Gambling Policy

The Licensing Authority is involved in a wide range of licensing decisions and functions and has established a Licensing Committee to administer them.

Licensing Sub-Committees made up of three Councillors from the main Licensing Committee will sit to hear applications where representations have been received from interested parties and responsible authorities. Ward Councillors will not sit on a Sub-Committee involving an application within their ward.

Where a Councillor who is a member of the Licensing Committee is making or has made representations regarding a licence on behalf of an interested party, in the interests of good governance they will disqualify themselves from any involvement in the decision making process affecting the licence in question.

The Council's Licensing Officers will deal with all other licensing applications where either no representation have been received, or where representations have been received and it is agreed by the parties that a hearing is not necessary.

Decisions as to whether representations are irrelevant, frivolous or vexatious will be made by Council Officers, who will make the decisions on whether representations or applications for licence reviews should be referred to the Licensing Committee or Sub-Committee. Where representations are rejected, the person making that representation will be given written reason as to why that is the case. There is no right of appeal against a determination that representations are not admissible.

The table shown at Appendix 5 sets out the agreed delegation of decisions and functions to Licensing Committee, Sub-Committee and Officers.

This form of delegation is without prejudice to Officers referring an application to a Sub-Committee or Full Committee if considered appropriate in the circumstances of any particular case.