The app called 'CizApp' identifies cumulative impact zones (CIZ), which are areas designated by local authorities, where it is presumed new licensing applications would be denied and provides further details on their restrictions.
Poppleston Allen said the app will benefit pub operators and the wider licensed trade, alongside property agents and developers, in clarifying confusion over what areas are within certain CIZs.
Difficult to work out
Poppleston Allen managing partner Lisa Sharkey said local authority maps can be confusing.
Sharkey explained: “Before CizApp, people wanting to run licensed premises needed to contact a local licensing authority to obtain a map with the restricted areas marked on them. The quality of the maps would vary greatly, and often it was difficult to work out whether a premises was inside or outside of a cumulative impact zone.”
The app utilises Google Maps, with users entering a postcode or place of interest and shading on the map showing if the address is included in a CIZ, with a link to the local authorities’ exact policy on alcohol sale restrictions there.
Confusion in the trade
The definitions of existing areas are ever-increasing, as new zones appear frequently, added Sharkey.
“In fact, just the other week Islington Council extended theirs. This constant change really causes confusion in the trade,” she said.
Poppleston Allen head of marketing Carl Weston said they think the new technology “transforms the market”.
He said: “We’ve taken a task that took hours – sometimes even days – and by using technology, reduced this down to seconds.”
CizApp can be used through Poppleston Allen’s iPhone App, My Licence, any iOS or Android based smartphone, or on its website.