The Head of Planning, Development and Regulatory Services submitted a report on an application by Thames Valley Police (TVP) for the review of a Premises Licence in respect of Reading West Food (formerly I & R Convenience) – 202 Oxford Road, Reading, RG30 1AB.

TVP had requested a review of the Premises Licence on 9 October 2020 because of matters arising at the premises in connection with the Premises Licence Holder’s (PLH) failings relating to poor procedures at the premises, lack of general due diligence and compliance with the licence conditions, leading to a failure to promote the four licensing objectives. These failings had been identified by TVP and Reading Borough Council’s Licensing Team during the course of visits to the premises that were carried out between March 2015 and August 2020. The PLH had been made aware of these concerns at the time of the visits and afterwards, by letter.  

During the 28-day consultation period representations had been received from Reading Borough Council’s Licensing Team and the Chair of Oxford Road Safer Neighbourhood Forum. Their comments were attached to the report.

Reading Borough Council’s Licensing Team considered that the appropriate and proportionate step that should be taken was the modification of the conditions of the premise licence, as set out in the report, to enable the PLH to promote the licencing objectives and help raise standards of retailers on Oxford Road back up to the level that is expected of all alcohol retailers.  The proposed conditions were set out in the report.

The report stated that in determining the review application the Licensing Authority had a duty to carry out its functions with a view to promoting the four statutory licensing objectives, as follows:

·         The prevention of crime and disorder;

·         Public safety;

·         The prevention of public nuisance;

·         The protection of children from harm.

The report further stated that in determining the application the Licensing Authority must also have regard to the representations received, the Licensing Authority’s statement of licensing policy and any relevant section of the statutory guidance to licensing authorities.  Furthermore, in determining the application, the Licensing Authority could take such steps as it considered appropriate and proportionate for the promotion of the licensing objectives.

The sub-committee had regard to all relevant sections of the Secretary of State’s Guidance (April 2018), Reading Borough Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy (2018) and case law, as stated in the report.

The Sub-Committee received oral representations at the meeting from the following parties:

·         Simon Wheeler, Thames Valley Police

·         Peter Narancic, Senior Licensing and Enforcement Officer

·         William Donne, Silver Fox Licensing Consultants, on behalf of Mr Farzath Mohamed, the PLH.

·         Robert Smalley, Licensing Enforcement Officer, on behalf of Reading Borough Council as a Responsible Authority.

Mr Mohamed was also present at the meeting.

The Sub-Committee also had regard to the email dated 5 November 2020 from the Chair of Oxford Road Safer Neighbourhood Forum in which he set out his concerns on behalf of the Forum.

The Sub-Committee was advised at the meeting that the PLH had been in dialogue with TVP and Reading Borough Council and the PLH had jointly agreed a set of conditions on 25 November 2020. These conditions supported fully the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and would enable the PLH to promote the licensing objectives by providing easily understandable conditions that were specific to the issues identified at the premises by TVP and Reading Borough Council.

Mr Donne, on behalf of Mr Mohamed, confirmed that his client recognised that the proposed conditions acted as a useful checklist and that his client would comply with them.

The Sub-Committee concluded that there had been breaches of conditions at Reading West Food (formerly I and R Convenience Store) and a failure by the PLH to address or improve their delivery of the Licensing Act 2003 legislation and promote the licensing objectives.  It considered that it was necessary to modify the conditions of the licence.

Resolved -

The Sub-Committee, having taken into account all the representations made, (both orally and written), together with the Secretary of States Guidance on licensing and the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy (2018), concluded that tighter conditions would ensure that these premises (Reading West Food) are properly managed in accordance with the licensing objectives.

Therefore, the conditions of the Premises Licence be modified and amended to include the proposed conditions as agreed jointly between Thames Valley Police, Reading Borough Council’s licensing and the Premises Licence Holder via Mr Donne (Silver Fox Consultancy), on 25 November 2020, and as a replacement for any embedded Licensing Act 1964 conditions attached to the licence.

The Sub-Committee decided that the conditions agreed between TVP, Reading Borough Council’s licensing team, and the licence holder were acceptable, appropriate and proportionate to promote the licensing objectives at the premises.  

The conditions were as follows:

1.     Staff employed to sell alcohol shall undergo training upon induction before they are allowed to sell alcohol. This shall include, but not be limited to:

·        The premises age verification policy

·        The Four Licensing objectives

·        Dealing with refusal of sales

·        Proxy purchasing

·        Recognising valid identity documents not in the English language

·        Identifying attempts by intoxicated persons to purchase alcohol

·        Identifying signs of intoxication

·        Conflict management

·        How to identify and safeguard vulnerable persons who attend and leave the premises

a)    Refresher training shall be provided every 6 (six) months

b)    Signed induction and refresher training records are to be kept for a minimum of 2 (Two) years of the date of training and made available for inspection by a Police Officer or authorised officer of Reading Borough Council upon request

c)     All staff authorised to sell alcohol shall be trained to a minimum of BII Level 1 award in responsible alcohol retailing (ARAR) or any other similar curriculum within four weeks for existing and subsequent employees and provide evidence of such training having been undertaken to Thames Valley Police and any authorised officer of Reading Borough Council’s licensing team upon request;

2.     All staff to be trained to record refusals of sales of alcohol in a refusals book or electronic register. The book/register shall contain:

• Details of the time and date the refusal was made

• The identity of the staff member refusing the sale.

• Details of the alcohol the person attempted to purchase.

a)     This book/register shall be available for inspection to an authorised officer of Reading Borough Council or Thames Valley Police. A weekly review of the refusals’ book/register shall also be carried out and signed off by the Designated Premises Supervisor or their nominated representative;

3.     An incident register/log shall be used, maintained and kept on the premises to record any incident which has an impact on any of the four licensing objectives, or instances when the police have had to attend the premises.

a)     The register shall be made available for inspection to authorised officers of Reading Borough Council and Thames Valley Police upon request;

4.     The premises shall at all times operate a Challenge 25 age verification policy to prevent any customers who attempt to purchase alcohol and who appear to the staff member to be under the age of 25 years from making such a purchase without having first provided identification. Only a valid British driver’s licence showing a photograph of the person, a valid passport, military ID or proof of age card showing the ‘Pass’ hologram (or any other nationally accredited scheme) are to be accepted as identification. The age verification policy shall be in a written form and displayed in a prominent position;

5.     Posters advertising the premises’ Challenge 25 age verification policy shall be displayed in prominent positions on the premises;

6.     The Premises Licence Holder shall display in a prominent position a copy of their written policy on checking proof of age;

7.     No beers, lagers and ciders of 6.5% ABV and above shall be sold at any time during permitted licensing hours, in line with Reading Borough Council’s current policy;

8.     The premises licence holder shall ensure the premises’ digitally recorded CCTV system cameras shall continually record whilst the premises are open to the public and recordings shall be kept for a minimum of 31 days with time and date stamping. The entire licensable area shall be covered by the CCTV and an appropriate number of cameras shall be installed to cover the external areas immediately outside of the premises. Data recordings shall be made immediately available to an authorised officer of Thames Valley Police or Reading Borough Council together with facilities for viewing upon request, subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act. Recorded images shall be of such quality as to be able to identify the recorded person in any light. At least one member of staff on the premises at any time during operating hours shall be trained to access and download material from the CCTV system;

9.     A current written authorisation list shall be kept in the Licensing File on the premises confirming the details of all current staff that have been authorised to sell alcohol by a Personal Licence Holder. The authorisation list shall include, the name of the staff member authorised, the name and personal licence details of the person authorising them to sell alcohol. This list shall also contain the date and signature of the staff member authorised and countersigned by the authorising Personal Licence Holder;

10.   The premises licence holder/designated premises supervisor shall ensure that they and staff who are authorised to sell alcohol, are able to converse with customers and representatives of Statutory Agencies to a level that they are able to satisfactorily meet the four licensing objectives, as contained in the Licensing Act 2003:

I. The Prevention of Crime and Disorder

II. Public Safety

III. Public Nuisance

IV. The Protection of Children from Harm;

11.   A Section 57 notice shall be displayed in a prominent position detailing the person who is responsible for producing the Part A of the premises licence, and a list of staff members that have an awareness of its location and content;

12.   Before any person is employed at the premises sufficient checks will be made of their bona fides to ensure they are legally entitled to employment in the UK.  Such checks shall include:

• Proof of identity (such as a copy of their passport)

• Nationality

• Current immigration status

Employment checks will be subject to making copies of any relevant documents produced by the employee, which will be retained on the premises and kept for the duration of their employment. Employment records as they relate to the checking of a person’s right to work will be made available to an authorised officer of Reading Borough Council, Thames Valley Police or Home Office Immigration upon request.

The Head of Planning, Development and Regulatory Services submitted a report on an application by Thames Valley Police (TVP) for the review of a Premises Licence in respect of KB Superstores, 337-339 Oxford Road, Reading, RG30 1AY.

On 3 October 2020 TVP had requested a review of the Premises Licence due to serious concerns that the Premises Licence Holder (PLH) was failing to support the licensing objectives via insufficient measures to ensure due diligence and compliance with the conditions in place on their licence. This included concerns regarding staff training and the sale of high strength alcohol in the area of Oxford Road. Reading Borough Council’s Licensing Team and TVP had undertaken inspections of the premises over the last three years which had shown identified holistic shortcomings, leading to a failure to promote the four licensing objectives.

A copy of the current premises licence, which had been transferred to the current owner on 28 July 2017, was attached to the report, together with a copy of the review application and appendices received.  

During the 28-day consultation period representations had been received from Reading Borough Council’s Licensing Team and the Chair of Oxford Road Safer Neighbourhood Forum. Their comments were attached to the report.

Reading Borough Council’s Licensing Team was of the view that the failures of the PLH needed to be addressed. TVP and Reading Borough Council’s Licensing Team considered that the appropriate and proportionate step to be taken was the modification of the conditions of the premise licence as a replacement for all the current non-mandatory and Licensing Act 1964 conditions.  

The report stated that in determining the review application the Licensing Authority had a duty to carry out its functions with a view to promoting the four statutory licensing objectives, as follows:

·         The prevention of crime and disorder;

·         Public safety;

·         The prevention of public nuisance;

·         The protection of children from harm.

The report further stated that in determining the application the Licensing Authority must also have regard to the representations received, the Licensing Authority’s statement of licensing policy and any relevant section of the statutory guidance to licensing authorities.  Furthermore, in determining the application, the Licensing Authority could take such steps as it considered appropriate and proportionate for the promotion of the licensing objectives.

The sub-committee had regard to all relevant sections of the Secretary of State’s Guidance (April 2018), Reading Borough Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy (2018) and case law, as stated in the report.

The Sub-Committee received oral representations at the meeting from the following parties:

·         Simon Wheeler, Thames Valley Police

·         Peter Narancic, Senior Licensing and Enforcement Officer

·         William Donne, Silver Fox Licensing Consultants, on behalf of Mr Prasanta Gurung, the Premises Licence Holder (PLH)

·         Robert Smalley, Licensing Enforcement Officer, on behalf of Reading Borough Council as a Responsible Authority

Mr Gurung was also present at the meeting.

The Sub-Committee also had regard to the email dated 30 October 2020 from the Chair of Oxford Road Safer Neighbourhood Forum in which he set out his concerns on behalf of the Forum.

The Sub-Committee was advised at the meeting that the PLH had been in dialogue with TVP and Reading Borough Council’s Licensing Team, which led to an agreement by all three parties on 25 November 2020, to a proposed set of new model conditions to be included on the premises licence as a replacement for the non-mandatory and Licensing Act 1964 conditions. These conditions supported fully the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and would enable the PLH to promote the licensing objectives by providing easily understandable conditions that were specific to the issues identified at the premises by TVP and Reading Borough Council.

The Sub-Committee found that there were management failings at the premises leading to a lack of compliance with the licence conditions, including poor training and poor procedures around alcohol sales, leading to failure to uphold the licensing objectives. During inspections of the premises by officers, it was identified that improvements could be made to support the promotion of the four licensing objectives.

The Sub-Committee was satisfied that the proposed conditions, mentioned above, and agreed on  25 November 2020, were acceptable, appropriate and proportionate as a means of addressing the concerns at the premises, and to promote the licensing objectives. It accepted Mr Donne’s assertion that sufficient progress had been made by the PLH to implement the proposed conditions, and so a period of suspension would not be necessary. Mr Donne, on behalf of Mr Mohamed, advised that his client recognised that the existing conditions were no longer suitable and that it was necessary for them to be modified. Mr Donne asserted that his client had already made progress the last few weeks in implementing improvements at the premises, as advised to him by TVP. In these circumstances, Mr Donne contended that a period of suspension would not be necessary.

Resolved -

The Sub-Committee, having taken into account all the representations made, both orally and written, together with the Secretary of State’s Guidance to the Licensing Act 2003 and the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy (2018), concluded that tighter conditions should ensure that the premises are properly managed in accordance with the licensing objectives. Therefore, the conditions of the Premises Licence be amended to include the proposed conditions as agreed jointly between Thames Valley Police, Reading Borough Council’s Licensing Team and the Premises Licence Holder via Mr Donne (Silver Fox Consultancy), on 25 November 2020, as a replacement of the current non-mandatory and Licensing Act 1964 conditions attached to the licence.

The Sub-Committee was satisfied that the replacement of the current non-mandatory and Licensing Act 1964 conditions attached to the licence, with the conditions agreed between Thames Valley Police, Reading Borough Council’s Licensing Team and the premises holder via Mr Donne (Silver Fox Consultancy) were acceptable, appropriate and proportionate to promote the licensing objectives at the premises.

The conditions were as follows:

1.        Staff employed to sell alcohol shall undergo training upon induction before they are allowed to sell alcohol. This shall include, but not be limited to:

·         The premises age verification policy

·         The Four Licensing objectives

·         Dealing with refusal of sales

·         Proxy purchasing

·         Recognising valid identity documents not in the English language

·         Identifying attempts by intoxicated persons to purchase alcohol

·         Identifying signs of intoxication

·         Conflict management

·         How to identify and safeguard vulnerable persons who attend and leave the premises

a)   Refresher training shall be provided every 6 (six) months

b)   Signed induction and refresher training records are to be kept for a minimum of 2 (Two) years of the date of training and made available for inspection by a Police Officer or authorised officer of Reading Borough Council upon request

c)   All staff authorised to sell alcohol shall be trained to a minimum of BII Level 1 award in responsible alcohol retailing (ARAR) or any other similar curriculum within four weeks for existing and subsequent employees and provide evidence of such training having been undertaken to Thames Valley Police and any authorised officer of Reading Borough Council’s licensing team upon request;

2.     All staff to be trained to record refusals of sales of alcohol in a refusals book or electronic register. The book/register shall contain:

• Details of the time and date the refusal was made

• The identity of the staff member refusing the sale.

• Details of the alcohol the person attempted to purchase.

a)     This book/register shall be available for inspection to an authorised officer of Reading Borough Council or Thames Valley Police. A weekly review of the refusals’ book/register shall also be carried out and signed off by the Designated Premises Supervisor or their nominated representative.

3.     An incident register/log shall be used, maintained and kept on the premises to record any incident which has an impact on any of the four licensing objectives, or instances when the police have had to attend the premises.

a)   The register shall be made available for inspection to authorised officers of Reading Borough Council and Thames Valley Police upon request;

4.     The premises shall at all times operate a Challenge 25 age verification policy to prevent any customers who attempt to purchase alcohol and who appear to the staff member to be under the age of 25 years from making such a purchase without having first provided identification. Only a valid British driver’s licence showing a photograph of the person, a valid passport, military ID or proof of age card showing the ‘Pass’ hologram (or any other nationally accredited scheme) are to be accepted as identification. The age verification policy shall be in a written form and displayed in a prominent position;

5.     Posters advertising the premises’ Challenge 25 age verification policy shall be displayed in prominent positions on the premises;

6.     The Premises Licence Holder shall display in a prominent position a copy of their written policy on checking proof of age;

7.     No beers, lagers and ciders of 6.5% ABV and above shall be sold at any time during permitted licensing hours, in line with Reading Borough Council’s current policy;

8.     The premises licence holder shall ensure the premises’ digitally recorded CCTV system cameras shall continually record whilst the premises are open to the public and recordings shall be kept for a minimum of 31 days with time and date stamping. The entire licensable area shall be covered by the CCTV and an appropriate number of cameras shall be installed to cover the external areas immediately outside of the premises. Data recordings shall be made immediately available to an authorised officer of Thames Valley Police or Reading Borough Council together with facilities for viewing upon request, subject to the provisions of the Data Protection Act. Recorded images shall be of such quality as to be able to identify the recorded person in any light. At least one member of staff on the premises at any time during operating hours shall be trained to access and download material from the CCTV system;

9.     A current written authorisation list shall be kept in the Licensing File on the premises confirming the details of all current staff that have been authorised to sell alcohol by a Personal Licence Holder. The authorisation list shall include, the name of the staff member authorised, the name and personal licence details of the person authorising them to sell alcohol. This list shall also contain the date and signature of the staff member authorised and countersigned by the authorising Personal Licence Holder;

10.   The premises licence holder/designated premises supervisor shall ensure that they and staff who are authorised to sell alcohol, are able to converse with customers and representatives of Statutory Agencies to a level that they are able to satisfactorily meet the four licensing objectives, as contained in the Licensing Act 2003:

I. The Prevention of Crime and Disorder

II. Public Safety

III. Public Nuisance

IV. The Protection of Children from Harm

11.   A section 57 notice shall be displayed in a prominent position detailing the person who is responsible for producing the Part A of the premises licence, and a list of staff members that have an awareness of its location and content;

12.   Before any person is employed at the premises sufficient checks will be made of their bona fides to ensure they are legally entitled to employment in the UK.  Such checks shall include:

• Proof of identity (such as a copy of their passport)

• Nationality

• Current immigration status

Employment checks will be subject to making copies of any relevant documents produced by the employee, which will be retained on the premises and kept for the duration of their employment. Employment records as they relate to the checking of a person’s right to work will be made available to an authorised officer of Reading Borough Council, Thames Valley Police or Home Office Immigration upon request.

The Executive Director for Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report, submitted a report on the Council’s response to the Government’s (Department for Transport (DfT)) roads policing review.

The report stated that since 2010 there had been an increase in the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads. In response to this situation, the DfT had instituted a roads policing review working with the Home Office, the National Police Chiefs’ Council and other agencies. As part of this review, the Government was exploring better use of intelligence to target dangerous behaviours, the use of technology in enforcing road traffic law and a better understanding of the value of enforcement in influencing road user behaviour and the current enforcement capability. The DfT had invited local authorities to respond to its review.

The report advised that the police were the primary enforcement agency, with roads policing in England and Wales being provided by the 43 geographically based police forces. However, local authorities also played a role in enforcement, primarily relating to managing traffic flow through enforcement of bus lanes, parking and, in London, other moving traffic offences such as box junctions.

Appended to the report was a copy of the Council’s response to the roads policing review, dated 5 October 2020. As part of the Council’s response, reference was made to local authorities such as Reading being given an opportunity to play an active role in speed enforcement, particularly in enforcing 20 mph speed limit zones. Thames Valley Police had declared a policy of not enforcing/ supporting 20mph speed enforcement. The Council’s response acknowledged that this response may be justified by the police in terms of reduced resources and the need to focus on higher policing priorities, but it left local authorities in an unacceptable situation. The Council was therefore seeking to be given the powers to devise more effective methods for enforcing contravention of speed limits up to a certain threshold such as up to 40mph. As part of this, the Council would require the fines to be reinvested in further enforcement and environmental measures, as was currently required from bus lane penalties and parking contraventions.

In short, the Council’s response was to call on the DfT, Home Office, Thames Valley Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley to work with the Council to take forward such speed enforcement initiatives in Reading.

The Sub-Committee discussed the report and commented favourably on the response that had been given by the Council to the DfT’s Roads Policing Review.

Resolved –    That the report and the Council response to the DfT’s Roads Policing Review be noted.

The Executive Director for Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report, that sought the Sub-Committee’s approval for an on-street pay and display tariff along Oxford Road (two sections) and Wokingham Road local centre. The report also asked the Sub-Committee to consider retaining the current 30-minute free parking within the Oxford Road local centre and within the Wokingham Road local centre and set a tariff of charges between 8am and 8pm up to a maximum stay of two hours. Finally, the report asked the Sub-Committee to consider setting a tariff of charges on the Oxford Road between the town centre and Bedford Road between 8am to 8pm. 

The report explained that the current on-street waiting restrictions within the Oxford Road and Wokingham Road local centres only allowed 30 minutes maximum stay which was difficult to enforce as a Civil Enforcement Officer would be required to return after 30 minutes of the initial observation and then allow a 10-minute mandatory grace period before enforcement action The report explained that in determination the changes to the waiting restrictions in these areas, it was considered that 30 minutes was not long enough to allow customers to use many of the businesses in these areas. For example, there were many beauty shops and hair salons along the Oxford Road and 30 minutes parking was not long enough to allow customers to use these services. The proposal would extend the maximum length of stay in both the Oxford Road and Wokingham Road local centres from 30 minutes to two hours. The proposal would providea greater opportunity for people to visit local businesses for longer and support the local economy, whilst encouraging more sustainable localised travel for longer stays. The proposed tariffs were set out in the report at paragraph 5.5.

Resolved -

(1)     That the report be noted;

(2)     That the Assistant Director of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to undertake the statutory advertisement processes for the tariffs set out in paragraph 5.5 of the report.

(3)     That the Assistant Director of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised      to undertake the statutory advertisement processes for the following tariffs:

Oxford Road

·         Section 1: Town Centre to Bedford Rd – Tariff to reflect town centre structure and tariff but with a reduced charge of 50p for the initial 20 minutes.

·         up to 20mins 50p

·         up to 40 mins £1.20

·         up to 1 hour £1.60

·         up to 1 hour 20 mins £2.20

·         up to 1 hour 40 mins £2.70

·         up to 2 hours £3.20

·         Section 2: Local Centre - Bedford Road to Grovelands Road first 30mins free – remainder of the tariff in 30- minute segments up to a maximum stay of 2 hours:

·         up to 30mins free

·         up to 1 hour £1.60

·         up to 1 ½ hour £2.50

·         up to 2 hours £3.20

Wokingham Road local centre

·         up to 30mins free

·         up to 1 hour £1.60

·         up to 1 ½ hour £2.50

·         up to 2 hours £3.20

The Executive Director for Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report, providing the Sub-Committee with a range of physical measures on improving motorist compliance to the 20mph zone in Redlands Ward. The Scheme had already received funding from CIL contributions.  An overview map of the area was attached to the report at Appendix 1 and drawings showing the range of physical measures that had been proposed and a photograph showing, indicatively, the proposed parking bay islands for Kendrick Road was attached to the report at Appendix 2.

The report provided details of the proposed scheme. This included humps/cushions; priority-flow traffic islands (Redlands Road), Junction Island (Allcroft Road), ‘Rubber Kerbing’ Build-Outs (Kendrick Road), Pinch-point along Redlands Road (narrowing the carriageway width) and 20mph repeater signs along a number of roads. It was anticipated that these features would likely fully spend the allocated £100k project costs. If there was any remaining budget, the report proposed that the money would be used to refresh the painted ‘20’ roundels on the carriageway.  Officers advised the Sub-Committee that the measures would be effective at all times in speed reduction.

The Sub-Committee discussed the report and welcomed the range of measures for compliance to the 20mph zone in Redlands Ward.  However, they requested that the statutory consultations that would be undertaken by Officers should encompass the totality of the proposals, not just the statutory elements.  Officers confirmed that they would ensure that the consultation would encompass feedback on the whole scheme, the results of which would be submitted to a future meeting.

Resolved -

(1)   That the report be noted;

(2)   That the scheme, as proposed in paragraph 4.6 of the report and Appendix 2, be agreed for this local CIL funding allocation;

(3)   That the Assistant Director of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to undertake the statutory advertisement processes for the traffic calming features set out in Appendix 2;

(4)   That the Network & Parking Services Manager, in consultation with the Lead Councillor for Strategic Planning, Environment and Transport, be authorised to make minor changes to the proposals;

(5)   That subject to no objections being received, the Assistant Director of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to seal the applicable Traffic Regulation Orders and Officers proceed to scheme implementation;

(6)   That any objection(s) received following the statutory advertisements be submitted to a future meeting;

(7)   That no public inquiry be held into the proposals.

The Executive Director for Economic Growth and Neighbourhood Services submitted a report, providing the Sub-Committee with the feedback that had been received as part of the legal consultations that were necessary for the development of a number of transport-related schemes, funded by the local Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) contributions. The report set out a summary of the scheme developments and the outcome of consultations for each transport CIL scheme. 

Two CIL schemes had received applicable objections following statutory consultations - the Tiger Crossing on Gosbrook Road, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report and the extension of 20mph zone on Northumberland Avenue (past Reading Girls School), which was set out at Appendix 1.2. For this latter scheme, the statutory consultation had ended at midnight on 5 November 2020.  

Officers advised the Sub-Committee that in respect of the Northumberland Avenue scheme they had developed a modified proposal, which had been included in an updated report, that would overcome some of the objections that had been received following the ending of the statutory consultation at midnight on 5 November 2020. Officers further advised that there would be no need to re-consult if the modified proposal was agreed.

The report stated that in respect of the schemes that had not received any objections applicable to these consultations the proposals would be implemented as advertised. Officers were working on a programme of delivering these schemes, with the intention of starting some of them schemes by the end of November 2020.  

Resolved -

(1)   That the report be noted;

(2)   That the scheme for the Tiger Crossing on Gosbrook Road, as set out in Appendix 1, be implemented;

(3)   That the modified scheme for the extension of a 20mph zone on Northumberland Avenue (past Reading Girls’ School), as set out in Appendix 1.2, without necessitating a further consultation process, be implemented;

(4)   That the Assistant Director of Legal and Democratic Services be authorised to seal the resultant Traffic Regulation Orders and no public inquiry be held into the proposals;

(5)   That the respondents to the statutory consultations be informed of the decisions of the Sub-Committee accordingly, following publication of the minutes of the meeting.