In Plymouth we work closely with the licensed trade and are proud of our association with the trade, through the British Institute of Innkeepers, Citysafe and Pub Watch. The licensed trade is a key part of the economy of the City, it is a key employer and it's turnover is critical, not only to it's immediate staff, but also to those who supply our puubs and clubs with food, drink and their many necessary services. The City has very high standards in many of it's licensed premises. A sign of the trade's commitment to constant improvement in the field of crime, disorder and safety is the high level of membership of the Citysafe scheme; there is a link to its website on the right hand side of this page.
We need to have a balance between the economic value produced by the "evening and night time economy" (ENTE) and its impact on residents and communities. A "saturation" or "cumulative impact" policy seeks to achieve this. You may know that the Police have asked the licensing authority, the council, to consider such a policy. We do not seek to stop the growth of the licensed trade, what we do seek is that, in the identified areas, licensees demonstrate why they will not cause more disorder or harm by opening a new premises, before the license is granted.
I have put some of the detail in the entry below. This is just the outline, if you want to read the whole police submission, use the link at the bottom.
Cumulative impact or saturation policies
You may be aware that the council recently completed a consultation of the City’s Licensing Policy. The amended policy will soon be re-published. During the consultation period, we (Devon and Cornwall Police) submitted a portfolio of evidence identifying five areas where we think crime and disorder is associated with the evening and night time economy. We set out a request to the council to consider the benefits of a saturation policy for those areas.
The areas are Union Street (including Derry's Cross), Mutley Plain, North Hill, Stoke Village and the Barbican.
A series of open drop in sessions were held in each of the respective areas between the 4 to 10 January 2008. Other individuals and groups have submitted their views.
Background
The Licensing Act 2003 introduced a brand new licensing system for:
• The sale and supply of alcohol;
• Provision of “regulated entertainment” e.g. music/dance/film/theatre/ indoor sport;
• Provision of refreshment such as hot food/drink sold after 11.p.m. and 5.a.m.
The Act established four licensing objectives. These are:
• The prevention of crime and disorder
• Safety
• The prevention of nuisance
• The protection of children from harm.
The local licensing authority is responsible for the new licensing system, with role of promoting the four licensing objectives.
The Act provides a range of powers to tackle problem premises. For instance, legal action can be taken for operating without a licence; for selling alcohol to children or to people who are already drunk. Power exists for licences to be reviewed where premises are giving rise to concerns.
The guidance to the act sets out ways to tackling problems arising from the combined effect of a number of premises operating in close proximity to each other in a small area. Licensing authorities can consider introducing special policies, known as “saturation policies”, in certain areas. Saturation policies can be introduced in areas where the “cumulative” effect of licensed premises in the area, is sufficient for the authority to decide that the growth of premises of a similar nature in that area needs to be controlled.
Where the authority has evidence to show that a special policy is necessary, it can, following consultation in the area, introduce a policy that no further licences will be granted to similar premises unless the applicant can show that the licensing of his premises will not add to the problems that have already been identified. This is what the Police have asked Plymouth City Council as the licensing authority to do.
How the policy would work
Normally, when an applicant applies for a licence, the applicant has an entitlement to the licence they are seeking to obtain. A number of “responsible authorities” such as the Police and Fire Authority, and local residents have the ability to raise concerns about the application. If no concern is raised, then the licence will be granted, subject to any conditions which are set out in the Act, or are consistent with the applicant’s “operating schedule” which forms part of the application. The “operating schedule details the applicant’s proposals for the operation and management of the premises.
Where a saturation policy is in place, what is known as a “rebuttable presumption” is created. This introduces a subtle change to the position. Now instead of having an entitlement to the licence, the applicant must demonstrate that the grant of the application will not add to the existing problems.
This does not mean, however, that no further licences can be granted. The policy is not applied automatically. It still requires one of these responsible authorities or one or more local residents to lodge representations about an application with the local licensing authority. Once this happens, the policy comes into effect. If no representation is received then it remains that a licence must be granted that is consistent with the terms of the operating schedule.
The purpose of the policy is to maintain the current position / status quo. The policy does not allow the licensing authority to withdraw or cut-back licences it has already issued. It does not allow the licensing authority to impose quotas that would prevent an application being considered upon its own merits. It does not allow the licensing authority to set limits on the hours of licences that it grants in the future.
Establishing the policy
A policy cannot be considered until the council has consulted on the matter in the local community with the licence holders and businesses and local residents that may be affected.
All views received from this consultation exercise will be reported firstly to the Council’s Licensing Committee. Any decision to approve a saturation policy will be taken, however, by the full Council Assembly and announced in the press. Any local saturation policy will then become part of the Council’s overall statement of licensing policy. Any saturation policy is required to be monitored and amended or removed if the original concerns which led to the policy being introduced are satisfied.
For full details of the consultation and the Police submission, go to:
http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/saturationpolicyconsultation20072008
