Entertainment & alcohol licensing

News: Westminster – The Saga Continues

  • Date: 11/06/2008
  • Author/Solicitor: James Anderson

There has been another clash over the Westminster Cumulative Impact Policy.

This is the ongoing saga of Movida, the upmarket club popular with celebrities in Argyll Street, in the West End "Stress Area's".

Briefly, Movida is one of the three premises which have been successful on appeal to Westminster Magistrates' Court. After a lengthy hearing, District Judge Rosco decided to allow the appeal, and listed a number of "exceptional circumstances" to Movida and also imposed a number of conditions.

Under the Licensing Act 2003, the Crown Court is no longer an option and so the only way Westminster could challenge the decision of the District Judge was by way of judicial review to the High Court.

It is difficult and expensive to challenge decisions in this way and there is a natural filtering process whereby a single High Court judge decides whether there is sufficient merit for the matter to proceed to a full hearing.

In January 2008, Westminster only just made it over the finishing line in relation to this first test and indeed Mr. Justice McCombe said that he was "loathe to dismiss summarily a claim brought by an important public authority such as Westminster".

At the beginning of June, the fully constituted High Court refused to grant Westminster's application to quash District Judge Rosco's decision but indicated that, as a matter of principle, before conditions are imposed Westminster City Council, and if appropriate others, should be able to comment.

Remarkably, both sides claimed a victory despite the licence remaining in force in relation to the hours which had been allowed on appeal.

Westminster were ordered to pay the applicant's costs in the sum of £65,000 and the question has to be asked whether, having lost on appeal, it was really in the interests of local taxpayers to pursue this matter when presumably there was no evidence available of any adverse impact on the stress area caused by Movida operating later hours.

That of course is the acid test and, perhaps cynically, can I suggest the reason why Westminster are so keen to fight any challenge to their Policy is because in reality they are simply worried that their stress areas ivory tower has been constructed on the dubious premise, that trading later necessarily has more impact on local residents. Any assault on this elaborately constructed tower must therefore be defended at all costs.

For further information, please contact James Anderson