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Agenda and minutes
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Venue: Digital Meeting via Microsoft Teams
Contact: Rebecca Barrett
No. | Item |
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Recording and Voting Arrangements. Minutes: The Chair reminded those
present that the meeting was being filmed and would be available following the
meeting via the Council’s website – Click Here to View. Members were advised that voting on decisions
would take place by way of roll call. |
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Apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J. Bevan, D.
Cushing and D. Harse. |
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Declarations of Interest. Minutes: There were no declarations of
interest received at the commencement or during the course of the meeting. |
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Zoo Licensing Fees. PDF 247 KB Additional documents: Minutes: Lee Morgan (Licensing Manager) presented the report, which recommended
the level of fees to be charged by the Authority for a Zoo licence as set out
in Appendix 1 of the report. Members were
advised that the Authority has a statutory duty to administer certain licences,
registrations and permits. The review of fees charged, involves consideration
of the cost to the Authority in providing the service. The application for a licence is expected
following receipt of a formal Notification of Intention to apply for a Zoo
Licence. The Committee were referred to Section 5.8 of the report which advised
that upon initial grant of licence, the duration of a licence is 4 years, and
thereafter, subsequent renewals are for a 6 year duration. Section 5.10 of the report highlighted that
local authorities are also entitled to recover such costs as are reasonably
incurred in issuing directions under the Zoo Licensing Act 1981 and exercising
their duties for treating and disposing of animals in accordance with section
16E of the Act (the welfare of animals following closure of a zoo). Reference was made to the proposed Schedule of Zoo-related fees set out
at Appendix 1, which is split into two parts: Part A) the direct costs
associated with processing the application and Part B) ongoing costs associated
with running the licensing function, including supervision and monitoring of
licensed premises and the enforcement activity for any unlicensed premises. Members were asked to note one typographical
error at Line 4 of the table of proposed fees, which should refer to “Zoo
Licence Renewal (6yr) S.14 Dispensation” and not “Zoo Licence Grant
(6yr) S.14 Dispensation”. The Committee were
also invited as part of their decision-making ability to round each figure in
the proposed Schedule of Fees down to the nearest whole pound for simplicity if
they were minded to do so. The Licensing Manager highlighted a dispensation under Section 14 of the
Zoo Licensing Act 1981 which provides the Secretary of State with powers to
relax the requirements of the Act for a small zoo or for a zoo exhibiting only
a small number of different kinds of animals, and Section 14(1)(b) has been
acknowledged within the calculation in Appendix 1. During the course of the ensuing
debate and in response to a Member’s observation, Officers confirmed the
rounding down could be applied to all future proposed licensing fees. A Member asked if a zoo licence would cover
other types of venues such as petting farms.
The Licensing Manager responded to
queries and explained that the requirement for a zoo licence depends on the
species of animal to be exhibited but that indications are that the pending
application will require a zoo licence.
It was confirmed that the expected zoo application would be for an
existing premises located at The Meadows on the outskirts of Caerphilly near
Nantgarw. Clarification was sought on the meaning of the Section 14 dispensation and it was explained that this relates to the number of physical exhibits at a ... view the full minutes text for item 4. |
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Verbal Update from the Licensing Manager on Taxi Licensing Matters. Minutes: Mr Morgan gave an update on staffing changes
across the Licensing Team and then outlined a number of reports that will be
brought to Committee in due course. Members noted that a report will be brought to
Committee regarding signage/livery for Welsh
Government (WG) and Cardiff Capital Region (CCR) electric vehicles, as the
vehicles to be supplied do not currently meet the Council’s existing vehicle
specification in relation to advertising / livery. The Committee were also advised that the Department of Transport (DfT)
and Welsh Government have agreed a need for common core minimum standards for
the taxi and private hire vehicle sector in order to improve public safety and
standardisation, and have released two documents in this regard. The Licensing Authority will therefore need
to review its current requirements in line with statutory Standards and Welsh
Government’s recommended harmonisation guidance. This will include a number of changes to
existing policy, particularly around driver fitness criteria and Group 2
medicals. Licensing will undertake a
consultation with the trade and reports will be brought to Committee on the
changes. In response to a Member’s
query, Mr Morgan confirmed that the aforementioned matters would be for
Committee determination and would not require a recommendation to Council. Mr Morgan also responded to queries in
relation to Group 2 medicals and CCBC branding on the WG/CCR electric vehicles. The Committee noted the
verbal update from Mr Morgan. |