The Licensing Act 2003 introduced significant changes to licensing laws in England and Wales and completely changed the way licensing is dealt with. Licences dealt with by us:
- Alcohol
- Public entertainment
- Theatre
- Cinema
- Late night refreshment
- Night cafes
- Registered club licence
License types
If you are involved in carrying out any of the above establishments, you may need to be licensed.
Key measures
The key measures contained in the act are:
- Flexible opening hours, with the potential for up to 24 hour opening, seven days a week, subject to consideration to the impact on the local residents. This, it is hoped, will help to minimise public disorder resulting from fixed closing times
- Premises licence - a single scheme for licensing premises which sell alcohol, provide public entertainment or provide refreshment late at night
- Personal licences - a new system of personal licences which allows holders to sell or serve alcohol for consumption on or off any premises possessing a premise licence
- Designated premises supervisor - a personal licence holder immediately identifiable as being in day-to-day charge of licensed premises
- Magistrates Court to deal with appeals against the local authority
In offering this advice we wish to make it clear that:
- Legislation may change over time and the advice given is based on the information available at the time the guidance was produced. It is not necessarily comprehensive and is subject to revision in the light of further information.
- Only the courts can interpret statutory legislation with any authority.
- This advice is not intended to be a definitive guide to, or a substitute for, the relevant law. Independent legal advice should be sought where appropriate.
Statement of Licensing Policy
Full Council approved our current Statement of Licensing Policy, available below, on 9 December 2020. It became effective on 7 January 2021.
It has subsequently been updated, following the decision to retain the Cumulative Impact Policy (CIP) at a meeting of the Licensing Committee on 20 November 2023 and ratified by Full Council on 6 December 2023, following consultation and consideration of the evidence.
Cumulative Impact Assessment Statement for the 'Can-Do' New England and Millfield area of Peterborough
On 18 April 2013, we as the licensing authority adopted a special policy relating to cumulative impact in respect to all licensed premises for the 'Can-Do' area. This was subsequently reviewed and published on 7 January 2016. Following a change in legislation, on 18 October 2018, the Licensing Committee resolved the retention of the special policy (approved by Full Council on 12 December 2018) and published a Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) setting out the evidence for its decision. Evidence received from responses to the 2020 consultation revealed that the cumulative impact policy required retention with modification to the types of application which would be affected by the special policy. As of 7 January 2021, any application which requested ‘Off sale’ of alcohol was subject to the cumulative impact policy.
A further review and consultation were carried out in 2023. The Licensing Committee considered all responses and available evidence and remain of the opinion, that the number of premises licenses and / or club premises certificates offering ‘Off sales’ of alcohol within the defined boundary is such, that it is likely, that the granting of further licenses of this type, would be inconsistent with the authority’s duty to promote the licensing objectives.
The evidence basis for this decision is detailed in the re-published Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) below.
In accordance with the Act, the Statement of Licensing Policy must be kept under review and remains in existence for a period of five years. Cumulative Impact Policies, (within overarching Statement of Licensing Policies) and Cumulative Impact Assessments must be reviewed and republished every three years.
