These Minutes should be referred to in conjunction with the Minutes of the subsequent meeting of the Council, where they are presented; and for completeness to the next relevant meeting

when the Minutes are adopted.

ELMBRIDGE BOROUGH COUNCIL

LICENSING SUB-COMMITTEE

REPORT of a meeting held on Thursday, 30 June 2016 (2.00 p.m.)

Members of the Committee:

* A. Kelly (Chairman) * V.G. Eldridge * Mrs. A.E. Hill

* Denotes attendance

5/15 APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN FOR THE HEARING

The Sub-Committee appointed A. Kelly as its Chairman for the hearing.

6/15 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest.

MATTERS OF REPORT TO THE LICENSING COMMITTEE

7/15 PROCEDURE The Procedure to be adopted for the hearing was noted by the Sub-Committee.

8/15 APPLICATION TO REVIEW A CLUB PREMISES CERTIFICATE UNDER THE LICENSING ACT 2003 - THAMES DITTON CRICKET CLUB (Link to Council Priorities: A Safe, Caring and Healthy Elmbridge, A vibrant and thriving Elmbridge) The Sub-Committee was addressed by M. Galvayne, Licensing Officer

of Elmbridge Borough Council; Mr. & Mrs. Lawson, review applicants; and Mr. P. Kennedy & Mr. C. Rigby of Thames Ditton Cricket Club.

The Sub-Committee considered a review application of the Club Premises Certificate of Thames Ditton Cricket Club, Giggs Hill Road, Thames Ditton, KT7 0BT. Mr. Galvayne, the Council’s Licensing Officer, introduced the application highlighting the various documents that had been set out in the agenda papers. Mr. Galvayne explained that the Cricket Club had submitted a variation to its Club Premises Certificate in respect of the opening hours, supply of alcohol hours and recorded music hours, which was different to the one included in the agenda papers and of which had been agreed the previous day. Mr. Galvayne explained that in addition to the conditions already agreed by the Cricket Club, Mr & Mrs Lawson were seeking two additional conditions, one in respect of

These Minutes should be referred to in conjunction with the Minutes of the subsequent meeting of the Council, where they are presented; and for completeness to the next relevant meeting

when the Minutes are adopted. customers needing to have left the premises within 30 minutes of the end of regulated entertainment or the end of the permitted hours for the sale of alcohol whichever was the later; and that customers should not be permitted to use any external part of the premises e.g. outside drinking areas, the balcony, for any purposes after 10 pm except for access to and from the premises. Mr & Mrs Lawson addressed the Sub-Committee and explained the reasons why they had applied for a review of the Club Premises Certificate. Mrs. Lawson explained that the noise issue was due to the proximity of their house to the pavilion. She accepted that the noise associated with the Club during the day was part of everyday life, however when the noise continued late in to the evening and at weekends this had caused issues for her family when trying to sleep and also increased stress and anxiety levels which would in effect ruin their weekend and make them tired and stressed by the time work commenced again. Mrs. Lawson commented that even with double glazing, the noise could still be heard. Mrs. Lawson further accepted that due to the proximity of the house, noise would occur but considered that a cut off time of 10 pm would be acceptable. Mrs. Lawson then advised that she had a video that she would like to show Members of a party that was held in 2014 that showed the extent of the noise levels that occurred. The Council’s Law Practice Manager explained that as this was new information, the applicant would need to have had sight of this and be happy for this information to be given. The Cricket Club representatives advised that they were aware of the video and were happy for the video to be shown to the Sub-Committee. Mrs Lawson explained that in the past there had been issues with the attitude from the Cricket Club however since the submission of the review this had improved and she wanted to thank Mr. Rigby for the time and effort that he had put in to addressing the issues. However, in respect of the condition regarding the sub-woofer being switched off at 10 pm, she was concerned that the Club could purchase another speaker which would not have any restrictions imposed on it. Mr. Lawson then explained that in summary they considered that their suggested recommendations in respect of the operating hours was reasonable as these were comparable to similar premises and that he was not aware of any other Cricket Club in the Borough that had a licence to play music after midnight. Mr. Lawson commented that the pavilion was not a sports bar, public house or late night lock-in establishment but a Cricket Club located within a residential area surrounded by properties. He further commented that whilst positive action had been taken by the Club, he would like the licence to be such that if the current representatives were to move on, the restrictions would still be adhered to. The Sub-Committee was then addressed by Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Rigby. Mr. Kennedy explained that he had taken over as Club Chairman in 2015 and that from a financial point the bar was their largest source of income. Mr. Kennedy wanted to thank Mr and Mrs Lawson, because since submitting their complaint, he had been unaware of what his responsibilities were as Chairman. He had been told that he did not need to advise the Council of any

These Minutes should be referred to in conjunction with the Minutes of the subsequent meeting of the Council, where they are presented; and for completeness to the next relevant meeting

when the Minutes are adopted. changes other than when there was a new Club Treasurer. He was unaware that the Club would be in breach of the licence if the Club was hired out by non-members and in this regard this activity had ceased immediately. Mr. Kennedy acknowledged that the pavilion was not a public house and that he wanted to have a good relationship with the Lawson’s going forward and to ensure that this was further improved by keeping lines of communication open. Mr. Kennedy explained that the Club would no longer have disc jockeys or live music, and that the recorded music via the sub-woofer would cease at 10 pm. In addition, the sub-woofer speaker had been moved from its original position, which was close to the Lawson’s house, and he was unaware of any issues since this had been undertaken. Mr. Kennedy stated that his main point in respect of the opening hours was that a number of the players might not return to the club house following a match until after 9 pm. Accordingly he would not want the hours to be restricted so that the players could return to the Club and have a drink together. Mr. Kennedy explained that the Club was already addressing the issues and had recently engaged with Mark Plummer, the Council’s Environmental Health Assistant in order to measure the noise levels and was happy for this to continue. Mr. Rigby explained that he also acknowledged the points that had been raised by Mr and Mrs Lawson and that the noise level had been unacceptable. However, the Cricket Club Committee had already agreed for an individual to become the personal licence holder for the Club and that this was going to be his wife which would mean there would be more responsibility held. Mr. Kennedy further explained that the Club had initiated a membership card facility for patrons to ensure that only appropriate members were served alcohol whilst on the premises. The Sub-Committee then took the opportunity to ask Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Rigby a number of questions. One Sub-Committee Member noted that within the agenda papers there was a couple of photos that highlighted that televised sporting events such as the Rugby World Cup 2015 was to be broadcast by the Club and enquired as to what extent these sorts of events were being held. Mr. Kennedy explained that the Committee had agreed for Sky Sports to be installed during the summer of 2015 in order to attract people to the bar so that they could watch a match at the same time. Mr. Kennedy commented that the majority of the Rugby World Cup matches had been held during the day and people would generally leave after these had finished. In addition to the Rugby World Cup, the Cricket Club had shown the occasional England football match, and hoped that the one held recently had not caused any concerns to neighbours however a decision had been made to not broadcast weekly premiership matches going forward. As a follow up question, the Sub-Committee Member commented that one photo had highlighted that non-members were welcome to attend these events however under the terms of the licence, this was not allowed. Mr. Rigby explained that he had only recently taken over the Club when this event was advertised and that he was unaware that this was not allowed and had ensured

These Minutes should be referred to in conjunction with the Minutes of the subsequent meeting of the Council, where they are presented; and for completeness to the next relevant meeting

when the Minutes are adopted. that this had not happened since. In addition, Mr. Rigby explained that he would challenge any person that he was unsure of being a Member of the Club and hoped that the new membership card initiative would address this. In answer to a question regarding associate Members, Mr. Rigby explained that if an individual was a member of another Cricket Club then they would become an associate Member of the Thames Ditton Cricket Club and would be served accordingly. If an individual could not be recognised, they would be challenged and questioned as to their membership. One Sub-Committee Member enquired whether the Cricket Club had a local residents’ Member present on their Committee or entertainment Committee. Mr. Kennedy explained that they only had one Committee and unfortunately did not have a local resident Member present on it. One Member asked what level of contact was in place between the Cricket Club and the neighbours if a noise disturbance was to occur. Mr. Rigby that personal mobile numbers had been provided to Mr & Mrs Lawson for them to use if there were any issues. In addition, the Club was in the process of having a new landline telephone installed and had purchased a separate mobile phone in order for the bar/club to be contacted. One Member enquired whether the Cricket Club had considered investing in any sound proofing at premises. Mr Rigby explained that during the meeting with Mark Plummer he had advised that the structure of the building was not suitable for sound proofing given how much the costs would be. Mr. Rigby acknowledged that the bass noise and vibrations created by the sub-woofer was the cause of the noise disturbance and therefore by turning this off at 10 pm this would alleviate this issue. Mr. Kennedy re-iterated that the Club wanted to work with Mr & Mrs Lawson in conjunction with the Council to understand what the actual problems were and to see how they could be rectified. Mr. Rigby further commented that in his opinion he did not think that by restricting the sale of alcohol it would make any difference to the noise disturbance given that they accepted that the noise created by the sub-woofer was the main issue. One Sub-Committee Member enquired why the Club required a sub-woofer given the size of the premises. Mr. Rigby explained that the bar was located in a square room which had reasonably high ceilings with a large television placed on one wall. If there were 50-60 members present, anyone sitting at the bar would be unable to hear the sound from the television; the soundbar was used in order to distribute the sound evenly across the room. In answer to a question regarding recorded music, the Licensing Officer explained that the position in respect of licensable entertainment and in particular recorded music, where this was provided during the hours of 8 am and 11 pm at a premises licensed to sell alcohol, then this in itself would not be a licensable activity and any conditions imposed would have no effect unless the licence was being reviewed.

These Minutes should be referred to in conjunction with the Minutes of the subsequent meeting of the Council, where they are presented; and for completeness to the next relevant meeting

when the Minutes are adopted. Mr and Mrs Lawson were then provided with a further opportunity to address the Sub-Committee. Mr. Lawson commented that during the meeting there had been a lot of discussion in respect of the recorded music rather that the opening hours and the sale of alcohol. In Mr. Lawson’s opinion the sale of alcohol was a factor in the amount of noise created and, given the financial constraints that the Club had indicated, there was a drive to increase the sale of alcohol during the opening hours. Mr Lawson commented that the Club was mostly used during Friday, Saturday and Sunday and asked that the Sub-Committee consider an appropriate set of conditions for the Premises given that they lived next door and the issues that they had raised. Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Rigby were then provided with a further opportunity to address the Sub-Committee. Mr. Kennedy wanted to re-iterate the point that he had been unaware of all the licensing responsibilities that he had as Chairman of the Cricket Club. The Club were not looking for any changes to the Premises Club Certificate but understood the concerns raised by the neighbours. The Sub-Committee withdrew to deliberate. Having considered all the evidence, the Sub-Committee decided that the Club Premises Certificate should be modified with conditions as set out in the attached decision notice.

- - - - - - - The meeting commenced at 2.05 p.m. The Sub-Committee withdrew at 3.04 p.m.,

returned at 4.48 p.m. and concluded at 4.50 p.m.

A. KELLY Chairman

Democratic Services Officer M. Clarke Committee and Member Services Officer Other Officers in attendance Mrs. C. Herbert - Law Practice Manager M. Galvayne - Licensing Officer