• Agenda

Minute of the Meeting of the Ross, Skye and Lochaber Licensing Committee held in the Council Chambers, Lochaber House, High Street, Fort William on Tuesday, 18 March 2008 at 11.00am.

Present:

Mr Brian Murphy (Interim Chair)
Mr Allan Henderson
Mr Richard Greene

Present via Video Conference Link:

Mrs Angela MacLean
Mr David Alston 

In Attendance:

Mr Alaisdair H Mackenzie,  Area Solicitor
Mrs Dot Ferguson, Lochaber Wards Manager
Mrs Julie Traynor, Chief Executive’s Office

Also Present:

Chief Inspector John Chisholm, Northern Constabulary
Mr Craig Murray, MacArthur Stewart & Company
Mr Mohammed Iqbal, Scorpion Markets (Applicant)
Mr Gerald McIntyre, McIntyre & Company, Objector
Ms Fiona Marwick, West Highland Museum, Objector
Mr Richard Sidgwick, West Highland Museum, Objector

In the absence of the Chairman, Mrs Margaret Paterson, the Committee agreed that Mr Brian Murphy should take the Chair.)

Declarations of Interest – None declared

1. Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Mrs Margaret Paterson, Mr Craig Fraser, Mr Bren Gormley, Mr John Laing, Mr D Millar and Mrs Jean Urquhart.

2. Confirmation of Minutes

There had been circulated for confirmation, the Minute of the Meeting of the Ross, Skye and Lochaber Licensing Committee held on 15 January 2008.

The Minute was held as read and approved.

3. Exemption for Premises to hold a Late Hours Catering Licence

There had been circulated Report No. LCR-03-08  by the  Area Solicitor inviting the Committee to consider whether or not to grant an exemption to catering establishments in Lochaber from the requirement to hold a Late Hours Catering Licence for a specific event, namely the Mountain Bike World Cup Event, to be held in Fort William during the period 6 to 8 June 2008.

The Area Solicitor invited the Committee to:

i. consider whether to agree in principle to an exemption in terms of Section
   42(5) of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 enabling catering
   establishments in Lochaber to apply for an exemption beyond 11.00pm
   during the above mentioned event which could be approved by the Area
   Solicitor after consultation with the Police, Fire and Environmental Health
   Authorities.

ii. agree a terminal hour to which any exemption would be granted and the
   dates during which the exemptions would apply.

Arising therefrom, the Committee agreed the above with a terminal hour of 1.00am being considered acceptable during the period 6 to 8 June 2008.

4. Application for Variation to Market Operator’s Licence Conditions : Scorpion Markets

The Chairman welcomed the Applicant, Mr Iqbal, his  Agent, Mr Craig Murray and the Objectors present to the Meeting.  The Chairman then outlined the procedure which would be followed by the Committee, copies of which had been previously circulated to all parties.

There had been circulated Report No. LCR-04-08 by the  Area Solicitor inviting the Committee to consider an application to vary the Market Operator Licence Conditions currently enjoyed by Mr Mohammed Iqbal, trading as Scorpion Markets.

The Area Solicitor circulated to all Members and parties present the undernoted correspondence which had been received in respect of the application:-

     a) Letter dated 16 November 2007 from J C Harvey & Company
     b) Letter dated 16 November 2007 from McIntyre & Company
     c) Letter dated 16 November 2007 from West Highland Hotel
     d) Letter dated 7 November 2007 from DV8
     e) Email dated 16 November 2007 from Fort William Community Council

The Meeting then followed the Hearings Procedure. The Committee heard from the Applicant’s Agent and the Objectors present, in relation to all matters raised in the report and the letters of objection. 

After hearing from all parties present, the Committee requested a short adjournment in order to discuss the application in private and members of the public and the objectors were requested to vacate the Council Chambers.

Following a short adjournment, the Meeting reconvened and the Committee agreed that it was minded to APPROVE the Application but that the Licence should not be issued until confirmation had been received from the Planning Authority that the Applicant had complied with the terms of his Planning Consent. In addition the Committee encouraged the applicant to liaise with the neighbouring proprietors with a view to reaching agreement for the layout of the stalls prior to submitting the final layout to the Planning Authority.