Agenda and minutes

Venue: Town Hall, Moorgate Street, Rotherham. S60 2TH

Contact: Debbie Pons, Principal Democratic Services Officer 

Items
No. Item

12.

Club/Premises Certificate (Licensing Act 2003) - Land off Guilthwaite Common Lane, Upper Whiston pdf icon PDF 7 MB

Minutes:

Consideration was given to an application for the grant of a Premises Licence, under the provisions of the Licensing Act 2003, in respect of farming land adjacent to the A618 Pleasley Road and off Guilthwaite Common Lane within the Parish of Whiston, Rotherham.

 

The Licensing Authority received representations which were not withdrawn and the Sub-Committee considered those representations.

 

The applicant explained that the intention was to obtain a premises licence for a field (previously used for agricultural purposes) in order to provide regulated entertainment, as a commercial enterprise, to be entitled the “Wheat Beat Weekender”. There would be one event per year, beginning in 2019 and initially the event would last from Friday afternoon until very late in the evening of the next day (Saturday).  The future years’ events may last from Thursday until Sunday.

 

In addition, the applicant detailed the proposed event management arrangements, car parking, traffic management, health and safety, toilet facilities, the removal and disposal of refuse/waste and also post event site restoration, including grass seeding. There would be a designated “blue route” specifically for use by emergency services’ vehicles. Persons attending the event would have to purchase tickets in advance of the selected date, via the dedicated Internet web site. There would be no permitted admission to the event by payment of cash on arrival at the site entry point.

 

The intention was to provide a range of regulated (public) entertainment (with live music of varied styles, including Bhangra, folk, jazz and rock music), poetry recitals, the sale of hot and cold food and the sale of alcohol. A stage for performers would be erected within the site, for the duration of the event. The aim of the event was to be family-oriented and visitors would be offered the facility of camping on an area of ground within the licensed site.

 

The applicant referred to his current experience within management planning, health and safety and sound recording.

 

The planning of the event provided for 300 hundred visitors in the first year, with a year-on-year increase to as many as 4,000 visitors in the fifth year of the event.

 

The Sub-Committee heard from a Borough Councillor, as representative of the electoral Ward in which the site was situated, who stated that a dozen residents had attended a Councillors’ Ward surgery and had raised concerns about the licence application and the proposed event. The specific concerns related to traffic congestion caused both by vehicles servicing the site and by visitors to the event, especially along the A618 Pleasley Road, which was already subject to heavy traffic congestion particularly at the peak commuter hours.  There were other concerns about the noise from the entertainment, especially loud music and the noise and public nuisance caused by persons both within and leaving the site very late in the evening, with the consumption of alcohol possibly exacerbating these problems. It was anticipated that the concerns of nearby residents would be likely to increase in future years if larger numbers of visitors were  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.