We also wait with interest to see if Canterbury will appeal: I am concerned that there may be good grounds for them to do so. The point (although not appearing well from the judgement) would seem to be that the actual policy adopted was outside the ambit of the discretion permitted by the Act. The Act, of course, merely requires councils to "have regard" to the guidance, and that leaves it wide open for a council to "have regard" to the guidance but reach a decision apparently at variance with it, either at a policy level or at an individual decision level.

And the collective of local authorities probably have more money to spend litigating than the British Beer and Pub Association do.