Statement of Licensing Policy - Assessment of Overprovision

Overview

The Licensing Board has a legal duty to carry out an assessment of whether there is overprovision of licensed premises within its area. The Board may decide that its whole area is overprovided, that specific localities are overprovided, or that there are no overprovision localities in its area.

In May 2024 the Board sought views and information on overprovision and the current policy.  A range of written responses were received and the Board held evidence sessions to consider these further. Having considered all of the responses the Board must now consult on its proposals before making a final decision on its updated overprovision assessment.

What information has the Board received?

The Board held a series of evidence sessions with a representative range of consultees and met with the Licensing Forum.

The Board has considered all matters raised in written representations and evidence sessions, and in this consultation seeks to progress an updated overprovision assessment which best promotes the licensing objectives in its area, and takes account of changes in the licensed trade and patterns of consumption which have taken place since it carried out its last assessment in 2018.

A range of written responses were received and the Board held evidence sessions to consider these further. Having considered all of the responses the Board must now consult on its proposals before making a final decision on its updated overprovision assessment.  View previous responses. 

Why your views matter

The Board is consulting on a draft new overprovision assessment. It will carefully consider the views of consultees before making a final decision.

The Board acknowledges a diversity of views among previous respondents in relation to the benefit of retaining an overprovision policy. It had regard to the purposes of overprovision as set out in the statutory guidance. It noted that in applying its previous policy it was often the case that licence applications were modified or restricted, for example by reductions in capacity/hours or conditions requiring the supply of alcohol to be ancillary to food provision, rather than refused outright.

It decided that it would be appropriate to seek further views in relation to the general question of whether a locality based overprovision policy was an effective tool to address alcohol related harm. Localities are defined in terms of geographical areas called Intermediate Data Zones (IDZ). View details, including numbers and capacities, of existing licensed premises for each IDZ within the city.

In carrying out a consultation on its updated assessment of overprovision the Board has to consult with a number of organisations and people. These include: - Police Scotland, NHS Lothian, the Local Licensing Forum, and representatives of the interests of premises licence holders and persons resident in the localities which have been identified.

In addition to statutory consultees, the Board wishes to consult as widely as possible and welcomes views from all interested parties during this consultation.

Once the consultation period is complete, the Board will consider all responses received and will publish a supplementary Statement of Licensing Policy including the new Assessment of Overprovision. This is expected to be in place in the next few months.

Need a different language or format?

Please email the Interpretation and Translation Service at its@edinburgh.gov.uk quoting reference 25-0424.