Licensing

Objections can be made by an Interested Party

These could be:

• people near the premises to be licensed;
• a residents' association near the premises;
• businesses near the premises;
• representatives of an organisation or body.

These individuals and bodies are entitled to make representations on applications for licences or major variations of such licences or can ask the council to review a licence. They may also nominate a representative who can act on their behalf, for example a legal representative, friend or local ward councillor.

An Interested Party can only object based on issues revolving around the four licensing objectives:

• the prevention of crime and disorder;
• public safety;
• the prevention of public nuisance;
• the protection of children from harm.

How to make a representation

To reduce the length of hearing, all objectors must follow a procedure to register their concerns about or opposition to the grant, variation or review of a licence. All representations must be made in writing (letter or email). People opposing an application must specify the grounds of their opposition based around the four licensing objectives.

Petitions

Many petitions cannot be taken into account due to the way they have been completed. The council can only consider the following layout:

• an outline of the main issues of concern at the top of each page of the petition;
• a column allowing each person who signs the petition a chance to add why they wish to object;
• each person must write their full name and address, the date and their signature.

When submitting a petition, one person on the list must be nominated as a contact. The Licensing Unit can then notify that person of the procedure so that they can inform the others on the petition. It is also helpful if, at the hearing, at least two of the signatories to the petition can be called as witnesses.

Saturation or cumulative impact

Objections on these grounds must provide evidence that the addition of the premises in question would produce the cumulative impact claimed.

Period of representation

Representations must be submitted to the council within a period of 28 consecutive days, starting from the second day after the application was submitted.

Relevant representations

If the council considers that a representation is relevant, it must hold a hearing to consider it, unless all those involved agree that this is unnecessary. If no representations are made, a licence or variation must be granted, subject to mandatory conditions.

What are relevant representations?

For a representation to be relevant it must:

• relate to the effect of the granting of the licence on the promotion of the licensing objectives;
• be made by an interested party;
• not have been withdrawn;
• not be frivolous or vexatious.

Irrelevant representations

A representation from an interested party is irrelevant if it does not directly relate to the application and to the promotion of the licensing objectives. A representation relating to general crime and disorder in an area will be deemed irrelevant if it cannot be linked positively to the particular premises.

Frivolous and vexatious representations

A representation from an interested party is deemed frivolous or vexatious if it fails to meet any of the following criteria:

• justifiable cause;
• significance;
• objectivity.

Repetitious representations

A repetitious representation one that:

• is based on a ground for review specified in an earlier application for review that has already been determined;
• is identical or substantially similar to a representation already considered by the council;
• has already been considered irrelevant, frivolous or vexatious by the council.

Reviewing a licence

An interested party can request a review of the licence at any stage on grounds relating to the licensing objectives. This can lead to the modification, suspension or revocation of the licence. The Licensing Act 2003 (www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/ukpga_20030017_en_1) makes provision for a right of appeal to a magistrate's court against the council’s decision.

Hearings

The council's Licensing Hearing Panel consists of three councillors and sits to hear every application where representations are made. The councillors will consider each representation. More weight will be given to those interested parties who attend the hearing. Every determination of a licensing decision is accompanied by clear, cogent reasons for the decision. A written summary of the decision is sent to those concerned and posted on this website as soon as possible after the decision has been confirmed. Where a representation is rejected, the person making that representation is given the reasons in writing. A report is made to the Licensing Committee indicating only the general grounds of the representation and the reason it was rejected.

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Licensing complaints

The Licensing Unit will investigate complaints in relation to breaches of licensing conditions, operating outside authorised hours and unlicensed activity in commerical premises. All complaints must be put in writing. In the first instance, complainants will be encouraged to raise the complaint directly with the licensee or business concerned. The council may initially arrange a mediation meeting to address, clarify and try to resolve the issues of concern.

This process will not override the right of an interested party to ask the council to consider their objection at a hearing or for any licence holder to decline to participate in a mediation meeting.

If your complaint is in relation to:

Nuisance

The council has a duty to inspect its area to detect statutory nuisances and whether they ares likely to recur. This usually involves an initial investigation following a complaint of statutory nuisance from a local resident. Statutory nuisances are defined in the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1990/Ukpga_19900043_en_1.htm) as something which seriously disturbs the comfort and enjoyment of a person's property so as to be prejudicial to health or a nuisance, including:

• noise emitted from premises;
• smoke emitted from premises;
• fumes or gases emitted from premises (private dwellings only);
• any dust, steam, smell or other effluvia arising on industrial, trade or business premises;
• any accumulation or deposit;
• any animal kept in such a place or manner that it causes a nuisance.

Once the council has received a complaint of alleged statutory nuisance, it will normally contact the person concerned informing them that a complaint has been received and that the council will investigate the matter. It will consider a number of factors including:

• diary records submitted by the complainant;
• location;
• time;
• frequency;
• duration;
• whether reasonable steps been taken to prevent the problem.

For more information about dealing with nuisances, please contact the council's Environmental Health Department.

Crime

If a crime is being committed, the police (www.kent.police.uk) should always be contacted first. You should dial 999 when:

• life is threatened;
• people are injured;
• a crime is in progress;
• offenders are nearby.

You should only dial 999 when you need immediate help. If you use a mobile phone to dial 999, tell the operator at once where you are phoning from, so that your call can be dealt with by the local police.

You should call your local police station when:

• there is no immediate danger to life,
• the crime is not in progress and the offender is not nearby,
• incidents are non-urgent, such as a stolen bicycle, a car that has been deliberately damaged, finding stolen property or a minor traffic accident.

To report a non-urgent incident in Medway (Rainham, Gillingham, Chatham, Rochester and Strood), phone 01634 891055. These calls are charged at local rate and are answered by the Kent Police Force Communications Centre in Maidstone. You will be diverted to the person best able to respond to your call.

It is important that telephone lines handling 999 calls are kept free for emergencies, such as when life is in danger or a crime is in progress. If you call 999 when the situation is not urgent, it could take longer for a person in a real emergency to get the help they need. This could mean the difference between life and death. Only around 60 per cent of the 999 calls made each year are real emergencies needing an immediate response. If you call 999 and the situation is not urgent, your call will be directed to your local police station.

Anti-social behaviour

Report the following problems to the Community Safety Street Team Co-ordinator on 01634 338131:

• youth nuisance;
• under-age drinking;
• graffiti;
• verbal abuse.

Report the following problems to the Environmental Enforcement Team on 01634 333333:

• household rubbish put out too early for refuse collections;
• fly-tipping and fly-posting;
• litter;
• trade waste;
• illegal street trading;
• cars for sale on the roadside;
• cars being repaired on the roadside.

Report the following problems to the Medway Safer Communities Officers on 01634 333333:

• abandoned vehicles;
• potholes in the road;
• trip hazards;
• overhanging foliage;
• damaged traffic signs;
• poor street cleaning;
• noise nuisance;
• stray dogs;
• dog fouling;
• dangerous dogs.

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