Agenda and minutes

11.1           The evacuation procedure, as noted on the Agenda, was taken as read. 

12.1           Apologies for absence were received from Councillors G J Bocking, R Furolo, Mrs A Hollaway and M J Williams.  There were no substitutions for the meeting. 

13.1           The Committee’s attention was drawn to the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on 26 June 2012 and took effect from 1 July 2012.

13.2           The following declarations were made:

13.3           There were no further declarations made on this occasion.

To approve the Minutes of the Licensing Committee meeting held on 16 June 2016; the Licensing Sub-Committee (Licensing Act 2003 and Gambling Act 2005) meetings held on 16 June and 1 September 2016; and the Licensing Sub-Committee (Street Trading and Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles, Drivers and Operators) meetings held on 16 June and 1 September 2016.

14.1           The Minutes of the Licensing Sub-Committee (Licensing Act 2003 and Gambling Act 2005) meetings held on 16 June and 1 September 2016; and the Licensing Sub-Committee (Street Trading and Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles, Drivers and Operators) meetings held on 16 June and 1 September 2016, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as correct records and signed by the Chair.

14.2           The Minutes of the Licensing Committee meeting held on 16 June 2016 were also approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair, subject to an amendment to Minute No. LIC.4.1 to state that Councillor Mrs K J Berry had given her apologies for the meeting. 

To approve the draft Mobile Homes and Caravan Sites Licensing Policy for a 12 week consultation with the public and relevant parties.

15.1           Attention was drawn to the report of the Licensing and Systems Officer, circulated at Pages No. 21-65, which proposed a draft Mobile Homes and Caravan Sites Licensing Policy.  Members were asked to approve the draft policy for a 12 week consultation with the public and relevant parties.

15.2           Members were advised that Tewkesbury Borough Council had responsibility for regulating mobile homes and caravan sites under the provisions of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960, Caravan Sites Act 1968 and the Mobile Homes Act 2013.  The 1960 Act had now been amended by the Mobile Homes Act 2013 which was introduced to provide greater protection to permanent occupiers of mobile home sites.  The powers included the ability for local authorities to charge fees for their licensing functions in respect of relevant protected sites i.e. sites that were wholly or partially residential.  Under the 2013 Act, there was an expectation that Councils would inspect sites annually and use the additional powers to ensure compliance with relevant site licence conditions.   In addition, Councils could serve enforcement notices and publish any site rules relating to a site.  In 2008, the Council had adopted Model Standards for residential caravan sites and approved standard conditions for residential caravan sites, both of which were included as appendices to the draft policy, attached at Appendix A to the report.  The Council had also authorised Officers to take steps to impose new conditions, if approved, on some or all existing licensed residential caravan sites, particularly those at risk of flooding.  Those resolutions were annexed to the draft policy which brought together all three documents into a single policy that would be easier to monitor going forward.  Members noted that some elements were only applicable to residential sites, and others only to holiday sites, but both were covered within the policy.  Due to the nature of the Environmental Health staffing structure, the fees structure had been based on a generic Officer charge of £25 per hour.  The Finance department had indicated that this may be reviewed and adjusted slightly and the Committee was asked to consider whether it would be happy for the Chair and Vice-Chair to review the rate in such circumstances, or whether it should be brought back to the Committee.  The Chair suggested that, if Members were minded to approve the draft policy for consultation, it should be subject to the Finance Officer amending the Officer charge to up to £40 per hour.

15.3           During the debate which ensued, a Member drew attention to Page No. 35, Section 3 ‘Roads, Gateways and Overhead Cables’, which stated that ‘roads shall be designed to provide adequate access for emergency vehicles and routes within the site for such vehicles must be kept clear of obstruction at all times’.  She had noticed that the residential caravan sites within Cheltenham were not always numbered in a logical way and this could create difficulties for emergency vehicles or in a flood situation when vulnerable people needed to be identified  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

The Chairman will move the adoption of the following resolution:

That under Section 100(A)(4) Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

16.1           On a proposal from the Chair, it was

RESOLVED          That, under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act. 

To approve the separate Minutes of the Licensing Sub-Committee (Street Trading and Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles, Drivers and Operators) meetings held on 16 June and 1 September 2016.

17.1           The separate Minutes of the Licensing Sub-Committee (Street Trading and Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles, Drivers and Operators) meetings held on 16 June and 1 September 2016 were approved as correct records and signed by the Chair.