The Head of Environmental Development has submitted a report (attached) concerning an application for a Sexual Entertainment Venue Licence at the premises known as “The Coven”, Oxpens Road.

 

The Sub Committee is asked to:-

 

(1)   Hear representations from the parties;

(2)   Consider all relevant information, including written representations;

(3)   Determine the application.

 

 

The Head of Environmental Development submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) concerning an application for a Sexual Entertainment Venue Licence (SEV) for the premises currently known as The Coven, Oxpens Road, Oxford.

 

Mr Gerald Gouriet QC (Counsel for the Applicant) made an application to formally amend the start time of the proposed sexual entertainment from 21.00hrs to 23.00hrs.

 

Allan Hibberd (Licensing Officer) introduced the report and drew attention to the amended start time of 23.00hrs for sexual entertainment. The following representations were then made:-

 

For the Applicant

 

Mr Gouriet presented the case for the Applicant, as follows:-

 

Hours of operation.

 

The proposed hours for sexual entertainment would be 23.00hours to 05.00hours the following day, Monday to Saturday.  It was hoped that this would avoid an overlap of hours of operation with other facilities in the area.

 

Crime and disorder

 

The club ran as The Lodge in Pennyfarthing Place for 18 months. It was significant that Thames Valley Police had not made an objection to the current application, and that they had done so in full knowledge of how The Lodge was run.

 

Many of the letters of objection to the current application referred to problems presently experienced at The Coven premises. These included noise, drug use, drunken anti-social behaviour and the unsightly nature of the premises at present. However, the current application would lead to an improvement in the area, should if be granted. It was generally acknowledged that lap dancing clubs caused the Police less concern than standard nightclubs. Fears of nuisance and crime and disorder had been raised, but it was important to remember that the licence was for one year and could be refused in the future if those fears were realised.

 

Customer Profile

 

At present there was a problem with queues at The Coven. This would not happen should the licence be granted. It should be noted that the customer profile at a lap dancing club was markedly different from that of a nightclub. Patrons of a lap dancing club did not queue to get in, the entertainment was client specific, and people arrived and left at different times during the evening. Nor would there be an issue with noisy music. A lap dancing club had a more exclusive clientele, drinks were quite costly, and music was not loud in order to allow audible conversation.

Appearance and location of the Premises

 

Should the licence be granted, a considerable sum of money (£100,000) would be spent upon improving the appearance of the building.

 

The Sub Committee was invited to impose a condition requiring that the premises be neutral in appearance, with no indication that the premises was a lap dancing club. The Sub Committee had control over the appearance of the club.

 

The Applicant had tried hard to find an appropriate site for the venue. It was submitted that it would be hard to find a better site than this one, which had a coach park next to it and a garage and warehouses close by. Whilst some coaches might drop off some tourists nearby, many did not, as many coaches simply parked there. In any case, it was intended that the premises would be anonymous.

 

Discretionary Grounds for Refusal

 

Mr Gouriet pointed out that moral objections, however deeply felt, were not grounds for a refusal of a licence.

 

He also reminded the Sub Committee that, when the Council adopted the licensing provisions, it did not state that “nil” was the appropriate number of lap dancing clubs within Oxford.

 

It was important to examine the proximity of the proposed premises to other premises, not only in terms of distance but also in terms of hours of operation. It was submitted that there was no overlap of hours for many of the premises in the area. The Ice Rink closed for public skating at 10pm. The Oxford and Cherwell College would be closed between 4.30 and 8pm during weekdays from September. The proposed lap dancing club would not commence sexual entertainment until 11pm.

 

It had been suggested that the club would have an impact on the area if it was developed in the future, however it was important and necessary to look at the character of the area as it was now, not as it might be some years hence.  Planning considerations did not apply.

 

Letters of support

 

Some letters of support had also been received. These should not be ignored. Some people, including women (one had written in support) enjoyed lap dancing. Many of the letters of support commented on how well run the venue had been in Pennyfarthing Place.

 

Other conditions

 

It was intended that a staff smoking area would be provided at the side/rear of the premises.

 

The Sub Committee was invited to impose a condition limiting the number of customers permitted in the public smoking area at any one time should not exceed 6.

 

The SEV licence for The Lodge had expired on 11^th June 2011. This had a number of conditions attached to it. The Applicant was happy for all those conditions to transfer over to any new SEV licence for The Coven.  It was understood that the previous licence included the “3 foot rule”. The Applicant was happy to have this or a “no touching” rule instead.

 

Daniel Smith (Legal Advisor, Oxford City Council) clarified that The Coven premises would have conditions already attached to its premises licence as a night club. These would continue to apply. The Applicant appeared to be offering to comply with the existing conditions for The Lodge as well. Conditions concerning smoking and hours of operation had also been offered during the hearing.

 

Answers to Questions

 

The following information was provided in answer to questions:-

 

• All staff would be aged 18 or over;
• The capacity of The Coven was 500 people. However, with the proposed change to a SEV, it was anticipated that approximately 120 clients would attend at any one time. There had never been a queue at The Lodge, because that had tended to attract a few customers who spent a lot, as opposed to many customers who spent rather less;
• The Ice Rink operated some private hire operations after 10pm, but these were not public sessions;
• To define “near” it was advisable to look at the hours of operation of other premises as well as their proximity;
• It was intended to call the new premises “The Lodge”, and it was felt that this would appear innocuous to tourists. However, if this was an issue, the Applicant would be happy to agree a change of name in consultation with appropriate City Council officers;
• The premises would simply appear as a building with its name upon it. There would be nothing externally to identify it as a SEV.

 

Interested parties objecting to the application.

 

The following people spoke in objection to the application.

 

Jon Payne, on behalf of the Parochial Church Council of St Ebbes and the Christian Legal Centre, presented his case as follows:-

 

 

 

 

 

Crime and Disorder

 

It was submitted that not too much should be drawn from the fact that the Police had not submitted an objection to the application. Regarding crime and disorder issues, the Police had limited involvement with this sort of premises.

 

Locality

 

Mr Payne submitted that the Council had looked at the locality, not in terms of licensing, but in its other policies, including the Development Framework. As a result, he suggested that the locality in which the proposed premises were placed should be the whole of the City Centre. When considering this application, the Sub Committee should take into consideration all facilities within the City Centre.

 

Mr Payne suggested that there should be no lap dancing clubs at all within the City Centre.

 

Appearance of premises

 

The Applicant had stated that the premises known as The Coven were extremely unsightly, and that a considerable sum of money needed to be spent upon them. That alone would provide grounds for refusal.

 

Name of premises

 

The Applicant would be free to call the premises any name of his choosing, unless the Sub Committee deemed otherwise.

 

Potential future development of the locality.

 

The proposed location was both unsuitable and inappropriate for a SEV application, bearing in mind not only the current use of the area but its potential future use.

 

The Sub Committee was invited to consider that the application had more affinity to the planning regime rather than the four licensing objectives. It was necessary to ask if the application was appropriate for the character of the area.

 

Other interested parties.

 

The following people also presented objections:-

 

Matthew Pope

 

Mr Pope reiterated the points made in his written submission. He advised the Sub Committee that he had found leaflets and flyers advertising The Lodge in the area, which he found unsuitable and inappropriate. This would not present a good impression to tourists should the same thing happen at the new premises. He was also concerned about sexually stimulated people walking though the area after leaving the club. He would not permit his wife and children to walk past the new premises should the application be granted, nor would they do so as a family returning from visits to London by train, and this would have a detrimental effect on their family life.

 

Councillor Oscar van Nooijen (Hinksey Park Ward)

 

Councillor Van Noojen suggested that the Sub Committee should not be swayed by any moral considerations when thinking about this application.

However, the Sub Committee should think about crime, nuisance, disorder and fears of the same. It should also consider the future development of the area, which had been earmarked potentially for housing and a primary school. It should also be noted that Oxpens Meadow was a well used public open space. The application was on the borders of St Thomas and St Ebbes neighbourhoods, both of which contained local facilities such as shops and schools. He felt that these matters should be taken into account when determining the application.

 

 

At this point, the Sub Committee withdrew to deliberate and make its decision in private, accompanied by the Committee Clerk and Legal Advisor.

 

The Sub Committee then returned and Councillor Clarkson announced that the Sub Committee was not yet in a position to announce its decision, but would do so in writing within five working days, in accordance with paragraph 26 of the Sub Committee hearing procedures.

 

The decision, subsequently released on 18^th July 2011, was as follows:

 

Having considered all representations, both written and oral, the Sub Committee RESOLVED to GRANT the application as amended for the reasons set out in the Decision Notice appended to these minutes, and subject to the conditions set out of the Decision Notice.