Agenda and minutes

          An apology for inability to attend was reported from the Chairperson, Councillor T. Brooks.

(Councillor McKay, Deputy Chairperson, in the chair)

No declarations of interest were recorded.

THE COMMITTEE DEALT WITH THE FOLLOWING ITEMS IN PURSUANCE

OF THE POWERS DELEGATED TO IT UNDER STANDING ORDER 37(d)

ITEM WITHDRAWN

The Committee noted that Item 2b, Application to provide outdoor musical entertainment beyond 11.00 pm at Custom House Square, had been withdrawn by the applicant for commercial reasons.

            The Committee was advised that a request had been received from the applicant, Mr. S. Magorrian, for his item to be taken first due to a family commitment.  The Committee acceded to the request.

            The Director of Planning and Building Control provided the Committee with the details of the applicationfor a 14-Day Occasional Outdoor Entertainments Licence for St. Anne’s Cathedral Car Park (South side), based on the Council’s standard conditions to provide outdoor musical entertainment, primarily for use during Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann from 2nd to 9th August, 2026.

The day and hours that outdoor musical entertainment was proposed to be provided were Monday to Sunday, 11.30am to 12:00 am.  The applicant proposed to provide non-amplified music in the space.

As entertainment was proposed to be provided beyond the standard finishing time for outdoor musical entertainment, if granted, a special condition would be added to the licence relating to the sole provision of non-amplified musical entertainment.

She outlined that St Anne’s Cathedral was within the road closure pedestrianised area for the Fleadh Cheoil.  The applicant wished to host entertainment in line with the Fleadh’s traditional music entertainment offering in the outdoor area.

The Committee was reminded that the following conditions were attached to Outdoor Entertainments Licences:

·       Maximum numbers would be agreed at the discretion of the Building Control service and would vary depending on the individual entertainment proposals.

·       Prior to entertainment taking place, the licensee was required to demonstrate evidence of early consultation with the Building Control service and have in place a robust system for dealing with complaints. This was to be agreed in advance.

·       Should an application to provide entertainment beyond 11.00 pm be granted and the Council then receive a significant number of complaints regarding noise or the complaint was of such significant impact, authority was granted to the Director of Planning and Building Control, in consultation with the City Solicitor, to reduce the finishing time for any subsequent nights of the event, in which case the promoter would be required to make contingency arrangements.

The Committee was advised that public notice of the application had been placed in the newspaper, and no representations had been received as a result.

The Director advised the Committee that the police had been consulted in relation to the application, however, a response had not yet been received. Should Members be minded to approve the Grant of the Outdoor Entertainments licence, it should be subject to a satisfactory response from the PSNI on the matter.

Officers had engaged with the event organisers and colleagues in the Fleadh events team in relation to the proposed use of the space and would participate in pre-event meetings.  An event management plan had also been received.

The Chairperson advised the Committee that the applicant, Mr. Magorrian, was in attendance to answer any questions, however, no queries were raised.

The Committee agreed to approve the application for the grant of the 14-Day Occasional Outdoor Entertainments Licence, subject to any special conditions considered necessary by officers  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4a

            The Director of Planning and Building Control provided the Committee with the details of the application from Mr H. Downey to permit the planned musical entertainment at Bank Square to run beyond 11.00pm on up to eight nights during the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann, from 2nd to 9th August, 2026.

She explained that Bank Square had a 7-Day Annual Outdoor Entertainments Licence and a 7-Day Annual Indoor Entertainments Licence for a Marquee, and both had been used to hold events in the past. The Licence was held by the Department of Communities and was transferred to Mr. Downey for the duration of the Fleadh.

The Members were reminded that the following Special Conditions were attached to both the Marquee and Outdoor Entertainments Licences:

·       Maximum numbers would be agreed at the discretion of the Building Control Service and would vary depending upon individual concert set up proposals.

·       Prior to any event taking place the promoters were required to demonstrate evidence of early consultation and have in place a robust system of dealing with any complaints, to be agreed in advance with the Council.

·       Any requests to provide entertainment later than 11.00 pm must be considered by the Licensing Committee; and

·       Should an application to provide entertainment beyond 11.00 pm be granted and the Council then receive a significant number of complaints regarding noise or the complaint is of such significant impact, authority was granted to the Director of Planning and Building Control, in consultation with the City Solicitor, to reduce the finishing time for any subsequent nights of the event, in which case the promoter would be required to make contingency arrangements.

As it was not an application to vary the terms of the Outdoor licence, rather, a request for the Council’s permission to extend the hours under an existing Licence Condition, there was no requirement for public advertisement in this case.

The Committee was advised that the event organiser was requesting to provide outdoor musical entertainment to 1.00 am on all eight nights, 2nd to 9th August, 2026.

A rationale for extended hours beyond 11.00 pm had been provided by the event organiser.

The Director advised the Committee that the police had been consulted in relation to the application, however, a response had not yet been received. Should Members be minded to approve the Grant of the Outdoor Entertainments licence, it should be subject to a satisfactory response from the PSNI on the matter.

Officers had engaged with the event organisers and colleagues in the Fleadh events team in relation to the events and would participate in pre-event meetings. An Event Management Plan for the Fleadh had been received and was being evaluated by officers.

The Director highlighted that a significant consideration for the Environmental Protection Unit (EPU) would be the proposal to provide outdoor entertainment after 11.00pm. Members were reminded that the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 gave councils additional powers in relation to entertainment noise after 11.00 pm. The noise mitigation strategy would be discussed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4b

The Director of Planning and Building Control provided the Committee with the details of the application for a 14-Day Occasional Outdoor Entertainments Licence for St Annes Cathedral Car Park (North side), based on the Council’s standard conditions to provide outdoor musical entertainment, primarily for use during Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann, 2-9 August 2026.

The proposed hours for entertainment were Monday to Sunday, 11.30am to 12:00am, on all eight nights of the Fleadh Cheoil.

The Committee was reminded that St Anne’s Cathedral was within the road closure pedestrianised area for the Fleadh Cheoil.  The entertainments licence applied for was to facilitate the provision of outdoor entertainment to the North side of St Anne’s Cathedral site, the location of the food and drink market. The applicant wished to host entertainment in this outdoor area in line with the Fleadh Cheoil’s traditional music entertainment offering.

            The Committee was reminded that the following conditions were attached to Outdoor Entertainments Licences:

·       Maximum numbers would be agreed at the discretion of the Building Control service and would vary depending on the individual entertainment proposals.

·       Prior to entertainment taking place, the licensee was required to demonstrate evidence of early consultation with the Building Control service and have in place a robust system for dealing with complaints. This was to be agreed in advance.

·       Should an application to provide entertainment beyond 11.00 pm be granted and the Council then received a significant number of complaints regarding noise or the complaint was of such significant impact, authority was granted to the Director of Planning and Building Control, in consultation with the City Solicitor, to reduce the finishing time for any subsequent nights of the event, in which case the promoter would be required to make contingency arrangements.

The Committee was advised that public notice of the application had been placed in the newspaper, and no representations had been received.

The Director advised the Committee that the police had been consulted in relation to the application, however, a response had not yet been received. Should Members be minded to approve the Grant of the Outdoor Entertainments licence, it should be subject to a satisfactory response from the PSNI on the matter.

            Officers had engaged with the event organisers and colleagues in the Fleadh events team in relation to the proposed use of the space and would participate in pre-event meetings.  An event management plan had been received.

The applicant proposed to provide non-amplified musical entertainment within the outdoor area in the form of traditional music live bands during the Fleadh. As entertainment was proposed to be provided beyond the standard finishing time for outdoor musical entertainment to 12:00 am, if granted, a special condition would be added to the licence relating to the sole provision of non-amplified musical entertainment.

The Committee agreed to approve the application for the grant of the 14-Day Occasional Outdoor Entertainments Licence, subject to any special conditions considered necessary by officers and to all technical requirements being met, and to extend the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4c

The Director of Planning and Building Control provided the details of the application for the variation of a 7-Day Annual Entertainments Licence, based on the Council’s standard conditions to provide music, singing, dancing or any other entertainment of a like kind at Thompsons Garage.

The Committee was advised that the premises had been extended at first floor level to form a new function room.  The works had been inspected and a Building Regulations Completion Certificate had been issued.  The new function room would accommodate 150 persons. The nature of the variation applied for was to permit entertainment to be provided in the new function room to 3.00am the following morning on every night of the week and to increase occupancy to include the new area.

The areas currently licensed to provide entertainment were:

·      Ground Floor, with a maximum capacity of 280 persons.

·      Mezzanine Floor, with a maximum capacity of 200 persons.

·      Second Floor, with a maximum capacity of 50 persons.

            The days and hours during which entertainment may be provided under the terms of the current Entertainments Licence were:

·       Monday – Sunday       11:30 am to 3.00 am the following morning

The licensee had stated that they intended to use the new function room on selected nights to 3.00am, primarily weekends. The entertainment to be provided in the function room would be in the form of acoustic sets in the afternoon and early evenings, with DJ performances from late evening until 3.00am. Permitting entertainment to 3.00am would allow the new area to be operated as an integral part of the existing premises.

Public notice of the application had been placed in the newspaper and to date no written representation had been lodged as a result of the advertisement.

The Director advised the Committee that the police had been consulted in relation to the application, however, a response had not yet been received. Should Members be minded to approve the Grant of the Outdoor Entertainments licence, it should be subject to a satisfactory response from the PSNI on the matter.

Should the Committee approve the application, it would also be subject to a satisfactory response from the NI Fire and Rescue Service on the matter.

            The service was not in receipt of any noise complaints for the venue within the last 12 months. The Members were reminded that the Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2011 gave the Council additional powers in relation to the control of entertainment noise after 11.00 pm.  The Licensee had engaged an acoustic consultant and an acoustic report had been submitted to the Environmental Protection Unit (EPU) for appraisal.

The Chairperson advised the Committee that the owner, Mr. M. McCourt, was in attendance to answer any questions from Members, however, no queries were raised.

            The Committee agreed to approve the application for the variation of the 7-Day Annual Entertainments Licence to permit entertainment to be provided in the new area to 3.00 am, as requested, subject to any special conditions considered necessary by officers.

            The Director of Planning and Building Control provided the details of the application for a 14 Day Occasional outdoor Entertainments Licence to provide outdoor musical entertainment at the above site, which was within the road closure pedestrianised area for the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann.

            The existing Voodoo premises, adjacent to the site, was owned by the applicant.

            The maximum numbers within the event space would be agreed by the Building Control Service and could vary depending on individual concert set-up proposals.

            The days and hours during which entertainment was proposed to be provided were as follows:

·       Monday to Saturday: 11.30am to 11.00pm and

·       Sunday: 12.30pm to 11.00pm

The applicant proposed to provide non-amplified musical entertainment within the outdoor area in the form of traditional music live bands during the Fleadh.  An acoustic report had therefore not been sought for the proposal.

The Members were reminded that the Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 gave the Council additional powers in relation to the control of entertainment noise after 11.00 pm.

Public notice of the application had been placed in the newspaper and to date no written representation had been lodged as a result of the advertisement.

The Director advised the Committee that the police had been consulted in relation to the application, however, a response had not yet been received. Should Members be minded to approve the Grant of the Outdoor Entertainments licence, it should be subject to a satisfactory response from the PSNI on the matter.

            The Committee was advised that if it was minded to provisionally grant the application, it would not be declared final until all works were completed to ensure compliance, amongst other matters, with all fire safety, structural and access requirements. All certification pre-requisite to the grant of a licence would also be required before the licence could be confirmed.

            The Committee agreed to approve the application for the provisional grant of a 14-Day Occasional Outdoor Entertainments Licence, subject to any special conditions considered necessary by officers and to all technical requirements being met.

            The Director of Planning and Building Control outlined the details of the application for a 14-Day Occasional Outdoor Entertainments Licence to provide outdoor entertainment beyond 11.00pm and a request to provide indoor musical entertainment beyond 11.00pm.

            Power Pictures Limited was requesting a Licence for the former Norwich Union House site, to accommodate a temporary venue for TV production, based on the Council’s standard conditions to provide outdoor musical entertainment.  It also sought permission for planned entertainment to run beyond 11.00pm on four nights of the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann in the outdoor area, and also within a marquee on the site.  The applicant sought extension of the hours to 11.30pm for Thursday 6th, Friday 7th, Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th August, 2026.

            The applicant was an independent production company commissioned by Irish language television channel, TG4, with experience in broadcasting live coverage of Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann events.

            The site was within the pedestrianised area of the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann.

            The applicant had advised that there would be minimal amplification of music in the outdoor area for the benefit of a small crowd attending.  It would be intermittent as the bulk of the performances would take place within the marquee and the priority was the broadcast.  There would be amplified entertainment in the marquee.

            The Committee was reminded that the following conditions were attached to both the Marquee and Outdoor Entertainments Licences:

·       Maximum numbers would be agreed at the discretion of the Building Control service and would vary depending on the individual entertainment proposals.

·       Prior to entertainment taking place, the licensee was required to demonstrate evidence of early consultation with the Building Control service and have in place a robust system for dealing with complaints. This was to be agreed in advance.

·       Should an application to provide entertainment beyond 11.00 pm be granted and the Council then received a significant number of complaints regarding noise or the complaint was of such significant impact, authority was granted to the Director of Planning and Building Control, in consultation with the City Solicitor, to reduce the finishing time for any subsequent nights of the event, in which case the promoter would be required to make contingency arrangements.

As it was not an application to vary the terms of the indoor (marquee) licence but rather a request for council's permission to extend the hours under an existing licence condition, there was no requirement for public advertisement.

The Director advised the Committee that the police had been consulted in relation to the application, however, a response had not yet been received. Should Members be minded to approve the extended hours requested, it should be subject to a satisfactory response from the PSNI on the matter.

The Members were advised that officers had engaged with the event organisers and colleagues in the Fleadh events team and would participate in pre-event meetings.  An Event Management Plan for the entertainment offerings had been received and was being evaluated by the service and shared with other colleagues. 

The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4f