Three licensing hearings

I was called up at the last minute to join a panel to hear three license applications/variations today.  It was rather annoying as I'd just got home but I cycled back to the Town Hall in about 8 minutes! The applications were:

1.  Kebab Kid on St. Clement's

This application was for a licence to service takeaway food well into the small hours (5am at the weekends) and act as a takeaway.  There were objections from residents and Police concerned with noise in a very residential area and about the tendency for food outlets to be flashpoints for late night gathering of people and disturbance.  Eventually the panel granted reduced hours and imposed a condition requiring door supervisors to aid with dispersal on some evenings of the week.

2.  The Six Bells in Headington Quarry

The was a short extension to hours as part of a revamp of the premises by the brewery.  The panel granted the application as requested and I made sure that none of the extensions came into force until Januray 2012  (thus removing the possibility of using the extra hours in the busy December period, prior to renovation) and also that although the venue could open until 1am on some evenings, it would not be possible to admit new customers after midnight - this is to avoid people leaving other local pubs at their closing time and making a noise walking along to the Six Bells.

3.  The Viking Sports and Social Club in Old Headington

This was really just a regularisation of of existing practice due to technicalities in licensing law and the 2003 Act.  There was some confusion among local residents and indeed the applicant about what their existing club licence covered and about the ability of the licensing panel to change the number of Temporary Event Notices (TENs) that can be used.  TENs are entirely outside the remit of the Council so discussing them was actually a red-herring that caused considerable confusion.  Eventually agreement was reached and I was pleased that we had asked that the club notify neighbours of their yearly plan for events and also notify if any events were added to the calendar later in the year, after it was published.

I left the Town Hall around 8.15pm.  There was one more hearing to do but I couldn't do that as it was for an application in Carfax Ward, the one I represent.

Please note this post does not form an official record of proceedings and should not be treated as such.  The decision notices from the City Council are the definitive documents.

Licensing and Gambling Acts Committee

This was quite a brief meeting.  It included the quarterly report of licensing activity which was presented ably and usefully as ever by Julian Alison, the City Council Licensing Manager.

Most of the meeting focussed on discussion of the government proposals to deregulate lots of forms of licensable entertainment.  While I welcome reduction of red tape I do feel the current regime does give the City Council some very useful and effective tools to make sure the right balance between people's right to quiet enjoyment of their homes and licence-holders' rights to run their businesses.  I don't feel the City Council over-uses or abuses this at the moment.

In principle while I support deregulating where it is safe to do so, I am clear that local authorities do need to have sufficient legislation behind them to be able to properly balance the needs of all people in this City be they those who want to party into the small hours or those that want to sleep in the small hours so they can study or work in the morning.

I do welcome any change that will allow schools, colleges, Universities, charities etc. to be less hindered by legislation when they want to run what are essentially low-risk problem-free events but I do worry about losing control over some bigger and more problematic venues and/or events.  You can read about the proposed changes on the Department for Culture Media and Sport's web site.

The Frideswide Civic Service

October is definitely a month of ceremony, being the start of the year for many parts of Oxford life.  The Frideswide service is an annual event that marks the founding of Oxford by St. Frideswide sometime around the 7th or 8th Century of the Common Era.  There is a good BBC article which tells you more about this.

The service is at Christ Church in the Cathedral and this year focussed on Care of Creation.  We heard three local folk interviewed by the Bishop of Dorchester.  Averil Stedeford has made her house in Headington very green and it is now quite famous.  Malcolm McCulloch, an Oxford academic talked about the green aspects of his research and Jenny Creese spoke about the Connecting Naturally project.

Part of the service involves a big procession to say prayers for St. Frideswide and also leave sprigs of rosemary on her tomb, as a mark of remembrance.

The glove ceremony and court sermon

The glove ceremony which takes place in the Dean's drawing room at Christ Church is a symbolic event of uncertain origin. It may be that white gloves were presented to the High Court judge if there were no crimes for him to try on his visit. These days a pair of white gloves are presented to him both by the Lord Mayor of Oxford and by Oxford University. It is a very grand affair with Heads of Houses, vice-chancellor, Registrar, Proctors and more all present.

This is a very traditional event that marks the start of the legal year in Oxford. It used to mark the
annual start of the "Assizes" - the title of a visit by the a High Court Judge to dispose of criminal and civil business in the county. The Assizes were abolished by the 1971 courts act. These days High Court Judges still visit Oxford but now sit in the Crown Court. The service is now known as the court sermon and the preacher is appointed by Oxford University's Summoner of preachers - usually a college chaplain.

These types of event don't really do much in terms of day to day politics but they are important traditions that I think keep Oxford the great and fascinating City it is today.  I was pleased to attend with around 5 other members of the City Council.

Full Council

This was another long meeting.  I'm afraid I didn't stay for all of it - I left around 8pm when a Labour Councillor started shouting at a Green Councillor.  We were in the final bit of the meeting where motions are debated and this never achieves anything as the council has a majority and the outcome of motions is very predictable.  You can see a recording of the whole meeting at http://www.oxford.gov.uk/PageRender/decCD/FullCouncilMeetingVideo10October2011.htm and the Agenda and other details are also available.

I was pleased to see Mrs Judy Crompton at the meeting - she is a good local landlord who treats her tenants (one of whom she had with her) extremely well.  She gave a good speech about the HMO licensing scheme and I think it explained very well how although the scheme is a good thing in principle, it is being applied to the wrong landlords.  As she said, "Please avoid the temptation to consider being a landlord as a life choice of the more unsavoury end of the spectrum" and I think really importantly,

" It certainly does seem from the wording of motion 3 that the council sees landlords as wild beasts who must be captured, tamed and kept chained and under control. I, personally, and as a representative of my colleagues, find this unhelpful and, as a council tax payer who personally pays council tax on 6 properties, I also feel that this attitude and the “tarring of all with the same brush” an unhelpful attitude which wastes my money. I expect a more measured tone from my paid representatives.".

I entirely agree with Judy on this.  HMO licensing is being applied far too bluntly.  We have officers pursuing landlords to do work to properties that is not safety-related and that their tenants don't want while at the same time there are other properties that are damp, cockroach-infested and vastly overcrowded.    It staggers me to see that they are not getting prioritised over the many excellent properties that are now being ruined in appearance (being made to look more like hostels) by the ridiculous demands being made by the huge HMO team.  I consider it a public disgrace.

A sneak preview of the new Crisis Centre at the Old Fire Station

Oxford City Council and Crisis, the national charity for single homeless people, have been working together for some time to plan the redevelopment and refurbishment of the Old Fire Station building in central Oxford.

Along with Cllr Stephen Brown, my ward colleague, and Cllr Mark Mills (Holywell ward) I was taken on a tour of the building as it currently is.  It is looking very impressive - very clean and some ingenious use of space to create some very useful art rooms as well as accommodation and a café.   I am particularly impressed with the way the hose tower has been preserved and made visible again.

By autumn 2011 the Old Fire Station will open and be home to a Crisis Skylight Centre and Café and Arts at the Old Fire Station, a brand new arts company. The two organisations are independent but will work alongside each other to achieve the mutual goal of encouraging integration and collaboration between the cultural and homeless communities in Oxford.

Arts at the Old Fire Station will develop partnership projects with Crisis clients, as well as offering professional development for artists, and creative activities for the general public. This “two organisations, one building” model has been developed to offer exciting opportunities for artistic collaborations between the homeless and cultural communities of the city.

The newly developed Old Fire Station will also accommodate a brand new Skylight Café, which will operate as a social enterprise, providing a route into employment for homeless and vulnerably housed adults.

I think the project is a really exciting one and think it will be a real asset to the Gloucester Green area of Oxford, hopefully encouraging some regeneration and re-use of some of the currently vacant retail units in the area.

Some of the text and one picture in this post are taken from a very useful Crisis newsletter.