The Sevenoaks District Council Licensing Committee met to discuss and make decisions on several licensing policy matters, including sex establishment policy, the inclusion of outdoor events in the statement of licensing policy, taxi fees, and the performance of the Licensing Partnership. The committee agreed to recommend a revised Sex Establishment Licensing Policy to the council, and to undertake a public consultation regarding both the inclusion of a section on outdoor events in the Statement of Licensing Policy and proposed increases to taxi fees.

Sex Establishment Policy

The committee agreed to recommend the 'Sexual Establishments Statement of Licensing Policy' to the council as a revised policy, to come into effect from 1 October 2025. The recommendation followed a six-week public consultation where no comments were received. The changes to the current policy include the removal of implementation and expiry dates. The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 does not require the publication of a sex establishment policy, but the council recognises the benefits of having a policy in place to provide guidance and clarity. The policy covers sexual entertainment venues, sex cinemas, and sex shops, but currently, there are no licensed sexual entertainment venues within the Sevenoaks District.

Statement of Licensing Policy and Outdoor Events

The committee agreed to undertake a six-week public consultation regarding the production of a revised Statement of Licensing Policy under the Licensing Act 2003 to include a section on outdoor events. The proposed new section on outdoor events specifies:

• A general terminal hour for all licensable activities of 23:00.
• Organisers/applicants must demonstrate that they have the required permissions to use the land, whether private or council-owned.
• Organisers/applicants must demonstrate arrangements to ensure the site is properly checked and certified, for example, water supplies or electrics.
• Organisers/applicants using council-owned land will demonstrate that they have notified and sought authorisation/advice from relevant council departments, such as Parks and Open Spaces, and Highways.

If no comments are received during the consultation period, the Licensing Committee delegated authority to approve the inclusion of the 'outdoor event' section in the policy without further need for the matter to be brought back before them.

Taxi Fees

The committee agreed to a six-week public consultation process regarding proposed increases to taxi fees, as detailed in the Committee Report Taxi Fees working draft. If there are no adverse comments after the consultation, the proposed fees and charges will be implemented from 1 April 2026. If there are adverse comments, a further report will be presented to the Licensing Committee for consideration.

The taxi licensing service is required to be self-financing, as per the council's service and budget plan. The proposed increases to fees will ensure this is maintained. It was proposed that fees are increased in line with inflation and the council's corporate policy of 2.5%.

The proposed changes to fees are as follows:

Licensing Partnership Update

The committee noted the performance of the Licensing Partnership as contained within the Licensing Partnership Sevenoaks Annual Update 2024-25 report and requested that the Head of the Licensing Partnership continue to provide an annual update on the Licensing Partnership activity to the Licensing Committee each municipal year.

The Licensing Partnership includes the London Borough of Bexley, Maidstone Borough Council, and Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, with Sevenoaks District Council providing line management and administrative support. The report highlighted that the partnership handled a large amount of work in 2024/25, with over 9,700 applications, notices, permits, and other pieces of work received/carried out across the partnership, with over 2,629 pieces of work for Sevenoaks.