A LIST of applications for licenses for pubs, restaurants and other businesses in the Wokingham area is not currently being published online – but it’s coming, says the chair of the licencing committee.
When a food, drinks or entertainment business wants to open in an area, they usually apply for a licence to operate.
These are needed for activities such as selling alcohol, and hosting music events. The decision whether to grant a licence falls with local councils, in this case, Wokingham Borough Council.
When the council was part of the Public Protection Partnership, operated by West Berkshire Council, licence applications by businesses were published on a webpage. The previous administration made the decision to return some PPP operations back inhouse, and the facility does not exist.
However, applicants for a licence have a legal requirement to advertise in a local newspaper, most have been printed in Wokingham Today.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) asked the council why it no longer publishes a list of current licensing applications, as neighbouring councils Reading Borough and Bracknell Forest do.
Cllr Beth Rowland (Liberal Democrats, South Lake), the chair of the licensing committee, said the process of bringing the PPP’s operations back under the control of the council meant it had a core focus on public safety.
“On taking it back we have had to do a deep dive into the records and finance arrangements – the finance side was time consuming but we, as a committee, needed to understand the cost of running the department before we could move forward with reviewing the charging for various licences that is required at this time of year,” she said.
“You can understand that this has taken a considerable amount of time but was the most important thing to do as it drove other processes.
“Members have queried why there is no published list of applications. It is simply a matter of officer time, so nothing sinister. It will be done.”
While Cllr Rowland could not give a date for this, a council information officer said that its website is being updated so a public list of licence applications can be provided similar to those published by the PPP and Reading Borough Council.
And at their next meeting councillors are expecting to receive an update on the progress of the long ‘to do’ list that officers have been given to take action on.
The information officer added that in the last three months, one licensing application was received for the Lidl in Shinfield, which was processed without any representations.
An applicant must advertise their application outside of the premises for at least 28 days to make neighbours aware.
A spokesperson for the Home Office confirmed, under the Licensing Act 2003 it is not mandatory to post current premises license applications online, but it is to publish them in a local newspaper like Wokingham Today, which covers the whole of Wokingham borough.
