Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chair for the remainder of the Municipal Year. 

12.1          It was proposed, seconded and

RESOLVED           That Councillor G M Porter be appointed as Chair of the Licensing Committee for the remainder of the Municipal Year. 

When the continuous alarm sounds you must evacuate the building by the nearest available fire exit. Members and visitors should proceed to the visitors’ car park at the front of the building and await further instructions (during office hours staff should proceed to their usual assembly point; outside of office hours proceed to the visitors’ car park). Please do not re-enter the building unless instructed to do so.

In the event of a fire any person with a disability should be assisted in leaving the building.   

13.1          The evacuation procedure, as noted on the Agenda, was advised to those present.

To receive apologies for absence and advise of any substitutions. 

14.1          Apologies for absence were received from Councillors N D Adcock, C Agg, C L J Carter and R J G Smith.  There were no substitutes for the meeting. 

Pursuant to the adoption by the Council on 24 January 2023 of the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct, effective from 1 February 2023, as set out in Minute No. CL.72, Members are invited to declare any interest they may have in the business set out on the Agenda to which the approved Code applies.

16.1          The Committee’s attention was drawn to the Tewkesbury Borough Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on 24 January 2023 and took effect on 1 February 2023.

16.2          There were no declarations of interest made on this occasion.

To approve the Minutes of the Licensing Committee meeting held on 15 June 2023 and the Licensing Sub-Committee (Street Trading and Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles, Drivers and Operators) meetings held on 29 June, 17 July, 9 August, 4 September, 12 September and 26 October 2023. 

16.1          The Minutes of the Licensing Committee meeting held on 15 June 2023 and the Licensing Sub-Committee (Street Trading and Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles, Drivers and Operators) meetings held on 29 June, 17 July, 9 August, 4 September, 12 September and 26 October 2023, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as correct records and signed by the Chair. 

To endorse the revised Street Licensing Policy and recommend to the Executive Committee that it be adopted. 

17.1          The report of the Licensing Team Leader, circulated at Pages No. 18-106, set out the outcome of the consultation on the revised Street Trading Licensing Policy.  Members were asked to endorse the revised policy and recommend to the Executive Committee that it be adopted.

17.2          The Licensing Team Leader advised that the draft revised policy was approved by the Licensing Committee on 15 June 2023 for consultation.  Four comments had been received during the consultation period as attached at Appendix C to the report.  The main changes proposed were removal of the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) requirement as Gloucestershire Police undertook Police National Computer (PNC) checks on all applicants; specified consents and durations that could be applied for; addition of inclusive mobility requirements; and standard conditions for markets.  It was recommended that the Licensing Committee endorse the revised policy so it could be taken to the Executive Committee on 29 November for adoption.

17.3          Accordingly, it was proposed, seconded and

RESOLVED           That the revised Street Trading Licensing Policy be ENDORSED and that it be RECOMMENDED TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE that it be ADOPTED.

To endorse the revised Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy and to recommend to the Executive Committee that it be adopted.

18.1           Attention was drawn to the report of the Licensing Team Leader, circulated at Pages No. 107-273, which outlined the outcome of the consultation on the revised Hackney Carriage (Taxi) and Private Hire Licensing Policy.  Members were asked to endorse the revised policy and recommend to the Executive Committee that it be adopted.

18.2           The Licensing Team Leader advised that the draft revised policy was approved by the Licensing Committee on 15 June 2023 for consultation which had run between 3 July and 24 September 2023.  Several comments had been received during the consultation period as set out at Appendix B to the report.  A further representation from a private hire operator, GO Accessible Transport, was attached at Appendix C to the report.  Some of the proposals had been changed based on comments made in the consultation.  In terms of the age and emissions policy, a number of comments had been made in relation to the shortage of second hand vehicles and increased cost of vehicles since the pandemic.  All new licensed vehicles were required to be Euro 6 compliant from 1 January 2024 in line with the other authorities in Gloucestershire and it had also been intended that vehicles over five years old would not be licensed; however, it was now proposed there would be no age policy.  Whilst there would be no age limit, it was intended to introduce a mandatory compliance requirement so that vehicles under five years old would require annual inspection and vehicles over five years would require an inspection every six months to ensure they remained roadworthy and cosmetically suitable.  In terms of wheelchair accessible vehicles (WAVs), based on the comments received from GO Accessible Transport in respect of the cost of these vehicles and the need to support the school transport sector, in terms of vehicle renewal applications, it was now proposed that, from 1 January 2024, all WAVs would be renewed until they reached age 15.  All other proposals remained unchanged. 

18.3           Members were informed there had been a negative response from licence holders in relation to use of CCTV and the Department for Transport had published statistics in June which indicated only 6% of licensing authorities in the country currently mandated CCTV in licensed vehicles.  A lot of resource would be required to properly assess the introduction of CCTV, particularly in respect of the data protection requirements, which included the licensing authority becoming the data controller, so this would be revisited by the Gloucestershire Licensing Officer Group in spring 2024.  It was recommended that the Licensing Committee endorse the revised policy so it could be taken to the Executive Committee on 29 November 2023 for adoption with changes coming into effect on 1 January 2024 and a two year transition period for existing vehicles to comply.

18.4           In relation to the age of vehicles, a Member agreed that the cost of second hand vehicles had increased during the pandemic but he did not think that was the case for the last  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

The Chair 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.

19.1          On a proposal from the Chair, it was

RESOLVED           That, under Section 100(A)(4) 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 discussion 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 29 June, 17 July, 9 August, 4 September, 12 September and 26 October 2023. 

20.1          The separate Minutes of the Licensing Sub-Committee (Street Trading and Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicles, Drivers and Operators) meetings held on 29 June, 17 July, 9 August, 4 September, 12 September and 26 October 2023, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as correct records and signed by the Chair.