The hazardous and harmful use of alcohol is a major public health issue. It is estimated that around nine million adults in England drink to potentially harmful levels, and the cost of alcohol misuse to the NHS is around £3.5 billion every year. A further £11 billion per year is spent as a result of alcohol-related crime and £7.3 billion due to lost productivity.

One key strategy concerning alcohol price and availability is licensing, which modifies our drinking environment. Evidence indicates that there is an association between the number of alcohol outlets in neighbourhoods and alcohol-related hospital admissions; therefore restricting the number of alcohol outlets is a potential avenue for reducing alcohol-related harm.