Issue - meetings

The Committee received a presentation from Mr Stitson, the Council’s Anti-Social Behaviour Team Leader in relation to the prevention of public nuisance licensing objective and more specifically noise matters in relation to licensed premises. Mr Stitson outlined:

·         The process behind noise control enforcement;

·         How the Out of Hours Noise Team worked at night and the early hours monitoring noise and visiting affected properties and licenced premises;

·         How officers witnessed any loud music or noise and determined whether it exceeded the statutory level that would prevent residents, for example, sleeping or watching television;

·         How persistent noise could result in a Noise Abatement Notice being served by officers and a resultant breach of Notice prosecuted in a Magistrates Court;

·         How the Noise Team monitored activity based on intelligence and where there was anti-social behaviour and rowdy noise from patrons leaving licenced premises, how they worked with the Police in respect of any public order offences.

Where there were serious breaches, Mr Stitson outlined measures that the Noise Team could advise the Licensing Sub-Committee to review, including restricting opening hours, no admittance outside in beer gardens after a certain time, no admittance to the premises after a certain time, staggered exits and signs placed outside to encourage patrons to respect neighbours.

Councillors on the Committee welcomed the overview by Mr Stitson and sought clarification on the following points:

·         Whether the Council logged all noise nuisance reports from residents, which Mr Stitson confirmed did take place.

·         What the staffing arrangements were in place for the Out of Hours Noise Team, which Mr Stitson confirmed as 2 officers on any night. It was also noted that there were on average about 20 calls on a Saturday night from residents about noise.

·         How visits were prioritised, which Mr Stitson confirmed would be based on those premises where there would likely be a breach of an existing Noise Abatement Notice served and also the number of reports from residents about a particular venue.

·         Whether technical equipment was used to measure noise heard from inside residents’ homes, to which Mr Stitson confirmed that there was no equipment used and that any determination of noise would be based upon common sense from the two noise officers present.

·         How the use of signs outside licenced premises worked well to encourage patrons leaving to respect neighbours.

The Council’s Licensing Services Manager outlined the proactive approach taken by her team along with the Noise Team, Police and licenced premises operators to secure improvements to venues in terms of sound reduction.

The Committee received a presentation from Sue Murphy, Sector Manager for ARCH (Addiction Recovery Community Hillingdon). Mrs Murphy outlined the role of the service supporting residents with alcohol addiction issues. This included:

·         Insights into those admitted to Accident and Emergency and how the service worked closely with hospitals. It was noted general trends showed that the number of under 18s admitted with alcohol related issues was lower than the England average.

·         The pathway programs run by ARCH, in particular those for young people, adults and through the criminal justice system.

·         The role of the Outreach Team targeting hotspot areas, homeless people and street drinkers.

·         The medical equipment available to provide quick blood test and liver scanning results, which had helped clients ensuring early intervention for longer-term illnesses.

·         Information about Detox and a small number of residential rehabilitation services available.

·         Issues with older people, their mobility and the stigma associated with alcohol abuse, where ARCH provided home visits to assist.

·         A range of facts and figures about the service, including Hillingdon vs national trends.

Members welcomed the presentation which they believed clearly showed the important work delivered by ARCH to the community. Members sought details of the number of homeless people ARCH had supported and Mrs Murphy undertook to provide this data.

In particular, Members appreciated the work undertaken to support homeless street drinkers. However, it was considered more collaboration with ARCH by the Police and Licensing Services would be beneficial to provide greater intelligence and intervention on this matter. It was agreed by those present to strengthen their contact with each other with regard to street drinking and homelessness.

Members thanked Mrs Murphy for her insightful presentation.