Minutes:
Mr Lee, the Licence Holder, presented his case. He confirmed that only the Community Safety and Neighbourhood Nuisance Team had supported the review application and there had been no representations from the other Responsible Authorities. He stated that the Police had commended the operation of their Business and had no complaints.
He referred to the noise log provided by the Applicant and explained that although it provided lots of detail not all entries were pertinent to Hanse House. He explained that there were 33 observations made by Ms Watling, however only fifteen could be attributed to Hanse House, as it had only been used on fifteen occasions during the log period.
He referred to the log entry of 16th May 2015 in which the Applicant stated that she had informed Community Safety and Neighbourhood Nuisance of a disturbance. However this was a Temporary Event Notice which had been arranged by the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk to celebrate the Hanseatic Anniversary Celebrations. He also referred to an entry for 3rd July 2015 and explained that there was a Wedding in the venue, but it had finished by midnight. The Licence Holder explained that he had reduced the volume of the music at 11.15pm for the event on 25th July 2015 and on 6th August there was no live music at the venue, just a Salsa Class.
The Licence Holder went on to explain that on 4th December 2015 the Applicant had stated that noise from the venue would have been louder had it not been for the strong winds and the Licence Holder felt that this was just speculation and could not be treated as evidence. He also commented that the music was finished by 11.30pm, which was within his licensed hours. The Licence Holder also referred to the entry for 30th December 2015 which stated that the windows to Hanse House Courtyard were open and Mr Lee explained that he was under no obligation to close these windows.
Mr Lee explained that on 19th March 2016 the Applicant had logged a nuisance. However this was a 40th Birthday Party with a Ceilidh Band which was acoustic.
The Licence Holder also referred to the logs made during the Hanse Weekend and explained that the Fireworks were nothing to do with Hanse House.
The Licence Holder informed those present that sixty one people had signed to support the current operation of the premises. He had also received letters of support from residents of Hanse House who lived a lot closer to the licensed venue than Ms Watling.
The Licence Holder offered to read out some of the letters of support from the residents of Hanse House, however following advice from the Legal Advisor it was felt that the letters raised issues regarding a personal dispute, which was not a consideration for the Licensing Committee and was therefore not relevant. The Chairman confirmed that the Sub-Committee had received documentation provided by Mr Lee in advance of the Hearing.
The Licence Holder concluded that he had been operating the premises for three years with no other objections. He felt that if licensed hours were reduced at the venue he would have difficulty promoting it as a Wedding Venue, as he already faced competition from nearby venues such as the Town Hall, which was licensed until 1.00am. He believed that he had acted within his Licence and been responsible. He commented that the original application for the venue had asked to operate until 1.00am, but a compromise of midnight had been made.
The Chairman thanked the Licence Holder for presenting his case and invited questions from all parties.
The Licensing Manager asked the Licence Holder to provide more details on the allegations, contained within the Applicant’s noise log, in relation to the premises operating beyond the licensed hours. Mr Lee commented that he had stuck to the times, with the exception of a couple of occasions at Weddings when they had run over by about ten minutes.
Ms Watling asked if the residents of Hanse House were employees and friends of Mr Lee. Mr Lee confirmed that only one tenant was an employee.
The Community Safety and Neighbourhood Nuisance Officer referred to the Ceilidh Party on 19th March 2016, which the Licence Holder had reported was acoustic only and she asked that if any point there was any amplified music. It was explained that the Ceilidh was in Hanse House, and there may have been amplified music at the Rathskeller, which was not relevant to this application. It was stated that there was a meal at Hanse House and an iPod dock was used, but during the Ceilidh there was no amplified music.
Dr Litten asked if Mr Lee was present at the venue when the disturbances had been logged by Ms Watling. Me Lee commented that he was frequently present at the venue and staff did do checks. During the evenings reported on the log, Mr Lee stated that either himself, his daughter or his wife were present at the premises.
Dr Litten asked what steps were taken to ensure that events finished at the correct time and Mr Lee explained that it was made clear to all bookings what the terminal hour was and they were also reminded during the evening. The volume of music was also reduced at 11.30pm. He stated that he would intervene if there was a problem.
Councillor Squire referred to the Noise Management Plan and that the original licence stated that this should be submitted within 28 days with agreed levels. She asked why this had not been done. Mr Lee stated that there was a change in staff within the Community Safety and Neighbourhood Nuisance Team and wires got crossed and it got missed.