The Licensing and Regulatory Sub-Committee was scheduled to consider an application for a new premises licence for the Queens Head public house in Haverhill. The committee was also scheduled to address procedural matters at the start of the meeting.

Application for a New Premises Licence – Queens Head, Queen Street, Haverhill

The Licensing and Regulatory Sub-Committee was scheduled to consider an application for a new premises licence for the Queens Head, located at 9 Queen Street, Haverhill. The application was made under the Licensing Act 2003¹ and proposed to reopen the public house, which had a previous licence that was surrendered in October 2025.

The licensable activities proposed included the provision of indoor sporting events, live and recorded music, and the supply of alcohol for both on and off-sales. The applicant had proposed specific operating hours for these activities, including non-standard timings for seasonal variations and holidays.

The report pack indicated that amendments had been made to the original proposal and agreed with the Police Licensing team and the Environmental Health team. However, two representations were received from 'other persons', Mr Gary Birch and Mr Mike Driver, which necessitated this hearing. These representations raised concerns that did not fall entirely within the criteria of the Licensing Objectives under the Licensing Act 2003, but included issues related to public nuisance.

The recommendation to the Sub-Committee was that it was recommended that, in determining the application with a view to promoting the licensing objectives in the overall interests of the local community, Members give appropriate weight to the steps that are appropriate to promote the licensing objectives; West Suffolk Council's Statement of Licensing Policy; Guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003; the representations attached to this report, and any further relevant information presented to the Sub-Committee on the day of the hearing. The potential steps available to the committee were to grant the licence with modified conditions, exclude certain licensable activities, or reject the application.