Brighton & Hove City Council removes Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) and introduces ‘Good Operator policy’ within the Statement of Licensing Policy.
Brighton & Hove City Council has recently reviewed and updated its Statement of Licensing Policy. The amended Policy was adopted by the Full Council on 18th December 2025 and took effect from 5th January 2026.
Within the review of the Licensing Policy, it was decided to remove the Cumulative Impact Policy which was in place and replaced this with a City Safety Area. The CSA covers the same area that the CIA covered. There will no longer be a blanket presumption to refuse applications, however applications that fall within the CSA will be scrutinised against a Matrix approach set out in the Licensing Policy. Applicants will also be expected to include in the operating schedule robust additional best practice measures. A non-exhaustive list is provided within the policy.
And something we think is unprecedented and a massive boost for the trade, the Council has included a ‘Good Operator Policy’. Under this policy there will be a presumption in favour of granting variation applications where they have been submitted by a ‘Good Operator’ (yes you read that right!). A Good Operator is defined in the policy as a personal licence holder that in the 3-5 years prior to submitting the application has not been subject to any formal intervention by the responsible authorities in connection with that, or any other, premises in Brighton and Hove. The Policy also advises that this presumption in favour of grant will include variations submitted to trading hours beyond the core hours set out in the Licensing Policy.
This ‘Good Operator Policy’ is certainly a welcomed change to the Brighton’s Licensing Policy and one that we hope will be adopted by more authorities.
Link to the Council’s licensing policy.
For further information on these changes, contact one of our licensing solicitors or call 0115 953 8500.
