Climate Change)

The Licensing Team Leader introduced the report as set out in the agenda. The Council in its capacity as the licensing authority was obliged by law to have a Statement of Licensing policy that was formally reviewed and published every five years and which must be published before it carried out any function in respect of individual applications and notices made under the terms of the Act. Part of the review consisted of a consultation that had taken place between 18 March to 9 June 2024. Four responses were received: one from Welwyn Parish Council, one from North Mymms Parish Council, both of whom had requested additions and changes to the wording of the policy, and two respondents who had made no comments. Some of the requested changes were in primary legislation and the Licensing Team Leader took the meeting through a presentation which identified the other requested changes.

Welwyn Parish Council had wanted some weblinks to be changed to welhat.gov.uk/licensing. Online applications currently went through gov.uk which would no longer exist after March 2026 and would then go through the system the Council would set up, so officers were proposing the link be changed on the Welwyn Hatfield website.  

Welwyn Parish Council had raised concerns about the inclusion of new psychoactive substances (NPS). Officers felt NPS should be included as they could have the same effect as controlled drugs, whereas the parish council felt this meant licensees were expected to take too much responsibility for NPS and were concerned landlords might face severe penalties for their patrons’ actions despite the fact that the substances might be legal. However the policy included examples of actions landlords could take which was supported by the British Beer and Pub Association’s guide to keeping pubs free of drugs, which suggested a zero tolerance approach to NPS.

Welwyn Parish Council wanted the policy reframed to reflect a collaborative approach (rather than a zero tolerance approach). The policy set out the expectations around controlled drugs and NPS. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) required sufficient evidence before a prosecution could proceed. The government had committed to strengthening legislation around NPS, so section 17.5 of the policy did not seem unreasonable. However, the CPS had laid out strict controls for identification of substances and enforcement action could not be taken against any premises if substances used were not illegal. A member wondered whether landlords would know if patrons were using NPS. Officers noted they could have the same effect as controlled drugs and that there could be delays with legislation ‘catching up’ with drugs, for example, nitrous oxide had not been illegal last year but now was. A member expressed support for the inclusion of NPS in the policy and another commented that landlords generally took precautions to minimise drug use.              

 A member queried whether the committee should know more about the NPS before determining whether they should be included in the policy; if the substances were to be made illegal at a later date then by  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.