Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Fourth Floor, Easthampstead House, Bracknell

Contact: Katharine Simpson  01344 352308

Items
No. Item

17.

Declarations of Interest

Members are asked to declare any personal or disclosable pecuniary interest in respect of any matter to be considered at this meeting.

 

Any Member with a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in a matter should withdraw from the meeting when the matter is under consideration and should notify the Democratic Services Officer in attendance that they are withdrawing as they have such an interest. If the Disclosable Pecuniary Interest is not entered on the register of Members interests the Monitoring Officer must be notified of the interest within 28 days.

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

 

18.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 73 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Licensing and Safety Committee meeting held on 12 June 2014.

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Licensing and Safety Committee held on 12 June 2014 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

 

Matters Arising:

 

Minute 8, Taxi Ranks Yorktown Road, Sandhurst:

Members reported that the signs at the taxi rank on Yorktown Road had not been removed. Officers agreed to look into this.

 

Minute 9, Authorised Garages for Testing of Licensed Vehicles

It was reported that eight firms had submitted completed questionnaires with a view to becoming authorised garages. An analysis of the responses would be completed shortly.

 

Minute 16, Licensing Panel Minutes:

It was reported that the appeal lodged by McDonalds would be heard on 10 November 2014.

19.

Urgent Items of Business

Any other items which, pursuant to Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, the Chairman decides are urgent.

Minutes:

There were no urgent items of business.

20.

Notice of Public Speaking

To note those agenda items which have received an application for public speaking

Minutes:

It was noted that no members of the public had registered to speak at the meeting.

21.

Fees and Charges pdf icon PDF 56 KB

To consider a report seeking approval to agree that the proposed fees and charges for 2015/16 go forward for further discussion and consideration as part of the Council fee setting process.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report that set out the current and proposed fees for Licensing matters for 2015-16. Members noted that some charges had not increased as the cost of administering these matters for the Council had remained unchanged. It was also noted that fees for scrap metal dealers had only recently been introduced.

 

It was RESOLVED that;

 

i)                    except for the hackney carriage vehicle and private hire operator vehicle licence fees, that the Committee recommended to the Executive that the new fees and charges detailed in Annex A of the agenda papers be put forward for public consultation.

 

ii)                   the Committee agreed that the proposed charges for operators and vehicle licence fees were:

a)      advertised;

b)      if no objections were received, implemented for any licences commencing from 1 April 2015; or

c)      if objections were received that they be considered by the Committee at the meeting on 8 January 2015.  

22.

Annual Review of Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Guidance Notes pdf icon PDF 49 KB

To consider a report seeking approval to go out to consultation on an amended version of the Council’s Guidance Notes and Conditions document for Hackney Carriages and Private Hire vehicles.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report that sought approval to go out to consultation on amendments and additions to the Council’s Guidance Notes and Conditions for Hackney Carriage, Private Hire Vehicle Owners, Operators and Drivers.

 

It was RESOLVED that the Committee;

 

i)                    approved the amendments and additions to the Guidance Notes and Conditions document as set out in Annex A of the agenda papers for consultation and

 

ii)                   required officers to bring back a report to the next meeting on the results of that consultation.

23.

Park Homes Licence Fee pdf icon PDF 69 KB

To consider a report seeking approval of fees applicable to the Licensing of Caravan Sites within Bracknell Forest following a public consultation exercise.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report that proposed the approval of fees applicable to the Licensing of Caravan Sites within Bracknell Forest which took due account of the consultation undertaken.

 

In response to Members concerns around the low response to the consultation, officers reported that they had spoken directly with residents, notices had been displayed at caravan sites and all site owners had been written to. The consultation was also available on the Bracknell Forest website portal. It seemed that most residents were aware of the changes being proposed.

 

It was RESOLVED that the Committee approved the fees, reasoning and methodology as set out in Annex A of the agenda papers and that implementation of these new fees would be from 10 October 2014, with the exception of the Annual Fee which would come into effect on 1 April 2015.

24.

Street Trading Policy: Request to Establish a Working Group pdf icon PDF 49 KB

To consider a proposal to set up a sub group of the Licensing and Safety Committee to work with officers in reviewing current practice in relation to the regulation of street trading within Bracknell Forest.

 

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report that proposed that a small sub-group of two or three committee members be established to work with officers to review current practice and consider whether any revisions were necessary to street trading policy in Bracknell Forest. If any revisions were proposed, these would be submitted to the Committee for approval.

 

It was RESOLVED that a small sub-group be established to consider existing custom and practice with a view to producing an updated Policy for consideration by the Committee. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman would be responsible for establishing the membership of this sub-group. Early expressions of interest were received from the following Members: Councillors Allen, Brunel-Walker, Gbadebo, Porter, Finch, Finnie, Leake and Thompson.

25.

Hackney Carriage Surcharge Update pdf icon PDF 63 KB

To receive a report setting out an update in respect of discussion about amendments to the tariff of fares charged by hackney carriages.

Minutes:

The Committee noted the information report.

26.

Air Quality Feedback from DEFRA pdf icon PDF 43 KB

To receive a report providing an update on the development an Air Quality Action Plan for the Borough.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee noted that Downshire Way continued to be recognised as an area that needed to be kept under review in terms of air quality. Officers reported that there was currently a programme in place to improve traffic flow around the borough, this was a two year programme and it was anticipated that it would positively impact the air quality around Downshire Way.

27.

Licensing Panel Hearings pdf icon PDF 54 KB

To note the minutes of the following Licensing Panel hearings held since the Committee’s last meeting:

 

  • Driver Hearing 6 August 2014

Minutes:

The Committee noted the minutes of the Licensing Panel held on 6 August 2014.

 

Contact Information

Democratic services

Email: committee@bracknell-forest.gov.uk