RESOLVED:  That Councillor John Bowcott be appointed Chair of the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Chair opened the meeting, introduced the Committee and Legal Officer and outlined the procedure to be followed during the meeting as detailed in the main agenda pack.

Matthew Phipps, representing the applicant, presented the application advising that this was the second application  by the Applicant for this location and the 7^th overall for the event, having previously been held in Hatfield House. Mr Phipps stated that there had been many representations received for the first application in 2017 from Responsible Authorities, noting that their overriding concern was how the event would be managed and delivered. Mr Phipps advised that it was the Applicants’ view that the event had passed off satisfactorily and this was evidenced by the absence of any representations from any of the responsible authorities including those who had put in representations for the 2017 event. The Applicant also noted that they had worked hard to ensure that the Registry Office, who had concerns in 2017 were not disturbed and noted they had not made any objection to the 2018 event.

The Applicants’ representative advised that following the 2017 event, the Safety Advisory Group had met and de-briefed and that the dialogue between them was still continuing and was informing the application for the 2018 event.

The Applicants’ representative gave an overview of the application itself noting the hours and licensable activities sought and drawing the Committee’s attention to the comprehensive operating schedule, noting the conditions offered had all been discussed with the responsible Authorities.

The Applicants’ representative advised that the Applicant was aware of several areas where improvements could be made and gave an overview of those as follows:

1)    Queuing – The Applicants’ representative informed the Committee that this would be enhanced  in 2018 to avoid long queueing times which occurred in 2017. There would be a split queue allowing twice the ability to queue and an additional VIP queue.

2)    Litter & Waste Management – There was room for improvement in this area and these would be included in the Waste Management Plan.

3)    More portaloos were to be provided outside the venue and the locations of these would be discussed with the Local Authority.

The Applicants’ representative stated that this aside, they were of the view that they had a good year in 2017.

Addressing the issues raised by residents in their representations, the Applicants’ representative advised the following:

-       Noise: The 2017 had complete compliance with the noise regulations agreed and with the Noise Management Plan. There had been no breech of noise levels at any point. The noise on site was managed by an independent company and the Local Authority’s Environmental Health Team, whilst off-site monitoring was undertaken by two patrolling consultants who measured the noise levels at points closer to the event than any residential property. There was also a complaint hotline set up and following concerns raised from 2 locations  (The Rectory and Rutland Drive) these were visited and those visits concluded that there had been no breeches of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.