Agenda item

(Assistant Director of Corporate Support Services (Legal)) To consider the attached report (LSC-004-2012/13).

The Assistant Director of Corporate Support Services (Legal) presented a report as to whether an assessment should be conducted into the Cumulative Impact of licensed premises on the four Licensing Objectives in some areas of the District.

The Assistant Director explained that Cumulative Impact related to the potential impact on the promotion of the licensing objectives of a significant number of licensed premises concentrated in one area. The Secretary of State had issued guidance under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003. The Council had to gather evidence to support the implementation of a Cumulative Impact Policy within its Statement of Licensing Policy, and the public also had to be consulted. If there was not sufficient evidence then the Council could not implement such a policy. If implemented, each application still had to be judged on its merits and any application that was unlikely to add to the cumulative impact of an area had to be granted. Such a policy could not be used for revoking an existing licence, it could only be considered when deciding to grant a new licence or varying an existing licence. The Council had to have proper regard for the differences between the different establishments that could sell alcohol and the differing impact that they could have on the promotion of the licensing objectives.

The Committee acknowledged that the introduction of such a Policy would create additional work for the Council’s Licensing Officers. The Assistant Director reported that the Licensing section was currently very busy, and that the Council would have to employ a consultant to collect the necessary evidence. Additional finance from the District Development Fund would need to be sought to pay any potential consultancy fees.

In response to further questions from the Committee, the Assistant Director stated that this was a policy for adoption by the Council, but any application received in breach of the Policy would be referred to the next available Sub-Committee meeting for a decision. The Council had to follow the guidance issued to adopt the Policy otherwise the Policy would be open to legal challenge. The public could invoke the Policy when responding to an application to grant a new licence or vary an existing licence, and no guidance was yet available on the setting of fees.

The Chairman commented that such a Policy could be useful in Loughton, but not necessarily in other areas of the District. There had been a spread of late-night venues in Loughton High Road, which adversely affected the quality of life for local residents; the problem being more of an anti-social nature rather than criminal. Residents in Loughton had given up reporting problems as they never seemed to get resolved. It was believed that the Street Pastors who patrolled Loughton High Road in the evenings were having a positive impact.

The Committee believed that this was a complex policy and the Council should not proceed with it at the current time but review the situation in the future. The Council should be proactive with local residents and encourage them to report problems with licensed premises. This could be advertised via the Council’s own Forester magazine, as well as with Town and Parish Councils and the Council’s website. It was highlighted that the Council’s Safer Communities Teams had expertise and experience in dealing with anti-social behaviour, whilst the Portfolio Holder for Safer, Greener and Highways advised the Committee that further CCTV cameras were due to be installed in Loughton pending Cabinet approval in December.

Resolved:

(1)        That consideration of whether to conduct an assessment into the cumulative impact of licensed premises on the four licensing objectives in certain parts of the District be deferred until the next meeting of the Committee on 10 April 2013; and

(2)        That, in the meantime, residents be encouraged to report problems with licensed premises in the District to both Essex Police and the Council’s Safer Communities teams.