Report of the Director of Law and Governance (Monitoring Officer)

The subject of the decision:

The Director of Law and Governance submitted a report seeking consideration of an application from Environmental Health for a review of the premises licence in respect of The Royal Hotel, 57 Market Place, Thirsk.

Alternative options considered:

The Panel considered the options in paragraph 7.2 of the officer’s report. The Panel was satisfied that a suspension or revocation was not necessary to address the concerns raised but modifications of the licence were required to adequately promote the licensing objectives.

The reason for the decision:

The Panel considered the application for review, the written and oral representations of the applicant, the Licensing Act 2003 as amended, the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and the guidance issued under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003.

The Panel considered adjourning the hearing as the licence holder was not in attendance.  The Panel was satisfied that the licence holder was aware of the review proceedings having been hand-delivered a copy of the application.  The Panel was also satisfied that the relevant notice had been served on all parties and no request for an adjournment was forthcoming.  The Panel noted that no representations had been submitted by or on behalf of the licence holder.  The Panel therefore concluded that it was in the public interest to proceed with the hearing in the licence holder’s absence to address the concerns raised without further delay.

The Panel was informed that the application for the review of the licence had been submitted following concerns of public nuisance resulting from entertainment on the premises and noise from customers.

Officers of the Council’s Environmental Health Service confirmed that the last three premises licence holders have all been contacted in relation to noise concerns but the premises continue to be a source of public nuisance.

The Panel was presented with evidence gathered by Environmental Health Officers from a noise investigation commencing in August 2021.  The Panel was informed that noise monitoring equipment had twice been installed in the property of a local resident and, on both occasions, music entertainment was audible.  The Panel was also informed that officers had visited the premises three times between February and April 2022.  On each occasion, officers observed audible music from outside the property.

The Panel heard recordings taken from outside the premises and from the property of a local resident between April and July 2022.  The Panel was satisfied that the noise from entertainment and customers would be likely to cause a disturbance to nearby residents.

The Panel was informed that the premises licence holder had been served with a Community Protection Warning in March 2022 and a Noise Abatement Notice in May 2022 but neither of these measures had led to a satisfactory reduction in noise levels.

According to Environmental Health Officers, the premises licence holder had been given advice on numerous occasions on how to reduce nuisance by using a noise-limiting device, reducing bass frequency, controlling the volume, restricting the use of external areas and ensuring that  ...  view the full minutes text for item LAHP.4