The Licensing Committee of Boston Borough Council met on Tuesday 23 September 2025, to review the responses to a public consultation on the proposed draft of the Licensing Act 2003 Statement of Licensing Policy. The committee was also scheduled to approve the proposed policy for referral to the council for adoption and publication.

Here's a breakdown of the topics that were scheduled to be discussed:

Licensing Act 2003 Draft Statement of Licensing Policy

The committee was expected to review the responses received from a public consultation regarding the proposed Licensing Act 2003 Draft Statement of Licensing Policy. The consultation, which ran for eight weeks, yielded a single response from Lincolnshire Police.

The Licensing Act 2003 requires the council to publish a Statement of Licensing Policy every five years. The draft policy sets out the principles the council intends to apply when:

• accepting applications
• inspecting premises
• making decisions on applications
• monitoring licensed premises

The previous version of the policy was adopted in November 2020, and the council is required to have a new version in place by January 2026.

Lincolnshire Police Feedback

Lincolnshire Police provided feedback on several areas of the proposed policy, which was included as Appendix 1 - Consultation responses. In summary, they requested consideration of:

• Knowledge of the Area: Additional wording in section 4 to ensure applicants demonstrate knowledge of the area, including awareness of the Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in place within the borough.
• Pool of Conditions: Developing and publishing a pool of conditions for applicants to access, encouraging them to consider these when determining appropriate steps to promote licensing objectives. An example of how this could look was attached as Appendix 2 - Suggested pool of conditions.
• Window Obstructions: Adding information to paragraph 4.1.3 to ensure windows are 75% free from obstruction, providing a clear view inside the premises.
• Digital ID: Including all forms of government-issued digital ID documents in the list of acceptable documents for age verification policies (paragraph 4.4).
• Criminal Activity: Adding paragraphs to section 13 regarding the review of licences where there is evidence of criminal activity outside the direct remit of the Licensing Act 2003, such as the sale of illegal drugs, organised crime, or immigration offences.
• Waterproof Labelling: Adding wording to section 35.3, recommending that premises within the Public Space Protection Order provide waterproof labelling with the premises name and address on cans and bottles of alcohol sold for consumption off the premises.

An amended version of the Statement of Licensing Policy, incorporating the consultation responses, was prepared and highlighted in green for the committee's consideration, and could be viewed at Appendix 3 - Amended Statement of Licensing Policy.

Recommended Licence Conditions

The report pack also contained a list of recommended licence conditions. These included guidance for applicants on measures to promote the four licensing objectives¹. Applicants were advised to assess which conditions were appropriate for their individual premises. The document stated that the conditions were neither exclusive nor exhaustive, and applicants, responsible authorities, or other persons could propose alternative conditions.

The recommended conditions included:

• CCTV installation and maintenance
• Protocols for alcohol delivery services
• Restrictions on drinks in unsealed containers
• Use of door supervisors
• A written drugs policy
• Maintenance of an incident record
• Measures to prevent noise nuisance
• A proof of age policy
• Maintenance of a refusals record
• Right to work checks
• Consideration of the Public Space Protection Order

Minutes

The committee was scheduled to sign and confirm the minutes of the last meeting held on 10 June 2025. At that meeting, the committee approved the draft Statement of Licensing Policy for consultation. The minutes recorded a discussion about the enforceability of conditions under the Public Space Protection Order, the origin of Martyn's Law ², and the relevance of legacy licensing signage in parish halls. Concerns were raised about the Public Space Protection Order boundary excluding a major supermarket known to sell high-strength alcohol.