AAA White Paper The political economy of informal events, 2030 | Page 88

“ Licensing decisions often
involve weighing a variety of
competing considerations:
the demand for licensed
establishments, the economic
benefit to the proprietor and
to the locality by drawing in
visitors and stimulating the
demand, the effect on law
and order, the impact on the
lives of those who live and
work in the vicinity, and so
on. Sometimes a licensing
decision may involve narrower
questions, such as whether
noise, noxious smells or litter
coming from premises amount
to a public nuisance. Although
such questions are in a sense
questions of fact, they are
not questions of the ‘heads
or tails’ variety. They involve
an evaluation of what is…
reasonably acceptable in the
particular location. In any
case, deciding what (if any)
conditions should be attached
to a licence as necessary and
proportionate to the promotion
of the statutory licensing
Objectives is essentially a
matter of judgment rather than
a matter of pure fact. ”
In the Court of Appeal case of Hope and
Glory Public House Ltd, 26 January 2011
On the need to weigh up conflicting pressures
– and make a judgment call on each
The late
Lord Justice
Toulson
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