Consultations

East Staffordshire Borough Council are consulting on a proposed revised schedule of licensing fees and charges for 2025-2026.

Any person who wishes to make representations to the Council about the proposed fees and charges should submit them in writing to licensing@eaststaffsbc.gov.uk no later than 28 days from date of the notice.

View the Proposed Schedule of Licence Fees and Charges 2025/2026

The Council is obliged to provide a wide range of licensing services in respect of certain activities, usually concerned with public protection. 

Whilst some licensing fees and charges are set centrally, in many cases the applicable legislation provides for the Council to set fees locally. In cases of locally set fees and charges the Council is only able to recover certain elements of the costs associated with the provision of the respective licensing activity. In most cases this relates to the administrative, inspection and decision making processes associated with individual licence applications. Enforcement costs for example cannot be taken into account when calculating licensing charges except in certain circumstances.

An exercise has been undertaken to calculate the costs incurred by the Council associated with each of its licensing activities, and this has been used to inform the development of a proposed Schedule of Licensing Fees and Charges.

There has been no increase in private hire and hackney carriage fees since 2015.

The fees, are required to be consulted upon. Responses to the consultation will then be collated and the Licensing Committee will be advised of the comments received. A notice will then be prepared confirming changes to the licensing fees.

The proposed fees and charges, are based on the actual costs incurred by the Council and have been calculated using time analysis data relating to typical administrative, inspection and decision making tasks for each category of licensing activity. The proposed fees and charges, are in accordance with applicable legislation.

In July 2020 the Department for Transport (DfT) introduced The Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards which, have been absorbed into the licensing processes and procedures. Officer time has been reapportioned, to take into account the additional resource required to administer the requirements of the standards. Some of the standards have had an impact on time taken to process new and renewal applications. 

Pavement Licensing – The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023, makes permanent the provisions set out in the Business and Planning Act 2020 that streamlined the process to allow business to secure these licences quickly.

A new fee has been set for Pavement Licences as part of the proposed fees. 

The permanent pavement licences process retains the streamlined consent route for businesses to obtain a licence to place removable furniture, such as tables and chairs outside of cafes, bars, and restaurants quickly. Local authorities may charge up to £500 for first-time applications and £350 for renewals. Licences can be granted for up to 2 years.

Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the licensing team.

East Staffordshire Borough Council has drafted an updated Air Quality Strategy, which sets out the overarching framework through which air quality will be managed within the Borough and includes our responsibilities under LAQM from 2024 to 2029. 

This Strategy supports the Council’s Corporate Plan Priorities for “Standing up for our Communities” by improving the health and wellbeing of our communities, protecting our environment and tackling health inequalities.

This new strategy is also supplemented by two technical documents. 

Technical Document 1 is the updated Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP), which also covers the period 2024-2029.

Technical Document 2 is an Air Quality Policy for Development Control, which supplemented the previous 2015-2020 Air Quality Strategy. This document sets out the framework through which East Staffordshire Borough Council assesses air quality within the development control regime. This policy is still current but will be updated in due course and be formally adopted as a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). 

The new AQAP contains a revised set of measures that primarily addresses NO2 within AQMA 1, but also addresses more strategic issues to try and reduce emissions of NO2, PM10 and PM2.5 and carbon dioxide (CO2) across the borough that improves human health and the environment in a more equitable way.

East Staffordshire Borough Council is now consulting on its 2024-2029 Air Quality Strategy and the updated AQAP that forms Technical Document 1 to the Strategy.

If you have any questions or wish to comment on the revised Air Quality Strategy and/or the AQAP please email EHPollution@eaststaffsbc.gov.uk 

The consultation period ends on 25/10/2024.

Find out more

Under the terms of the Gambling Act 2005, East Staffordshire Borough Council, being the licensing authority under the Act, is required to review its Gambling policy statement every three years.  The original Gambling Act policy came into effect in November 2006.  The policy must now be reviewed and re published.  The consultation will take place from 7th October 2024 to 3rd November 2024.

The consultation process must take place before the policy can be reviewed and republished.

On reviewing the policy the Council has taken into consideration any new guidance issued by the Gambling Commission.

The draft Gambling Act Policy can be viewed online.

The matrix of changes can also be viewed online.

Once the consultation process is complete a report and revised policy will be prepared for adoption by the Authority.  A revised policy will then be available for viewing on the Councils website.

Completed responses can be emailed to licensing@eaststaffsbc.gov.uk or forwarded to the following address:

East Staffordshire Borough Council
Licensing Team
PO Box 8045
Burton upon Trent
Staffordshire
DE14 9JG

For more information please contact the Licensing Team, telephone 01283 508310

East Staffordshire Borough Council, being the Licensing Authority under the Act, is currently reviewing its Statement of Licensing Policy including a review of its Cumulative Impact Policy. The Consultation will take place between 7th October 2024 and 1st November 2024.

The Consultation process must take place before the Policy can be reviewed and republished.

On reviewing its Statement of Licensing Policy including a review of its Cumulative Impact Policy the Council has taken into consideration the new Guidance issued under Section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003.

Please view the proposed Policy and supporting documentation.

• Proposed Policy
• Cumulative Impact Assessment Report
• Matrix of Changes

For ease of reference the Consultation draft Statement of Licensing Policy is set out such that the red type identifies those elements that are additions and straight forward amendments such as date changes.

After reading the Statement of Licensing Policy, please send any comments via email to licensing@eaststaffsbc.gov.uk or by post:

East Staffordshire Borough Council
Licensing Team
PO Box 8045
Burton upon Trent
Staffordshire
DE14 9JG

All responses will be considered prior to the adoption of the revised Statement of Licensing Policy by Full Council.

Should you require more information please contact:

Licensing Team by telephone on 01283 508310 or via email licensing@eaststaffsbc.gov.uk