Leeds City Council Licencing Authority are considering an application by Swillington Sports and Social Club to provide a licence for the sale of alcohol at the Pavilion Clubhouse. 

We fully support this application because of the massive social and economic benefits this will provide for the community of Swillington and the surrounding areas. 

The Pavilion was recently subject to a £350,000 investment allowing for the refurbishment of the building providing changing rooms, toilets and a cafe for the sports club using the facilities both at matches and during training. These clubs include football, rugby, rounders and bowls for both adults and children.

The Club have now applied for a licence to allow the sale of alcohol between the hours of 11am and 9pm at the Pavilion. 

The Pavilion currently provides an independent income stream to the Club to allow for the financial support to the local sports clubs which benefits local children, families and adults. The various clubs utilise these funds for the purchase of equipment, kit for members together with maintaining the vast grounds. The granting of the licence would provide further revenue to support investment into the football and sports clubs that use the pavilion, allowing those clubs to grow and provide more opportunities for the children and adults to engage in organised sporting activities in a safe environment and discourage them from antisocial activities. 

In 2023 when access to sport and recreational facilities are increasingly rare for young people we think this project should be fully supported.  The social and health benefits to young people of being actively involved in sport are well known.

Considering the provisions to be considered in any licence application

• prevention of crime
• protection of children from harm
• public safety
• prevention of public nuisance 

The Club has taken on board the concerns of local people in restricting the requested hours to ending by 9pm - we cannot see how these timings could be suggested to have an influence on any antisocial behaviour, crime, public safety or nuisance. The children and young people having a space that they are committed to and provides a focus to them would hopefully actively reduce any anti-social behaviour in local areas.

The people accessing the facility would predominantly be families with young children in relatively small numbers and would not lead to any significant impact on any of the above criteria.

The economic boost to Swillington as a community would be significant. The area has suffered from a lack of investment and growth meaning a reduction in local facilities for the whole community. 

As a whole we wish to highlight to the Licencing Authority the significant local support for the application.

Please be aware that full names and addresses are required for the petition. A copy of this petition will be sent to the Applicant and will be contained within the committee papers and so will become public knowledge.