None.

Recommendation: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 21 May 2025 as a true and accurate record.

The Licensing and Gambling Acts Committee resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 21 May 2025 as a true and accurate record. 

Public addresses relating to matters of business for this agenda, up to five minutes is available for each public address.

The request to speak accompanied by the full text of the address must be received by the Director of Law, Governance and Strategy by 5.00 pm on Tuesday 16 September.

None.

Councillor addresses relating to matters of business for this agenda, up to five minutes is available for each address.

The request should be received by the Director of Law, Governance and Strategy by 5.00 pm on Tuesday 16 September.

None.

The Deputy Chief Executive for Citizens and City Services had submitted a report to review the Cumulative Impact Assessment an determine the Special Saturation Policy.

Recommendations: That the Licensing and Gambling Act Committee:

1.    Consider the report and Cumulative Impact Assessment for 2025-2028.

2.    Agree to the Cumulative Impact Assessment for 2025-2028 including the recommendation to control cumulative impact by retaining a Special Saturation Policy covering City Centre and East Oxford areas.

3.    Recommend to Full Council adoption of the Cumulative Impact Assessment for 2025-2028 and continued Special Saturation Policy covering City Centre and East Oxford areas.

The Licensing and Gambling Act Committee resolved to:

1.    Consider the report and Cumulative Impact Assessment for 2025-2028.

2.    Agree not to adopt the proposed Special Saturation Policy 2025-2028 as, based on the cumulative impact assessment before them, the Committee were not of the opinion that the number of licensed premises within the City Centre and East Oxford areas is such that it is likely that granting further licences (or variation to licences) would be inconsistent with the licencing authorities duty to promote the licencing objectives. 

3.    Recommend to Full Council to not adopt the Cumulative Impact Assessment for 2025-2028 and the continued Special Saturation Policy covering City Centre and East Oxford areas.

 The Deputy Chief Executive for Citizens and City Services had submitted a report to review the Cumulative Impact Assessment an determine the Special Saturation Policy. 

The Supervising Senior Licensing Officer introduced the report and provided a comprehensive summary. 

The Chair invited questions from the Committee. 

Councillor Muddiman sought to clarify how many applications had been refused within the SSP in the previous licensing period. The Supervising Senior Licensing Officer confirmed that 120 new or variation applications were received, of which 52 were located within the Special Saturation Policy (SSP) and 8 were referred to a Sub-Committee for determination. Of these 8, only one had been refused; therefore, 51 of the 52 applications received, which fell within the SSP area, had been granted.  

Councillor Ottino requested data on the impact of not having an SSP in place for the last five months, particularly relating to whether there were any changes to the numbers of applications received, granted, or refused. The Licensing Team Manager noted that only one application had been received just prior to the last Committee meeting at which time the policy was removed. The Committee heard that this application was approved and there had not since been any applications objected to on the grounds of the SSP, and no applications had been received since the SSP had not been in place.  

Councillor Rehman queried whether conditions added to premises licences recently were lighter due to no SSP being in place. It was explained that the one application received during the recent period was when the SSP was still in place but that it had expired by the time of the relevant Sub-Committee; the conditions proposed were very robust. 

Councillor Upton noted that a possible objection to the SSP could be that it prevents new applicants from coming forward, thus damaging Oxford’s nighttime economy. However, evidence during the period without the SSP has not shown a flood of incoming applications and 51 out of 52 applications had still been approved. Therefore, Councillor Upton asked whether the argument still stood that an SSP prevents people applying for premises licences. The Licensing Team Manager noted that the number of applications received per year had remained similar since 2018.  Councillor Upton queried the varied criteria an application must meet with and without an SPP, to which it was explained that each application is deemed on its own merits and what is reasonable between two applications may vary dependant on its unique case. It was also clarified that with an SSP, an application can be considered alongside data from the police and hospitals for example, when assessing the premises’ impact. The Committee understood that this data can then be used as support for an objection, something which cannot be done without an SSP.  

Councillor Jupp noted that there had been no disruption to application flow since the SSP was introduced and asked whether there had been any change to the type of prospective businesses applying. The Licensing Team Manager explained that the Licensing Authority  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

The Committee is scheduled to meet at 6.00pm on the following dates:

·       9 February 2026

The Committee noted the dates and times of future meetings.