Licensing Act 2003 Licensing Policy

The Designated Public Place Order (DPPO) has been replaced by the Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) in the Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014.

PSPOs can be used to restrict the drinking of alcohol in a public space where this has or is likely to have a detrimental effect on the quality of life on those in the locality, be persistent or continuing in nature, and unreasonable. Before making a PSPO, a council must consult the local police. DPPOs will continue to be valid for a period of three years following commencement of the PSPO in October 2014. Once that three year period expires, they will be treated as a PSPO and enforceable as such. Where a local authority  occupies or manages premises, or where premises are managed on its behalf, and it licenses that place for alcohol sales, the PSPO will not apply when the licence is being used for alcohol sales (or 30 minutes after), but the place will be subject to the PSPO at all other times. This allows local authorities to promote community events while still using a PSPO to tackle the problems of anti-social drinking.

It should be noted that when one part of a local authority seeks a premises licence of this kind from the licensing authority, the licensing committee and its officers must consider the matter from an entirely neutral standpoint. If relevant representations are made, for example, by local residents or the police, they must be considered fairly by the committee.

Anyone making a representation that is genuinely aggrieved by a positive decision in favour of a local authority application by the licensing authority would be entitled to appeal to the magistrates' court and thereby receive an independent review of any decision.

See details of the .

For full guidance on the PSPO, please see the statutory guidance on the government's website: Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.