The Cambridge City Council Licensing Sub Committee met on 16 May 2025 to consider an application from Cambridge Rugby Football Club Limited for a premises licence. The application seeks to allow the club to provide plays, films, live and recorded music, performance of dance and supply of alcohol, both indoors and outdoors. The committee was also scheduled to discuss representations received regarding the application.

Cambridge Rugby Club Licensing Application

The Licensing Sub-Committee were scheduled to consider an application for a premises licence for Cambridge Rugby Football Club, located on Grantchester Road. The applicant, Cambridge Rugby Football Club Limited, applied for the licence under section 17 of the Licensing Act 2003. The application seeks to permit several licensable activities:

• Plays (indoors and outdoors)
• Films (indoors and outdoors)
• Live Music (indoors and outdoors)
• Recorded Music (indoors and outdoors)
• Performance of Dance (indoors and outdoors)
• Supply of alcohol (on the premises)

The report pack states that events would predominately take place between 1 April and 30 October, but could occur at other times of the year. The licence would cover two types of use:

• Rugby Use: Rugby-focussed events such as matches, training, and tournaments.
• Non-Rugby Use: Other events such as charity events, concerts, festivals and university balls, further divided by event size:
  • Small: Up to 999 attendees
  • Medium: 1,000–2,499 attendees
  • Large: 2,500–4,999 attendees

The proposed conditions included the number of days per event types:

• Rugby Use: Unlimited
• Small Events: Unlimited
• Medium Events: Up to 4 days per year
• Large Events: Up to 3 days per year

The report pack notes that the applicant detailed that all other licences will be surrendered, should this licence be granted, consolidating all other events under a single licence.

Representations

The sub-committee was scheduled to consider representations from 55 'Other Persons' that were received in response to the application. No representations were received from any of the Responsible Authorities¹.

Councillor Hugh Clough, Green Spokes, Ward Councillor for Newnham, submitted a supplementary statement to his letter of representation, which was also scheduled to be discussed. Councillor Clough stated that the current licence application does not meet the guiding principles of the Revised Section 182 Guidance (Feb 2025), because:

• The noise impact from the events in 2023 and 2024 is far wider than the immediately adjacent roads.
• The proposed licensing hours of operation are unreasonably extensive (09:00-23:00, 10:00 to 22:00).
• The lack of restriction for Rugby Use events is not logical and is disproportionate.

Councillor Clough also raised concerns about public nuisance, stating that there is no reference to noise limits in the licence application, and that limits lower than 65 decibels should be considered. He also noted that the Code of Conduct on Environmental Control of Noise at Concerts sets a limit of not more than three concert days per year at 65 decibels, while the current application seeks to have seven days per annum.

Councillor Clough suggested several possible options for the sub-committee, including:

1. Rejection, consultation and re-submission
2. Replace Premises Licences with equivalent Licences
3. Modified version of current application

He also provided hand-written adjustments to the draft licence to make the hours and event numbers more reasonable to residents.

Background

The report pack outlined that the proposed premises is not located within a Cumulative Impact Area². It was noted that the location of the premises already has three separate licences/certificates in operation:

• A Club Premises Certificate, CLUBCAM 000026, in effect since 15 December 2005.
• A Premises Licence, PRECAM 000926, in effect since 6 January 2023, held by Live Tour Promotions Limited, permitting two events over one weekend, once a year.
• A Premises Licence, PRECAM 000972, in effect since 27 January 2025, held by London Road Event Hire Services Limited, permitting one event on 5 July 2025, with a maximum capacity of 2,499.

The report pack stated that this application is for a new, separate premises licence from those mentioned above and must be treated on its own merits.

Considerations

In considering the application, the Sub-Committee were scheduled to consider the Cambridge City Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and the statutory guidance issued under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003. The relevant sections from the Council’s Statement of Licensing Policy are:

• Objectives, section 2
• Fundamental principles, section 4
• Licensing Hours, section 6
• Licence Conditions, section 8

The Sub-Committee were reminded that their decision must be made with a view to promoting one or more of the four licensing objectives:

• The prevention of crime and disorder
• Public safety
• The prevention of public nuisance
• The protection of children from harm