Campaigners given green light to pursue judicial review over revised statement of licensing policy

Campaigners have been granted permission to bring a judicial review challenge over restrictions contained in Hackney Council’s revised statement of licensing policy and their impact on equality and diversity, it has been reported.

The We Love Hackney group tweeted that it would now be seeking to secure a "cost capping order" at a hearing next week.

​Hackney adopted the revised SLP in July last year. The document extended and maintained the Special Policy Area (SPA) in Shoreditch and Dalston and adopted a new “core hours” policy.
 
This “core hours” policy requires venues to close at 11pm during the week and midnight at weekends, with no outside drinking allowed after 10pm. An express presumption has also been put in place against granting new late night licences for venues in the SPA.
 
We Love Hackney, a not-for-profit company set up by local residents, has so far raised £20,632 via Crowd Justice towards a stretch target of £53,000 to bring the claim.

When announcing the legal challenge last October, it claimed that the decision was unlawful because Hackney had failed to have due regard to the public sector equality duty, contrary to the Equality Act.

The group said the council had failed to consider the impact of the new rules on young people, who were more likely to use and work in the night time economy, and on the late night, independent venues which serve the LGBTQ+ community in the area. 
 
It also claimed that forcing new businesses to restrict their operating hours would “stunt creativity and innovation in the night-time economy in the area”, and that deterring new businesses from opening in Hackney would see the night-time economy stagnate.

A spokesperson for Hackney said at the time it was unable to comment at this stage as it was an ongoing legal matter.