The Senior Licensing Officer
introduced the report. All parties were
encouraged to submit any evidence in advance of the hearing for
circulation. A statement from Alastair
Weatherstone had been circulated to all members who confirmed their
receipt of the statement. It was also
distributed to the objector; however, no comments were
received. The Senior Licensing Officer
informed the committee members that the licence conditions had not
been published and were circulated to members.
The Senior Licensing officer
outlined his report to consider an application by Admiral Bars
(Herts) Limited to renew the Sexual Entertainment Venue licence
(SEV) of Diamonds and Strings, 9 Market Street,
Watford. The licence holder was
represented today by Robert Sutherland.
This concerned the renewal of a sexual entertainment venue licence
under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act
1982. It was worth noting that the
original application was submitted as part of a request to both
renew and subsequently vary the SEV licence. However, the Sub-Committee's focus was solely on
the renewal application at that time.
The premises were situated on Market Street between the High Street
and Exchange Road. Under Part C of the
council's sex establishment licensing policy, one SEV licence was
deemed appropriate for the location.
During the consultation period,
representations against this application were received from a local
resident. As a legal requirement, the
name and address of all objectors could not be disclosed to the
applicant without explicit consent. The
details had been disclosed to the Sub-Committee in accordance with
policy. These representations concerned
the proximity of a bus stop to the premises. The council's Transport & Infrastructure team
verified the presence of a bus stop in this location for at least
eight years.
There were no questions from
Members.
There were no questions from
the Applicant.
There were no questions from
the Council’s Legal Advisor.
Address by the Applicant
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The representative for the
applicant, Robert Sutherland, addressed the committee and referred
to the statement released by Alastair Weatherstone. He also
introduced a minor amendment, specifically in paragraph 4, stating
that the venue did not offer light snacks.
Mr. Sutherland elaborated on
several key points:
1.
He highlighted that the committee's policy, as
referenced by the Senior Licensing Officer, supported the existence
of these premises in its current location. Furthermore, it had
recently undergone public consultation, during which no comments
were received regarding this particular
premises and its location.
2.
The application had successfully passed through
public consultation, which was put into perspective by considering
the number of people consulted town-wide.
3.
It was emphasised that there were no objections from
the police, a significant endorsement
and no objections from any responsible authorities.
4.
The history of the premises was addressed, with the
history of the bus stop. A statement regarding the history of the
premises underscored that the initial application for this
premises' SEV was granted in front of the committee,
...
view the full minutes text for item 10.
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