County Councillor R. Roden declared a personal, non-prejudicial interest pursuant to the Members’ Code of Conduct as he knows the objector present at today’s meeting. Councillor Roden and the objector attend the same church.

The Licensing and Regulatory Committee considered an application under the Licensing Act 2003 for a Premises Licence for “The Club” 15 Whitecross Street, Monmouth, Monmouthshire, NP25 3BY.

The Chairman welcomed the applicant and the objector to the meeting and introduced Members of the Committee and the attending officers and explained the protocol for the meeting.

The applicant and the objector confirmed receipt of the report and were content to proceed with no legal representation.

The key issues and details were read out to the Committee.

The applicant was then given the opportunity to address the Committee, to put forward any relevant explanations. Following this, Members of the Committee put forward questions to the applicant and discussion ensued.

In doing so, the following points were noted:

·         Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the Monmouthshire Conservative Club was on the verge of closure due to a failing business model and was not financially viable to remain open.

·         During the pandemic the premises were renovated.

·         It was difficult to attract new member applications across the board due to the club’s political persuasions.

·         The applicant disassociated himself from the Conservative Party and re-named the premises ‘The Club’.

·         There was a need to attract a greater number of new members in order that the renovations and the new business model would be viable.

·         The Club re-opened in May 2021 with 195 new applications received for membership.

·         The business model is to create a private members’ club. 

·         During this period a complaint had been made anonymously by a member that non-members were being admitted and that they were misbehaving. Advice from the Licensing officers stated that the applicant had to adhere to the premises licence currently in place and ensure that there was a guest signing in book for non-members visiting the premises. If more non-members were to be encouraged to visit the Club, with a view to becoming members, then the applicant would need to apply for a licenced premises licence.

·         The Club is open from Midday to 11.00pm seven days a week.

·         As a Conservative Club, Members are allowed to use the premises from 8.00am for non-alcohol related activities in the Club, such as use of the snooker tables.

·         The club has a newly refurbished kitchen with a view to providing Sunday lunches.

·         Local groups are encouraged to continue to access the Club as they have always done.

·         The stewardess lives at the premises and is the licence holder.

·         Any misbehaviour occurring within the Club is dealt with appropriately.

·         The premises has a beer garden and has been open for as long as the Club has been open.

·         The beer garden has been refurbished which has encouraged more people to use this area of the Club during the summer months.

·         Non-members are required to be signed in by a member of the Club.

·         Bar staff and the licence holder are aware of, via staff training, the need to regularly visit the beer garden to ensure that noise levels are kept to a minimum.

·         The applicant has  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.