The Licensing Committee of Merton Council met on 14 October 2025 to discuss a report on the five yearly review of the council's statement of licensing policy. The committee was scheduled to consider feedback from a public consultation, and to consider approving a draft statement of licensing policy for recommendation to the full council. The meeting was scheduled to be followed by a meeting of the Licensing Committee (miscellaneous) to deal with any licensing matters which are not within the scope of the Licensing Act 2003¹.

Statement of Licensing Policy

The main item for discussion was the report on the five yearly review of the Council's Statement of Licensing Policy 2026-2031.

The report noted that under the Licensing Act 2003, the council is required to review and re-publish its Statement of Licensing Policy every five years. The current licensing policy was published in January 2021 and expires in January 2026.

The report included three recommendations for the Licensing Committee:

• To consider the comments received during the public consultation process, which took place between 18 June and 15 September 2025.
• To approve delegated authority to the Licensing Manager, in consultation with Councillor Brenda Fraser, Chair of the Licensing Committee, to approve any amendments to the Statement of Licensing Policy following the committee meeting and prior to submission to the Council for adoption on 19 November 2025.
• To approve the draft Statement of Licensing Policy and Cumulative Impact Assessment[^1] subject to the above paragraph and recommend them for adoption by full Council on 19 November 2025. [^1]: A cumulative impact assessment (CIA) is a report that assesses the impact of licensed premises on the promotion of the licensing objectives.

The report pack included the draft Statement of Licensing Policy, an analysis of feedback received from the consultation, and the council's pool of model conditions for licensed premises.

The draft statement of licensing policy stated that it serves four main purposes:

• To guide elected members sitting on the Licensing Committee and Sub-Committees on the boundaries and powers of the Licensing Authority and to provide them with guidance when making decisions.
• To inform and assist potential applicants for a licence of the expectations of the Licensing Authority and factors that will be considered when making licensing decisions.
• To inform and assist responsible authorities and other persons (including residents and residents' bodies) of the parameters under which the Licensing Authority will make licence decisions, and therefore how their needs and concerns can be addressed.
• To inform a Court of Law of the policy considerations taken into account by the Licensing Authority when making a decision if it is challenged.

The draft policy included sections on:

• Violence against women and girls
• Delivery services
• Environmental best practice in licensed venues
• The prevention of crime and disorder
• Public safety
• The prevention of public nuisance
• The protection of children from harm
• Tourism, employment, planning and building control
• Licensing hours
• Shops, stores and supermarkets
• Enforcement
• Events
• Applications for personal licences to sell or supply alcohol
• Minor variations
• Temporary event notices
• Registered clubs
• Representations
• Reviews and dealing with complaints about premises
• Administration, exercise and delegation of functions
• Publication of the policy

The draft policy stated that the council has a special policy on cumulative impact for Wimbledon Town Centre relating to all licence types, and Mitcham Town Centre in relation to premises selling alcohol for consumption off the premises only.

The analysis of feedback from the consultation summarised the 24 responses received. Direct responses were received from Wimbledon West Hillside Residents Association (WEHRA), Merton Conservative Group, Merton Council Environmental Health Pollution (Noise & Nuisance) Team and the Metropolitan Police.

The report stated that the majority of those who responded are generally positive towards the existing Statement of Licensing Policy and approve of the proposed amendments to the Policy. Most free text comments relate to the Cumulative Impact Zone for Wimbledon Town Centre and exceptions to the CIZ. Concerns have also been expressed about ASB, public nuisance and littering associated with licensed premises.

The report noted that strong support has been received for the inclusion of paragraph 11 in the Policy on ending violence against women and girls' strategy. Some amendments have been suggested as follows:

• Additions to paragraph 11.5 of the policy We expect all licensed premises to have appropriately trained staff, who are proactive and vigilant around women's safety at night. This includes knowledge of venue design and a duty to capture information and report incidents to the police where appropriate
• Additions to paragraph 6.3 (vii) Protect Duty - Measures the applicant has taken to reduce vulnerability of customers on the premises. This may include staff Welfare and Vulnerability Engagement (WAVE) training, venue design considerations and having emergency evacuation plans in place.

The report stated that some of the free text comments received relate to the imposition of licence conditions on premises to prevent crime and disorder, promote public safety and to prevent public nuisance. Paragraph 4.5 of the policy has been amended to make it more explicit that the Licensing Authority has now developed a pool of model conditions document which is uploaded to the Council's website.

The Metropolitan Police have not raised any comments regarding the Statement of Licensing Policy. Their comments relate to the Cumulative Impact Assessment.