Member

117: After Clause 52, insert the following new Clause— “Permission for gambling premises: cumulative impact assessments(1) A planning authority shall, when considering any application for planning permission or change of use for premises which are to be used for gambling, take into consideration any relevant cumulative impact assessment published in accordance with subsection (2), and where such an assessment has been published they shall in the absence of very special circumstances refuse the application.(2) A licensing authority may publish a document (“a cumulative impact assessment”) to inform the planning authority’s decision under subsection (1), stating that they consider that the number of premises licences granted under section 163 of the Gambling Act 2005 (determination of application) in one or more parts of their area described in the assessment is such that it is likely that it would be—(a) inconsistent with the licensing objectives in section 1 of that Act, or(b) harmful to the wellbeing of the community,for there to be any increase in the number of such premises in that part or those parts, and where it does so it shall include a summary of the evidence on which it based its assessment.(3) Before taking a cumulative impact assessment into consideration in accordance with subsection (1), the planning authority must satisfy itself that the licensing authority, before it published the assessment or a renewed or revised version of the assessment, consulted any persons who in the licensing authority’s opinion have business interests which might be affected by the assessment, and provided them with the following information—(a) the reasons why they were considering publishing a cumulative impact assessment;(b) a general indication of the part or parts of their area which they were considering describing in the assessment.(4) The planning authority may only take a cumulative impact assessment into consideration in accordance with subsection (1) if the assessment is less than three years old.(5) In section 153 of the Gambling Act 2005 (principles to be applied), at the end of subsection (1) insert—“but this subsection does not prevent a licensing authority from publishing a cumulative impact assessment as described in section (Permission for gambling premises: cumulative impact assessments) of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025”.”