Licensing
The Licensing Act 2003 regulates the sale of alcohol, the provision of entertainment and the supply of late night refreshment. If an individual, business or charity is providing these services then it is likely that a “licensable activity” is taking place which is regulated under the Act and which may require a Licence.
Licensable activities which require a Licence to be obtained include:
- Sale of alcohol
- Supply of alcohol to a member of a club
- Providing regulated entertainment. This includes:
- The performance of a play;
- The exhibition of a film;
- An indoor sporting event, including boxing/wrestling
- Performance of live music;
- Playing of recorded music;
- Performance of a dance;
- Providing facilities for regulated entertainment and similar activities to take place;
- Providing hot food or drink between 11.00pm and 5.00am.
Licences are obtained from the local Council who are the “Licensing Authority”. They oversea the enforcement of the Act and are responsible for issuing Licences. The Licensing regime requires separate Premises and Personal Licences to be obtained.
The Premises Licence demonstrates that the premises is suitable for the activity to take place and authorises the premises to carry out licensable activities. The type of licensable activity, the hours during which it is permitted to take place and any conditions or restrictions that apply are all recorded in the Premises Licence.
In addition it is necessary to have a Personal Licence if there is to be the sale of Alcohol. An individual will also have to be the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) for a Premises. The DPS has extra duties and responsibilities under the Act.
If the licensable activity is only going to occur on a few occasions then it is possible to obtain authorisation by a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) rather than going through a full licence application process. Again, the TEN is obtained from the Licensing Authority by an application following a more simplified process.
If music is to be played or performed in public (even background music) then it may also be necessary to obtain a licence from the PRS / PPL who collect and distribute money to Royalty holders.
Brachers advise and assist clients in relation to all aspects of licensing. In addition Brachers Property, Corporate and Commercial and Employment teams provide clients with the full support and assistance they require in relation to issues that arise in licensing matters.
What we do?
We have acted for a range of clients from a large football club to small sports clubs and sole trader businesses. We deal with all aspects of licensing work including advice and assistance with:
- Application for a Premises licence
- Variation of a Premises licence (including simplified minor variation procedure)
- Application for a Personal licence
- Transfer of existing Premises licence
- Change of Designated Premises Supervisor
- Application for a Temporary Event Notice
- Review of licence terms
- Representation at a Licensing Hearing or before a Court
- Disputes affecting licensed premises
- Nuisance arising from licensed premises
- Smoking ban under the Health Act 2006
