Agent of Change embedded in pilot policy for London Licensing

In a consultation on a pilot London Strategic Licensing Policy, the Greater London Authority propose that licensing authorities should work with the local planning authority to apply the Agent of Change principle. The Mayor intends to pilot new strategic licensing powers in London, as part of wider plans to protect and support pubs, clubs and restaurants in the capital and strengthen the UK’s nightlife. One of  five mayoral priorities put forward, is to promote better alignment between the licensing and the planning regimes, and this includes a proposal that licensing authorities should: 

• apply the Agent of Change principle in planning decisions  

• ensure measures agreed as part of the Agent of Change are appropriate and robust and protect the viability of pubs, music venues, cultural spaces and events. 

The draft policy also states that London licensing authorities should ensure the Agent of Change measures secured through the planning process have been fully implemented in a new sensitive development, working with planning, environmental health and regeneration teams. The aim is to help development and nightlife coexist successfully and to the mutual benefit of each.  

They provide a definition of the Agent of Change as: A planning and licensing policy principle, under which the party introducing a new use or development is responsible for managing and mitigating its impacts. In practice, this puts responsibility on new residential or noise-sensitive development, near licensed or cultural premises, to mitigate impacts such as noise, rather than imposing retrospective restrictions on established businesses.