Residents are to be given a chance to have their say on the impact of licensed premises in an East Lancashire village.
Ribble Valley Borough Council has launched a probe into whether residents think the number of licensed premises in Whalley is too high, and whether serious problems of nuisance or disorder in the vicinity of such premises are affecting their lives.
Whalley residents are to be asked whether the village’s ‘cumulative impact assessment’, or CIA, should be extended.
Cumulative impact assessments are undertaken to see if the number, type or density of licensed premises is too high, or serious problems of nuisance and disorder exist, or have started to exist outside or in the vicinity of those premises.
Ribble Valley Borough Council’s head of legal and democratic services, Mair Hill, said: “In response to concerns about the proliferation of premises selling alcohol in Whalley, the council’s licensing committee requested an investigation in 2018 into whether there was sufficient evidence to warrant a formal cumulative impact assessment.
“Whalley residents and businesses, including licensed premises, were consulted about the matter, as a result of which an assessment took place.
“As the CIA is due to expire, we want to know whether residents and businesses would like a formal consultation on extending it.”
The assessment will not impact on existing licences, but must take into account any objections to applications for new or varied licences.
A CIA was approved for Whalley and Painter Wood in 2019, but Ribble Valley Borough Council now wants to know if there is sufficient demand for a formal consultation into its extension.
The consultation will ask a range of questions on the number of licensed premises in Whalley and Painter Wood, how respondents have been impacted by those premises and whether any more licences should be granted.
The results of the consultation will be reported to Ribble Valley Borough’s Licensing Committee in November.
The consultation will run from Monday September 20 until Sunday October 10, and is open to residents in the Whalley and Painter Wood ward.
It is available at ribblevalley.gov.uk, or by phoning Ribble Valley Borough Council on 01200 425111.
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