The inclusion of a 'cumulative impact' policy for a defined area in Richmond and Twickenham town centres was carefully considered by members of Richmond Council's Regulatory Committee, and narrowly rejected in a debate that followed the adjournment of a meeting two weeks earlier when the same issue was the main concern.

It was eventually decided that more time was needed to consider the impact of such a plan and whether it is appropriate to the borough's needs. After two hours of discussion, the majority was extremely narrow but the decision was that the Council does not need such a policy at the moment.

There were three principal reasons for this:

• the police feel they can cope with crime and disorder and there is no need for such a policy
• officers believe there is lack evidence of real problems in the borough's town centres that cannot be tackled in other ways, so such a policy is unlikely to stand up to challenge in a higher Court.
• barristers' opinion was extremely clear that the evidence is weak and - importantly - the council would need to reconsult with the trade and local community before safely imposing such a policy.

A huge range of documents was presented to the Committee and it was apparent that all members accepted there are many problems and incidents that are not reported to the police. However, the advice was extremely clear that such evidence could not stand scrutiny in court.

To give one example: over 18,000 people are admitted to hospital each year in the Richmond and Twickenham PCT area with alcohol related injuries or problems and yet police reports of drunkeness can be numbered at less than 1,000.

The will of the committee was to minimise the harm caused by excessive alcohol consumption in the Borough and use all of the powers given to the council by the 2003 Licensing Act to enforce this aim.

Should these prove inadequate, the committee agreed that the council could always apply a cumulative impact policy at a later date when the volume of evidence should be greater and the police may have changed their view on the problem.

See the Regulatory Committee agenda and Draft Licensing Policy

Wednesday, December 8, 2004

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