Agenda item

Licensing Act 2003 - Olive Grove Club, Heeley Bank Road, Sheffield S2 3GE

Report of the Chief Licensing Officer

Minutes:

5.1

The Chief Licensing Officer submitted a report on an application made under Section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003, for the grant of a premises licence in respect of premises known as Olive Grove.

 

 

5.2

Present at the meeting were Chris Grunert (Solicitor for the applicant), Paul Rodgers and Peter Sutton (Applicants), Jayne Gough (Licensing Strategy and Policy Officer), Marie-Claire Frankie (Legal Adviser to the Sub-Committee) and Jennie Skiba (Democratic Services).

 

 

5.3

Marie-Claire Frankie outlined the procedure which would be followed during the hearing.

 

 

5.4

Jayne Gough presented the report to the Sub-Committee, and it was noted that representations had been received from two local residents and were attached at Appendix “B” to the report.  Ms. Gough said that the objectors had been invited to attend the hearing but were not in attendance.   Chris Grunert said that there was an error on the application which had been submitted in the name of Peter Rodgers, when in fact the applicant’s name was Paul Rodgers.

 

 

5.5

Chris Grunert stated that the Olive Grove Club was formerly the Sheffield Works Department staff club for which employees had contributions deducted from their wages but has now changed to a community club operating under a Club Premises Certificate.  He said that the applicants were looking to hold a premises licence and were not seeking to extend the licence.  He said that discussions had been held around the 2.00 a.m. terminal hour on Thursdays to Sunday and the applicants were not willing to reduce that.  Chris Grunert stated that the club would want to retain its membership but also make the premises available to non-members through a ticketing system.  He said that the club was also a sports club, having a number of football teams associated with it and wanted to extend hospitality to visiting teams.  Mr. Grunert said that with a premises licence in place, the club would benefit from having Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) and was currently applying for a personal licence.  With regard to the objections received regarding noise nuisance, Chris Grunert stated that following discussions with the Environmental Protection Service (EPS), a noise monitoring board had been installed and the amplified sound system had been fitted with a sound limiting facility which would impose limits on amplified sound or live music within the building to ensure noise breakout did not exceed the prevailing ambient noise level.  Chris Grunert then referred to alleged dispersal issues and said these were of a sporadic nature.  He said that polite notices were prominently displayed on all exits reminding customers to leave quietly, as did the DJ and there were no off-sales or carry out drinking vessels.  He said that the management of the club was moving to be run on a more professional level and he referred to the training manual as approved by the EPS.

 

 

5.6

In response to questions from Members of, and the Solicitor to, the Sub-Committee, Chris Grunert stated that the current licence limited the club to members only.  He said the principal differences would be ticketing to non-members and the hiring out of the function room.  He added that South Yorkshire Police had suggested that having a DPS would improve the running of the club.  He said the applicants would be prepared to close before 2.00 a.m. on Thursdays.  He said it was expected of everyone using the premises to behave responsibly, both inside and when leaving the premises and as far as he was aware, there had only been two complaints.  With regard to the long driveway, he said that the club had been there for more than 20 years and there had never been any accidents, it was felt that the drive was wide enough for two cars to pass each other.  He said that speed limit signs were in place and these would be kept under review.  For those customers requiring taxis, private hire taxis were called up to the venue, no-one was picked up on the main road.  Peter Sutton stated that the drive formed part of the land on which the club resides and the whole area belongs to the club, however the City Council have stated that they own the land and as such negotiations were ongoing for the club to be granted a 30-year lease of the land.  Finally, the applicants stated that they were willing for a contact number to be made available to local residents should they have cause for complaint.

 

 

5.7

Chris Grunert summarised the case on behalf of the applicants.

 

 

5.8

Jayne Gough outlined the options available to the Sub-Committee.

 

 

5.9

RESOLVED: That the public and press and attendees involved in the application be excluded from the meeting before further discussion takes place on the grounds that, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, if those persons were present, there would be a disclosure to them of exempt information as described in paragraph 5 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.

 

 

5.10

Marie-Claire Frankie reported orally, giving legal advice on various aspects of the application.

 

 

5.11

At this stage in the proceedings, the meeting was re-opened to the public and press and attendees.

 

 

5.12

RESOLVED: That, in the light of the information contained in the report now submitted and the representations now made and the responses to the questions raised, the Sub-Committee agrees to grant a premises licence in respect of the premises known as Olive Grove Club, Heeley Bank Road, Sheffield S2 3GE (Ref No. 68/21) be granted in the terms requested in accordance with the modified operating schedule and the following condition:

 

 

 

(a)      the premises is to advertise at the premises and make available, a managers contact number for all hours that the premises is open to the public; and

 

 

 

(b)      notes the additional points of clarification:

 

 

 

·                the applicant’s name is Paul Rodgers

 

·                the premises name is Olive Grove Sports Club

 

·                the all saints days referred to, are the four patron saint days, i.e. St. George, St. Andrew, St. David and St. Patrick.

 

 

 

(NOTE: The full reasons for the Sub-Committee’s decision will be included in the written Notice of Determination).

 

 

 

Supporting documents: