Hearings
If the Licensing Authority decides that representations are relevant, it must hold a hearing to consider them. In the meantime, the Licensing Authority, the applicant and any person or body who has made representation can negotiate an agreeable way forward, and where written agreement is reached between all parties, the hearing may be cancelled.
The Licensing Authority strongly encourages all parties to mediate, and will assist, where possible, in the facilitation of mediation discussions.
Where agreement can not be reached, the hearing will take place before a Licensing Sub-Committee, which is made up of three Elected Members from the Council's Licensing Committee.
The applicant, persons making representation, and any responsible authority will receive a Notice of Hearing. The Notice will set out the date, time and location and explains the procedure to be followed at the hearing. The Notice will be sent out within the prescribed statutory timescales. Please note that you are required to respond to this Notice.
All parties who have submitted a representation will be able to address the Sub-Committee. No new grounds of objection may be raised at this stage and parties are limited to speaking to matters outlined in their original representation and response to Notice of Hearing, although detail provided may be expanded upon.
Where you have chosen to use a representative, only they may speak on your behalf. However, Members may still wish to direct questions to applicants, even in cases where they are represented.
Please note that parties will all be given an equal amount of time in which to address the Sub-Committee, but that time period may be limited by the Chairman of the Sub-Committee - for example, where there are numerous objections, speaking time may be limited to 5 minutes, or the Chairman may request, where lots of similar representations have been made, that a spokesperson is nominated.
The Sub-Committee will not permit cross-examination between parties.
Please be assured that if for any reason you are unable to attend the hearing, the Sub-Committee will still consider your written representation.
The Sub-Committee will normally announce their decision at the hearing, and written confirmation will be distributed to all parties following the hearing.
If any party is aggrieved by the decision, an appeal may be made to the Magistrates' Court. An appeal has to be commenced by the appellant giving notice of appeal to the designated officer for the magistrates' court within a period of 21 days beginning with the day on which the appellant was notified by the licensing authority of the decision which is being appealed.