Council re-adopts Cumulative Impact Policy

Oxford City Council have re-adopted a Cumulative Impact policy following a recent statement of licensing policy and Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) consultation at the end of last year. The Cumulative Impact policy covers the area of Oxford city centre and east Oxford (around Cowley Road) and is now in effect.

As you may recall from our previous eNews, Oxford City Council’s licensing policy was due for review and publication in February 2021, and the council took the pragmatic approach of re-adopting the existing licensing policy but removing the Cumulative Impact policy as no realistic assessment of cumulative impact was possible at that time due to the disruption as a result of the pandemic. Now that the CIA has been undertaken the Council is of the opinion that based on a review of the evidence, the cumulative effect of the number of licensed premises and club premises certificates within the city centre and the East Oxford area is such that is likely that the granting of further licences or material variations to licences (such as extension to hours for licensable activities permitted on licences) would be inconsistent with the authority’s duty to promote the licensing objectives. A further CIA must be undertaken by the Council within three years to ensure the evidence and data still supports the retention of the Cumulative Impact policy.

The net effect of the reintroduction of the Cumulative Impact policy is that there is a rebuttable presumption that applications for new premises licenses or club premises certificates or material variations to these within these two areas will normally be refused, where valid relevant representations are received, unless an applicant can demonstrate that the operation of the premises will not add to the existing cumulative impact already being experienced within the area – which is an additional, at times challenging, hurdle for applicants to overcome.

Visit our Cizapp function here https://www.cizapp.co.uk/ to see if your premises falls within one of the areas covered by the Cumulative Impact Policy or alternatively you can view the full updated Statement of Licensing Policy and maps on the Council’s website.

For more information, contact Associate Solicitor, Suraj Desor on s.desor@popall.co.uk or call 07880 382 193