Hiam Committee Members Escape Enforcement Action Over License Violations
East Cambridgeshire District Council will not be taking formal enforcement action against Hiam Sports & Social Club committee members despite repeated violations of the terms of their Club Premises Certificate.
The club have now had to take out a Premises License in order to comply with current legislation.
This now raises the question of whether the club should continue to receive discretionary rate relief from the council now that it is being run under the same type of license as a pub and without a committee being elected in accordance with the rules of the club.
Hiam Sports & Social Club Committee outstays its welcome.
In October 2009 a Committee was elected for a 12 month term in accordance with the rules of the club.
The rules state that an Annual General Meeting must be held in October each year but in September 2010 the Annual General Meeting due to be held in October 2010 was postponed indefinitely.
It is known that the payment of £8,000 to Robert Scott was funded by a loan. In addition to this payment, the club will have had its own legal costs. The extent of these costs and how they have been funded is open to speculation since the accounts have not been made available to an Annual General Meeting.
Isn't it time that Hiam Sports & Social Club members demanded that an Annual General Meeting be held in accordance with the rules so that financial information can be given to the members and a Committee elected?
Apology to Robert Scott from Hiam Sports & Social Club
In a Committee Notice to Members and Guests, the Committee referred to "numerous rumours circulating regarding committee matters and the future of entertainment at Hiam's". The Notice said that "we are not at liberty to discuss internal committee matters".
It went on to say that " the Treasurer, Robert Scott.....resigned his position, without prior notice" and that "as there are issues outstanding, it would not be in the interest of the Club for him to continue as a DJ/Compere for the moment".
It has been suggested that this meant, or has been read by some Members and Guests as meaning, that Mr. Scott has, in some way, been guilty of impropriety, or theft, in his role as Treasurer.
We must make it clear that no such implication was intended and wish to apologise to Mr. Scott that the Notice may have been interpreted in this way.
Mr. Scott simply resigned his position.
As Treasurer, Mr.Scott has worked diligently in helping the Club.
The Committee wishes to express its gratitude for all of the work that he [Mr. Scott] has undertaken on behalf of the Club.
Hiam Sports & Social Club pay £8,000 towards legal costs.
Hiam Sports & Social Club have paid a sum of £8,000 towards legal costs incurred by Robert Scott.
The relevant part of the Settlement Agreement reads:-
Party B [The Members of the Committee of the Hiam Sports & Social Club] will pay or cause to be paid a sum of £8,000 towards Party A’s [Robert Scott's] costs within 7 days of the date of this Agreement, by bank transfer to the client account of Messrs. Greene & Greene.