The Licensing Committee of Southwark Council met on Tuesday 21 July 2026 to discuss the review of Cumulative Impact Areas (CIAs) within the borough. The meeting's agenda also included standard procedural items.

Review of Cumulative Impact Areas in Southwark

A significant portion of the meeting was scheduled to be dedicated to a review of the Cumulative Impact Areas (CIAs) in Southwark, as outlined in the Public reports pack. This review, conducted in line with the Licensing Act 2003, assessed data relating to licensed premises and their impact on licensing objectives, including crime and disorder, public safety, public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm.

The report pack indicated that the committee was to consider recommendations regarding the status of several areas:

• Retain Borough & Bankside and Peckham as CIAs.
• Designate Elephant & Castle as a new CIA, citing its escalating risk profile and concentration of alcohol-related harm.
• Remove Camberwell from CIA status, based on observed improvements and lower risk profiles.
• Discontinue all monitoring areas, as there was no evidence of ongoing risk.

The assessment involved analysing various datasets, including local crime statistics, anti-social behaviour offences, health-related statistics such as alcohol-related emergency attendances and hospital admissions, environmental health complaints, and data on the density and type of licensed premises. The report highlighted that CIAs are designated zones where the concentration of licensed premises is likely to undermine the licensing objectives. A CIA policy typically creates a presumption against new or varied licence applications within these areas unless applicants can demonstrate no adverse impact.

The report detailed the methodology used for the assessment, which included Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) and statistical standardisation to create a Composite Risk Index (CRI). This index combined seven indicators: premises density, alcohol-related crime, complaints, anti-social behaviour (ASB) density, London Ambulance Service (LAS) callout density, licence applications granted, and alcohol-related violent crime. The analysis aimed to provide an evidence-based approach to determining the status of CIAs.

The report also touched upon the equality and human rights implications of the proposed changes, noting that the policy aims to encourage diversity within the night-time economy and protect venues that serve specific communities. It also acknowledged the potential socio-economic impacts of rising business rates and rents on licensed premises.

The meeting was scheduled to consider the findings of this review and the recommendations presented in the report.