Agenda item

Consideration was given to a report that was submitted for pre-decision scrutiny ahead of the Cabinet meeting scheduled for 23 March 2020 in respect of the Licensing Act 2003: Statement of Licensing Policy.

The Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment and the Licensing Manager attended the meeting to present the report.

The report noted that Section 5 of the Licensing Act 2003 required a licensing authority to prepare and publish a statement of its licensing policy at least every three years, however the last review that had been scheduled for 2016 had not taken place due the Council’s focus at that time on taxi and private hire licensing.

It was noted that Cabinet at its meeting on 23 December 2019 (Cabinet Minute No.97) had approved that a consultation process on the drafted policy take place to inform the final version of the revised Statement of Licensing Policy. A summary of the consultation process was included in the officer’s report and a summary of responses was attached as an appendix.

The report also provided information on a proposed Cumulative Impact Zone (CIZ) for Wickersley that would be included in the revised Statement of Licensing Policy. It was noted that where appropriate the Council could identify areas within the Borough where the granting of further licences, or variations to licences would likely impact on the Council’s obligations to the licensing objectives, and as a consequence the Council should produce a Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) for such areas in order to establish whether a CIZ should be implemented.

It was noted that following the Cabinet decision that a CIA for Wickersley should be completed, that a CIA that had been drafted had been consulted on widely with Ward councillors, licensees, residents and other responsible authorities. In response to the information received from the responsible authorities and supported by the response to the consultation the CIA showed that there was sufficient evidence to proceed with the implementation a CIZ for Wickersley due to the saturation of licensed premises, and the density of these premises having a negative impact on crime and anti-social behaviour and also of them negatively impacting health through an increase in ambulance call-outs directly related to alcohol consumption. The proposed CIZ for Wickersley was attached as an appendix to the officer’s report

The full revised Statement of Licensing Policy was attached as an appendix to the officer’s report.

Members welcomed the report and the revised Statement of Licensing Policy but expressed concern about the proposed Cumulative Impact Zone for Wickersley, in relation to both its size and that it was the only such proposed area in the Borough when other areas had similar densities of licenced premises.  Members asked for further information on the processes that had been followed that had led to the proposed determination of Wickersley as a CIZ and asked if the operation of the CIZ already operating in nearby Bawtry had been looked at to inform the decision making process.

The Strategic Director of Regeneration and Environment provided information on the data that had been used to determine the proposed designation of Wickersley as a CIZ, and advised that other town centres in the Borough had been considered for designation but that analysis of the data had shown that only Wickersley, due to its hight density of licensed premises met the criteria for a CIZ.

The Licensing Manager advised that the proposed designation of Wickersley as a CIZ was fully evidence based, and as the first proposed CIZ in the Borough officers in their research had looked at how CIZ’s operated in other areas, including Bawtry, where it was noted that the CIZ was scheduled for review.

Members noted that the designated CIZ in Bawtry was limited to specific streets, all in the town centre, whereas the proposed area in Wickersley was very large and included many predominantly residential areas and asked why the proposed area for the CIZ was so large in comparison. The Licensing Manager advised that the CIZ had to be large enough to cover all potential areas where a new licence could be requested, and as such needed to be a broad area, but advised that the designated area could be reviewed in at a point in the future. The Licensing Manager assured members that the introduction of a CIZ did not affect existing licences or prevent applications for amendments to existing licences, or for new licences to be made.

Members asked about the crime figures that had been included in the report that had been used to inform the CIA, noting that some of the crimes listed did not appear to be clearly linked to, and caused by the number of licenced premises in the area. The Strategic Director advised that work had been carried out to identify how crimes could be linked to the number of licensed premises, noting that the figures showed and increase in crimes later in the day when the premises were in operation. Members acknowledged the work that had been done regarding crime figures in Wickersley, however they were not fully assured that the link between crime figures and the number of licenced premises had been adequately demonstrated in the CIA.

Members asked about the geographical designation of the proposed CIZ, noting that that the proposed area of the CIZ should be smaller and concentrated in the northern area of Wickersley where most of the licenced premises were. The Licensing Manager advised that a smaller CIZ could potentially cause  a problem with displacement of new licensed premises into the area not included in the CIZ, and that the proposed wider area of the CIZ avoided the potential of the problems related to an excess of licensed premises being displaced to elsewhere in Wickersley.

Members asked for further information on the type of complaints that had been received related to licensed premises in Wickersley. The Licensing Manager provided information on complaints that had been received that included issues regarding music and noise related to customers leaving licenced premises.

The Chair asked about the impact that CIZ’s had had in other areas. The Licensing Manager advised that there was not a great deal of information available on their success but advised that from the work that had been done it had been shown that the CIZ’s that had been implemented following thorough research and consultation had shown evidence of success in reducing the problems associated with a large concentration of licensed premises in one area.

Resolved: -

1)    That Cabinet be advised that the revised Statement of Licensing Policy be supported.

2)    That Cabinet be advised that further consideration be made to the geographical designation of the proposed Cumulative Impact Zone for Wickersley with the view that the designation be restricted to the area north of the A631 Bawtry Road.