Agenda item

The Committee is asked to:

1.1.        Agree to commence consultation on the statutory 5 year review of the Council’s Licensing Policy under the Licensing Act 2003;

1.2.        Agree to consult on the review of current Cumulative Impact Areas as set out in the Statement of Licensing Policy to assess whether or not these ought to be retained;

1.3.        Agree to consult on the potential introduction of a new Cumulative Impact Area as detailed in section 3.24 of the report;

1.4.        Agree that the consultation referred to in paragraphs 1.1-1.3 shall be for a period of 6 weeks as detailed in paragraph 4.1 of the report;

1.5.        Note that the outcome of the consultation exercise will be reported back to Committee for further consideration and then onward recommendation to Full Council regarding adoption of the Councils’ Statement of Licensing Policy including Cumulative Impact Areas, if any.

The Head of Environmental Health, Trading Standards and Licensing explained to the committee that the council was duty bound to produce a Statement of Licensing Policy and that this was to be reviewed every five years. The council’s policy had last been reviewed in 2017, and so the committee was asked to approve the beginning of a consultation process on the proposed changes which would be brought back to the committee in November before being ratified by Council in December.

The committee had a general discussion around the consultation process seeking to ensure ward councillors were included, to which officers confirmed they would be. They also discussed Cumulative Impact Areas (CIAs) and that the committee felt it was not able to refuse alcohol licences to shops within them, to which officers explained that moral objections had to be licensing-based. The committee was assured that police were highly active in CIAs and that it gave them a review mechanism to home in on premises that caused crime and disorder problems if they arose.

The Chair MOVED to vote on the recommendations which was SECONDED by Councillor Herman and:

RESOLVED, unanimously to:

1.1.         Agree to commence consultation on the statutory 5 year review of the Council’s Licensing Policy under the Licensing Act 2003;

1.2.         Agree to consult on the review of current Cumulative Impact Areas as set out in the Statement of Licensing Policy to assess whether or not these ought to be retained;

1.3.         Agree to consult on the potential introduction of a new Cumulative Impact Area as detailed in section 3.24 of the report;

1.4.         Agree that the consultation referred to in paragraphs 1.1-1.3 shall be for a period of 6 weeks as detailed in paragraph 4.1 of the report;

1.5.         Note that the outcome of the consultation exercise will be reported back to Committee for further consideration and then onward recommendation to Full Council regarding adoption of the Councils’ Statement of Licensing Policy including Cumulative Impact Areas, if any.