Licensing Act 2003

REGULATING ALCOHOL AND ENTERTAINMENT: ABOUT THE LICENSING ACT 2003

The Licensing Act 2003 makes provision for local authorities to act as the Licensing Authority within their boundaries. The Licensing Authority is required to issue a Statement of Licensing Policy and you can view or download a copy of the policy for the Council of the Isles of Scilly here.

Some licence applications can take several weeks or more to process so it is essential that you help us to complete our checks as quickly as possible by providing all of the information requested on the relevant application form.

This section provides a comprehensive list of our application forms and fees. Fees are levied for the work that has to be done during the application process and are non-refundable so please bear in mind that if after payment, full consideration and processing, your licence application is rejected, the application fee will not be refunded.

Read the full Licensing Act 2003 for more information regarding the general determination, granting and rejection of licences. You can also find out more about alcohol licensing at the Home Office website. If you require more information on specific applications or licences issued please contact:

The Licensing Officer
Wesleyan Chapel
St Mary's
Isles of Scilly
TR21 0JD

STATEMENT OF LICENSING POLICY CONSULTATION 2026 

The Council of the Isles of Scilly is updating its Statement of Licensing Policy 2020-2025 which sets out how we regulate and licence businesses that sell or supply alcohol, or provide entertainment or late-night refreshment on Scilly. The law requires that a Statement of Licensing Policy be reviewed every five years and we encourage you to have your say on the draft policy for 2026 – 2031 by responding to our Licensing Policy consultation, as set out towards the end of this page.

We aim for our policy to promote a safe environment for users of licensed premises and residents that live near to those premises, and we also want to ensure those businesses feel supported by our policy so that they may continue to offer hospitality to our community and to our visitors each year. 

The new policy sets out how the Council will meet the four licensing objectives under the Licensing Act 2003 (the Act), which are:

• the prevention of crime and disorder
• public safety
• the prevention of public nuisance
• the protection of children from harm.

In reviewing our Policy we MUST (under section 5(3) of the Act) consult all of the following persons:

• the chief officer of police for the area
• the fire and rescue authority for the area
• each local authority’s Director of Public Health in England
• persons/bodies representative of local premises licence holders
• persons/bodies representative of local club premises certificate holders
• persons/bodies representative of local personal licence holders
• persons/bodies representative of businesses and residents in its area 

Most of the Policy describes legislation already contained within the Act and directs you to the relevant local or regional services who are involved in applications. This format has not changed since the inception of the Act in general. As such, the vast majority of our policy remains unchanged from previous versions, though of course we make reference to any legislative changes that have occurred since the last Policy was agreed in January 2021. 

Most of the processes from the previous policy remain the same such as determination of applications, minor variations, transfers of premises licenses, appeals, temporary event notices etc.,  both in terms of fee and forms.

Image: This is an image of the Cumulative Impact Area in Hugh Town, St Mary’s.  It covers most of Hugh Town, St Mary’s but not all.

‘Cumulative impact’ is the potential impact on the promotion of the licensing objectives of a significant number of licensed premises concentrated in one area. The purpose of a Cumulative Impact Assessment (CIA) is to help the authority limit the licences that it grants in areas where there is clear evidence to show or strongly suggest that the number or density of licensed premises may be contributing to problems that are undermining licensing objectives.

The effect of adopting a CIA makes applying for a licence more rigorous but can also have the effect of discouraging new businesses. Also, the introduction of such an Area does not actually change the way that licensing decisions are made. Applications for new licences or variations to existing licences must still be considered on an individual basis and where there is insufficient evidence that applications are likely to add to the cumulative impact on the licensing objectives then they should be granted. 

Where a Council has introduced such an Area (this Council has had one since 2005 and it was last considered in 2021, when the current Statement of Licensing Policy was approved), it must consider within the period of three years whether or not it remains of the opinion stated in the CIA, and before deciding whether it remains of that opinion, it must consult with the persons listed in section 5(3) of the Act. Unfortunately, the Council failed to do this within the required three year period and this consultation seeks to address that failure. 

The area on Scilly with the greatest number of licensed premises is Hugh Town, though the nature of those licensed premises varies significantly and pubs represent only a small percentage of licensed premises in that area (think of hotels, guest houses, restaurants). 

The evidence upon which the introduction of the Area was based is referenced at Policy 9 on page 19 of the current policy, and also in more detail at Appendix E of that policy. However this evidence is now outdated and so the Council has carried out some early engagement work with the following stakeholders:

• Chief Superintendent of Devon and Cornwall Police
• Local Policing Team for the Isles of Scilly
• Environmental Health Officer for the Isles of Scilly
• Director of Public Health for the Isles of Scilly,
• Drug and Alcohol Team (DAAT) for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.  

Of the responses received from these stakeholders, all have stated that they have insufficient or no evidence to support the continuation of a cumulative impact area for Hugh Town.

The Council will be informed by the feedback to this statutory consultation in accordance with s. 5(3) of the Act before it determines whether the Statement of Licensing Policy should continue to provide for a cumulative impact area or not. 

If approved, the new Statement of Licensing Policy will run from March 2026.

How to respond to the consultation

We value your voice on all our policies and so we ask that you give consideration to our draft policy and let us know if you think we can do better, or if you think we have the balance just right. We are not collecting any personal data from you.

To respond to this consultation, please take the following steps:

• Read the DRAFT Licensing Policy 2026-2031 attached to the bottom of this page.
• Respond to our Licensing Policy (Statement of Licensing) Survey by clicking on the link below: 

CLICK HERE TO RESPOND TO OUR LICENSING POLICY SURVEY

If you do not wish to complete the survey online, you can request a paper copy from the customer hubs at St Mary's Library or the Carn Gwaval Wellbeing Centre. You will need to return your response to these venues in a sealed envelope addressed to the Licensing Department, or post it back to us at the following address:

Licensing Department
Council of the Isles of Scilly
Old Wesleyan Chapel
Garrison Lane
St Mary's
Isles of Scilly
TR21 0JD

All responses must be received before the deadline at 4.30pm on 27 February 2026 in order to be taken into account.  

If you have any further questions about this consultation, please email licensing@scilly.gov.uk or call 0300 1234 105 and ask to speak to the Licensing Officer.

Next steps

Responses to the consultation will be analysed and taken into consideration following the deadline, with amendments made to the draft as necessary. The draft policy will then be taken back to Licensing Committee for consideration and finally to Full Council for approval before it comes into effect. 

Privacy Notice - Statement of Licensing Policy 2026 Consultation 

We will use the information you provide for the purposes of the consultation process to inform the Council of the Isles of Scilly’s proposed Statement of Licensing Policy 2026 to 2031, including the Cumulative Impact Assessment.

The Data Controller for the information you provide in this survey is:

Council of the Isles of Scilly
Old Wesleyan Chapel
Garrison Lane
St Mary's
Isles of Scilly
TR21 0JD

Data Protection Registration Number: Z5715100

Once the survey has closed, your data will be held within the Council of the Isles of Scilly’s secure network and premises for up to 2 years. If any personal data is provided on this form, we will only make access to this data available to authorised members of staff who are required to process it for the purposes outlined in this privacy notice. Please note that other information you provide, such as responses to open questions, may be published in full. We will not publish personal data with the exception of those persons responding in an official capacity as an officer of the Council or a partner organisation as named in s5(3) of the Licensing Act 2003.