Licensing Act 2003The Licensing Act 2003 received Royal Assent on 10th July 2003 and replaces the country's licensing laws. These changes came into effect on 24th November 2005 and effects anyone concerned with:
- Pubs and nightclubs
- Indoor sporting events including and boxing and wrestling wherever it takes place.
- Off-licences
- Restaurants that serve alcohol
- Businesses offering hot food between 11pm and 5am, e.g. late-night cafés, take-aways, etc
- Hotels, guesthouses and other places that sell alcohol, e.g. supermarkets and convenience stores
- Private members clubs, sports and social clubs and clubs associated with business
- Theatres and amateur dramatic groups
- Garage forecourts
- Cinemas
- Organisers of Regulated Entertainment, e.g. Community Centres
Under the new system:
- A Premises Licence are required where any premises are used for one or more licensable activities.*
- A Personal Licence is needed by anyone who wants to allow the sale of alcohol as part of his or her business
- Licensees, the Licensing Authority (the Council) and other agencies must all work to promote the Licensing Objectives
- The Council, and not the Magistrates' Court, deal with all of the licences listed above
*Licensable Activities
- The sale of alcohol by retail
- The supply of alcohol by or on behalf of a club or to the order of a member of the club
- The provision of regulated entertainment
- The provision of late-night refreshment
Premises Licences
A premises licence is normally granted indefinitely but can on certain occasions be issued for a fixed period.
Personal Licences
To be eligible for a personal licence you must:
- be over 18 years of age
- not have been convicted of any relevant offences as set out in the Act
- possess an accredited or approved licensing qualification
- pay the required fee of £37.00
Personal licence holders supervise the sale of alcohol in any premises which hold a current premises licence. You must apply for a personal licence to the Council for the area in which you live. Personal licences are valid for 10 years. There are various duties placed on holders of personal licences and licences may be forfeited if a person is convicted of any relevant offence.
Temporary Events Notices
A premises licence is not required for small events where less than 500 persons are to attend, and which last a maximum 96 hours at a time. A personal licence holder may apply for a maximum of 50 temporary or occasional events in any one calender year. A person who does not nold a personal licence is able to hold a maximum of 5 events during a calender year.
Individual premises may be used for temporary events on a maximum of 12 occassions in a calender year. There must be at least 24 hours between events at the same premises.
A Temporary Events Notice (TEN) must be served on both Council and Local Police before any event of this type can be held. The Notice must be received no later than 10 working days prior to the event
Application forms and guidance notes are now available on request and will shortly become available on-line.
Licensing Policy 2005-2008.pdf [302k]
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