R (Hemming And Others) V Westminster City Council – Administrative Court

01 Jan 2018

Licensing

In a seminal judgment, Mr. Justice Keith has ordered restitution of licence fees charged to sex shops by Westminster City Council.

A judicial review of Westminster’s sex licensing fees was brought by 7 owners of 13 sex shops in Soho and Covent Garden.

The essence of their claim was that while a duly authorised licensing committee had determined the annual fee for sex shops under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 for 2005-2006 at £29,102 per annum, an it had failed to determine a fee for any year thereafter, until January 2012 when it determined that the renewal fee should be £18,737.

See full text on case.

Timothy Hemming and others v Westminster City Council Approved judgment.

Timothy Hemming and others v Westminster City Council Second Approved judgment