Letter from Westminster Council:

Westminster is at the heart of London’s night-time and visitor economy. Whilst licensed premises contribute a huge amount to the economy and vibrancy of the City, they can also create problems for residents and local services. During the Covid-19 pandemic, and especially as restrictions ease, there has been an increase in the number of premises in Westminster offering delivery services.  There has been an increase in ancillary deliveries from existing premises and a growing number of applications for delivery centres where food and drink is delivered by either their own delivery personnel or via a third party delivery service.

Whilst we support businesses in Westminster to innovate and diversify, residents have told us that they have some concerns about these developments.  In order to support safe, responsible and positive growth the Licensing Authority is proposing amendments to its Statement of Licensing Policy (SLP).

Introduction of new premise uses policies

The Licensing Authority proposes to introduce three new policies, these are:

*   Ancillary Delivery of Alcohol and/or Late-Night Refreshment Policy (DEL1)
*   Shops Policy (SHP1)
*   Delivery Centre Policy (DC1)

Policy DEL1 will apply to venues such as restaurants and bars that want to offer deliveries in addition to their main activities.  The presumption is to grant these applications subject to other policies.

Policy SHP1 will replace the existing Off sales of alcohol policy (OS1).  The policy will apply to any premises whose primary function is the sale of goods or the offer of services.  The policy is more comprehensive than OS1 as it covers all licensable activities that these premises may carry out.

Policy DC1 will apply to venues where the primary function is the sale of alcohol and food via a delivery service.  Applications will generally be granted if they are not in predominantly residential areas and subject to other policies.

Other changes

The introduction of these policies will require a number of amendments across the SLP, including:

•        Amendments to the Core Hours Policy (HRS1) to reflect the new premises uses

•        The Off Sales of Alcohol Policy will be deleted.

•        Amend other premises uses policies to refers to ancillary delivery.

We want to know what you think

Consultation will run from Monday 14 June to Sunday 25 July 2021. The consultation documents will be published on our website on the 14th June.  The link to the relevant page is www.westminster.gov.uk/licensing-consultation<http://www.westminster.gov.uk/licensing-consultation> (please note that this page will not be live until the 14th June)

If you have any questions, please get in touch with a member of the team at licensingconsultation@westminster.gov.uk<mailto:licensingconsultation@westminster.gov.uk>