Resolved: That Cllr. Pett be appointed Chairman of the meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

(Kemsing)

The Hearing gave consideration to a report by the Chief Officer Environmental and Operational Services giving details of an application for a time limited premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003.  It was noted that an objection had been received from a neighbouring resident and that accordingly the application had been referred to the Sub-Committee for determination.

As the objector had indicated he would not be attending, the Chairman requested that the applicants address all of the issues raised by the objector in their address. 

The Hearing heard from the applicants who gave a brief overview of the type of event that was proposed.  It was a free event for over 18s only and not pitched as a music festival per se but rather an event where people could switch off from their busy lives with inspirational speakers, yoga and an outdoor spa as well as music.  A second version of the event safety plan had been submitted of which the applicants highlighted their plans.  If the licensing application were successful there was to be a Safety Advisory Group meeting taking place that week. 

With reference to the objector’s concerns these seemed to be centred on crime and disorder and public nuisance.  The concerns around crime and disorder seemed to be with the event becoming larger than intended with unauthorised attendance and the idea of a ‘rave.’    It had been the intention to keep the location secret until a week before the event, and this was still the case with regards to those who had applied for the tickets, however due to legislative requirements concerning the licensing application etc the local area were now aware of the event, however it was still not being advertised and was not a nationally known event.  It was a rural location surrounded by farm and woodland and serviced by narrow country lanes.  Crowd management/security teams would be in place.  It was not possible to perimeter fence the whole site but there would be physical barriers at access points and patrols.  All patrons would wear wristbands that would break if tampered with. 

The public nuisance concerns expressed by the objector seemed to be around traffic, noise and clearance and restitution of the site.  To this the applicants advised that a traffic management plan had been devised along with the same contractors used by Glastonbury Festival.  Public transport would be advertised as the preferred option with a free shuttle bus from Borough Green and Wrotham Rail Station.  Car parking would be provided at a high fee and at a higher rate if not bought in advance.  It was expected that ticket holder would stay for the whole event so there would be minimal traffic movement other than Saturday morning, Sunday evening and Monday morning.  There would also be a one way system introduced to ensure free flow in the narrow lanes.  At the moment live event data was indicating 4% intended to travel by car.  Private sound systems would be prohibited on site and the one  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.