Agenda and minutes

The apologies of Councillors Moulton and Noon were noted. 

It was noted that following receipt of the temporary resignation of Councillor Noon, the Monitoring Officer, acting under delegated powers, had appointed Councillor Mrs Blatchford to replace them for the purposes of this meeting.

To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 February 2024 and to deal with any matters arising, attached.

RESOLVED: that the minutes for the Sub- Committee meeting on 14 February 2024 be approved and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED that the Sub-Committee move into private session in order to receive legal advice when determining issues, the parties to the hearing press and the public unless otherwise excluded by the Licensing Act 2003 (Hearings Regulations 2005), would be invited to return immediately following that private session at which time the matter would be determined and decision of the Sub-Committee announced.

The Sub-Committee considered the application for the renewal of the sexual entertainment venue (SEV) licence in respect of Wiggle, 188 Above Bar Street, Southampton, SO14 7DW.

The Sub-Committee has given due regard to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, statutory guidance, its own policy, the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, the Public Sector Equality Duty under section 149 Equality Act 2010 and Human Rights legislation.

The Licensing Enforcement Officer, the applicant and one objector were present and with the consent of the Chair addressed the meeting. The Sub-Committee noted that there were no other objections to the application, including from any statutory bodies.

The Sub-Committee carefully considered all representations and evidence both in the report and given orally at the hearing.

RESOLVED: that the application for renewal of the Sexual Entertainment licence be approved.

Reasons

The Sub-Committee received legal advice that it could not take into account their personal views about the suitability of SEV’s generally and could not take into account any moral objections.

The Sub-Committee took into account that the SEV licence had been held by Sylvan Glade Limited since 2 January 2016 without incident and with the licence being renewed annually since that date.  There had been one objection made to the application.

The objection raised issues around the condition of the building but the Sub-Committee did not feel that the alleged issues had a significant impact on the safety of the premises.

Additionally reference was made to applications in other boroughs and the impact this had on the suitability of the applicant. The Sub-Committee were careful to consider only any impact on the applicant’s suitability. From the evidence presented, the Sub-Committee was not satisfied that these examples rendered the applicant unsuitable. 

There was objection to the locality of the premises with particular reference to paragraph 5.6.3 of the Council’s policy and proximity to parks. The premises has been in its current location since 2016 and the Licensing Authority granted the licence in this location then. There was no evidence that there had been a change in character of other venues and locations in the vicinity.

The Sub-Committee were reminded to consider the Public Sector Equality Duty. In doing so the Sub-Committee was satisfied that this renewal application would not have an adverse impact. 

Based on all of the above the Sub-Committee found no good reason to refuse the renewal application.