Minutes for meeting at St Thomas' & St Luke's Church Hall on Wednesday 23/9/15. Approx 50 residents in attendance. Attendance list completed. Apologies sent by Councillors Nigel Ash, Don Hodgkinson and Bill Clarke. Michael Moulding began by welcoming all those who had attended and thanked them for their support. Thanks was given to St Thomas' & St Luke's Church for the provision of the hall free of charge. Michael Moulding chaired the meeting. Statement from resident Alexandra Delaney read out and was noted her opposition to the proposed nightclub. Meeting was informed of Councillor's Nigel Ash and Don Hodgkinson's opposition to the proposed nightclub. The meeting welcomed this information. The meeting was informed of the reason for Councillor Bill Clarke's absence ie he sits on Planning and Licensing Committee's which are quasi-judicial. This reason was accepted by the meeting. Councillor Don Hodgkinson engaged with Ashton Festival which was also accepted by the meeting. Michael gave details of the chain of events as it had occurred over the previous few months (chronology of events). Paul Tushingham, former Ashton councillor, spoke re: Ashton. At 'The Deal' presentation the police were in attendance. Police apparently apologised that they couldn't police as they would like to due to shortage of staff. Antisocial behaviour ranked as low priority. Residents who wished to formulate their own letters of objection were encouraged to make their letters unique and individual, write per individual and make points to object directly to planning application. Consider following points: Narrow pavements/smokers/litter. Noise - environmental intrusion. Fleece has inadequate soundproofing. Urinating and vomiting in public places. Wigan council responsible for enforcement of parking and drop off. No credible police service in Ashton to enforce these laws. Extended hours increases antisocial behaviour. Residents were urged to make their objections to planning application before 30/9/15. It was noted that 'alcohol free zone' was difficult to enforce. No police available to adequately reinforce it. Residents were reminded as a result of advice from Greater Manchester Police to continue to ring 101 to report antisocial behaviour and to make a record of the incident number. Also residents may want to keep a diary of incidents. They were also encouraged to report the noise levels if found to be too high. It was noted that residents of Heath Road & Gerard Court did not receive letter from council re: planning application. This was sorted by Mike who contacted the Council. Wigan Council put an advert in the Wigan Reporter around 9/9/15 due to the Fleece being located in a Conservation Area. 2007 Ashton town centre Conservation Report noted that St Thomas's church is a 'significant building' of architectural merit as is also the Fleece. Wigan Council have said we need to look at what we want reviewed. It was noted that the usual closing time is 2am for some other pubs. Music at The Fleece is currently stopped at no later than 1.00 am. It was unanimously agreed the new license of 4.00 am/4.30 am and the proposed nightclub was totally unacceptable. 11.30 pm/12.30 am/1.00 am proposals were put by residents at the meeting. After discussions it was proposed that a request for entertainment stopping around 11pm but drinking license continuing until 1am. Mike Moulding informed the meeting that he was happy with all licensable activities until 1.00 am (time limit of previous license). However, due to noise levels at the Fleece residents agreed no resident should be subject to excessive and unacceptable noise in their home beyond 11.00 pm. The meeting unanimously agreed :- Time limit for any music 11.00 pm. Time limit for sale of alcohol 1.00 am. Michael agreed that Ashton Residents Association (ARA) can submit an application to have the licence reviewed but expressed concerns because local councillors dislike the activities of ARA. Any application would open up a legal consultation period once displayed in the pub window. Then individuals can submit their own suggestions to Wigan Council to the proposed review application. After lengthy discussions it was agreed Mike Moulding would submit the application on behalf of the local community. One resident suggested that Environmental Health could possibly record noise levels in the meantime. It was suggested by a resident that the Wigan Evening Post or Wigan Observer be invited to cover this story. Support was confirmed from Councillors Don Hodgkinson and Nigel Ash. Mike Moulding was unanimously thanked for his endeavours on behalf of the local community. Minutes taken with thanks by Victoria Halliwell, Secretary Ashton Residents Association.