The Licensing Act 2003 has established a single integrated scheme for licensing premises, which are used for the supply of alcohol, to provide regulated entertainment or to provide late night refreshment.
Statement of Licensing Policy 2011-2014
The Licensing Act 2003 requires that licensing authorities review the statement of licensing policy every three years. The Policy sets out the principles the Licensing Authority proposes to apply when exercising their functions under the Licensing Act 2003.
This policy for the period 2011 - 2014 was produced after consultation with those consultees specified in the Act together with a wide body of interested parties and individuals. The consultation ran from 13th July 2010 to 5th October 2010. There were no responses requiring any changes to the consultation document and the policy was adopted by full Council on 15th December 2010 and came into effect on 7th January 2011.
A copy of the current policy can be downloaded from the link on the left hand side of this page
Premises Licence
The Licensing Act 2003 came into force on 24th November 2005 and deals with the following types of premises:
- Pubs and nightclubs
- Private member's clubs and social clubs
- Indoor sporting events
- Off-licences
- Restaurants that serve alcohol
- Businesses serving hot food or drink to eat in or take away, between the hours of 11pm and 5am
- Hotels, guest houses and other places that sell alcohol
- Theatres and amateur dramatics groups
- Cinemas and
- Anywhere an occasional event involving licensable activities is held
Licensable activities are:
- The sale or supply of alcohol
- the provision of regulated entertainment
- the provision of late night refreshment
A premises licence or a temporary event notice (TEN) is required to provide any of the above facilities
These licences are issued by the Council as the Licensing Authority. If an application receives representations which relate to the licensing objectives, objecting to the grant of a premises licence or club certificate, the Council must hold a hearing to consider the application.
The licensing objectives are:
- Prevention of crime and disorder
- Prevention of public nuisance
- Public safety
- Prevention of harm to children
and all persons involved in the provision of licensable activities must promote these objectives in the course of their business.
The Act provides certain rights of appeal to the magistrates' court for those who feel aggrieved by decisions made by licensing authorities. So a right of appeal is not only afforded to applicants where their application has been rejected, or has been granted subject to conditions, but is also afforded to those who made relevant representations in relation to an application; for example, a local resident has a right to appeal against the decision of the licensing authority to grant a premises licence if they made relevant representations as an interested party in relation to the application where he considers the application should not have been granted.
Personal Licence
A personal licence is required to supervise the sale of alcohol in any premise. Application is made to the council for the area in which you live and the council will remain responsible for the licence even if you move. The licence is valid for 10 years and will be renewed by the issuing council.
To obtain the licence you must:
- Be over 18
- have no relevant criminal convictions
- posses an approved licensing qualification
- pay the required fee
Licensing Policy
Section 5 of the Licensing Act 2003 requires a licensing authority to prepare and publish a statement of its licensing policy every three years. The policy must be kept under review and the licensing authority must make such revisions as it considers appropriate. Before determining its policy for any three year period the licensing authority must consult with the persons listed in section 5(3) of the Act
This current statement of Licensing Policy for the period 2010 to 2014 was written and produced after consultation with other officers within the council, other authorities, agencies, groups and individuals as well as those specified in the Act. The consultation took place between 13th July 2010 and 5th October 2007 and the revised policy was adopted by the Council on 12th December 2010. The Statement of Licensing Policy came into effect on 7th January 2011.
Consult the following web pages for further details of the Licensing Act 2003:
- The Department for Culture Media and Sport
- The Licensing Act 2003
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