Have your say on our new Cumulative Impact Assessment

Introduction

Westminster City Council is consulting on its draft revised Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA).  The CIA will influence the Council’s next review of its Statement of Licensing Policy, it may influence Licensing Sub-Committee decisions and will feed into Westminster After Dark.

Cumulative Impact

Cumulative impact is the term used to describe the stress that having a number of licensed premises in a concentrated area can have on the four licensing objectives, which are:

• Prevention of crime and disorder
• Prevention of public nuisance
• Protection of children from harm
• Public safety

It is often not that licensed premises on their own are operating in a way that is detrimental to the licensing objectives, but it is the cumulation of the premises and the activities that surround them that creates the increased problems and undermines the licensing objectives .

Cumulative impact can occur either in the area where the premises are located or some distance away from them, for example at public transport locations or fast food premises. The cumulation of licensed premises can have a disproportionate demand on local services such as transport, public lavatories, waste collection and street cleaning. There may also be a higher level of crime and disorder, often associated with alcohol related violence that can take place which will draw in additional demands on the police as well as the ambulance service.

A CIA examines the available data to establish if the presence of licensed premises in certain areas had led to cumulative impact.

How the draft CIA was developed

The CIA has been developed using data analytical methods as well as engagement with stakeholders to get a more well-rounded understanding of cumulative impact.

The types of evidence that was used for the data analysis include:

• Licensing data
• Police data
• Environmental health complaints
• Ambulance callouts

The project team also used previous consultation responses such as the City Survey and ASB Strategy Consultation to get an understanding of how cumulative impact affects our communities.

The data used is largely from 2022.  This period was chosen to give as up to date as possible picture whilst avoiding including periods affected by  lockdown and other restrictions imposed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Findings

The findings of the CIA are broken down into sections:

• Patterns of Crime: Pages 10 – 22 analyse and map out crime across Westminster
• ASB: Pages 23 – 29 examine ASB across Westminster and resident’s views
• Transport: Pages 29 – 31 look at transport related crime and disorder
• Noise Complaints: Pages 32 – 36 analyse noise complaints
• Licensing Data: Pages 36 – 42 looks at licensing data (applications and hours etc) across Westminster
• Regression Analysis: Pages 43 – 45 include statistical modelling showing the strength of relationships between licensed premises types and undesirable behaviours.
• Hot Spot Analysis: Pages 46 – 49 show whether certain areas saw consistent level of issues throughout the year.
• Area Profiles: Pages 50 – 80 Have more detailed profiles of areas of interest

The CIA is a detailed document.  To make it as accessible as possible, information such as the methodologies for each section has been included in appendices.

Licensing Authority Statement

The CIA must include a statement saying that the licensing authority considers that the number of licences in one or more parts of Westminster is causing cumulative impact and that granting further licences would undermine the licensing objectives.

The Licensing Authority’s statement is on page 80

Consultation

The Council has a statutory duty to consult on the CIA.  The consultation on the CIA will run from 9^th October to 12^th November 2023.   Stakeholders can respond to the consultation by answering the survey below or by emailing the council at licensingconsultation@westminster.gov.uk

CLICK HERE TO TAKE A SHORT SURVEY

Next Steps

Following the consultation, the Council will consider the responses and make any changes it considers necessary as a result of feedback and publish the final version of the CIA on the council’s website.