Wiltshire Council seeking views on its licensing policy

Thursday, 18 April 2024 01:00

Wiltshire Council is seeking views on its licensing policy, which sets out how the council will manage local licensing and will provide clarity for residents, businesses and all those who make licence applications.

As the Licensing Authority, Wiltshire Council is required, under the Licensing Act 2003, to promote four objectives, namely:

The prevention of crime and disorder Public safety The prevention of public nuisance The protection of children from harm

The licensing policy sets out how the council would normally apply its functions under the Licensing Act 2003, particularly when making decisions on applications for premises licences, club premises certificates and temporary event notices.

The council’s current Statement of Licensing Policy came into effect on 10 November 2019 and will cease to have effect on 9 November 2024, and so it must be in a position to formally adopt a revised policy from November this year. To satisfy the specific legal requirements set out in the Licensing Act, the council must carry out a consultation process on the proposed Statement of Licensing Policy.

Cllr Dominic Muns, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “Licensed premises play a prominent and important part in our local communities and we would welcome the views of our residents, or indeed anyone who has an interest in licensing and the promotion of the licensing objectives, so that we can formalise our next policy.”

The policy must be consulted on with a range of specific stakeholders including licence holders, police, fire and rescue, businesses and residents of the area. The consultation is now open and will run for six weeks. The consultation can be found at Draft Licensing Policy 2024-29 consultation (wiltshire.gov.uk). Paper copies are also available in Wiltshire Council libraries.

The results of the consultation will be reported back to the council’s Licensing Committee at its meeting in June. The draft policy can be found at Statement-of-licensing-policy-Draft 2024-2029.pdf (wiltshire.gov.uk)