The Licensing Act 2003 ("the Act") affects anyone concerned with:
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Pubs and nightclubs
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Indoor sporting events
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Off-licences
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Restaurants that serve alcohol
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Businesses offering hot food between 11 pm and 5 am (with certain exceptions)
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Hotels, guest houses and other places that sell alcohol
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Private member’s clubs and social groups
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Theatres and amateur dramatic groups
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Cinemas
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Organisers of occasional entertainments
Under the Act:
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A premises licence is required, where any of the above-regulated entertainments are going to take place
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Takeaways offering hot food between 11 pm and 5 am require a premises licence to provide late night refreshment
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A personal licence is required by anyone who wants to allow the sale of alcohol as part of his or her business
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A club premises certificate is required for ‘qualifying’ clubs
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Temporary Event Notices replaced Occasional Licences and Occasional Permissions for "short term" events
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Licensees, the Council and other agencies must all work to promote the four licensing objectives
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"Interested Parties" and/or "Responsible Authorities" will be able to call for reviews on premises causing problems
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We are required to produce a Licensing Policy
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We are required to keep a Licensing Register
Licensing Objectives
Local authorities, the Police and licensees are required to promote four licensing objectives:
- The prevention of crime and disorder
- Public safety
- The prevention of public nuisance
- The protection of children from harm
Summary of 2003 Licensing Act
- flexible opening hours for licensed premises, with the potential for up to 24 hour opening, seven days a week, subject to consideration of the impact on local residents. This will help to minimise public disorder resulting from fixed closing times
- a single scheme for licensing premises which sell alcohol, provide public entertainment or provide refreshment late at night
- a system of personal licences which allow holders to sell or serve alcohol for consumption on or off any premises possessing a premises licence
- personal and premises licences to be issued by local authorities
Responsible authorities, including the police, fire authority, trading standards, health and safety and environmental health are notified of every application for a new premises licence, or variation of existing licences, and have the opportunity to make representations to the Council about the effect of the application on the promotion of the four licensing objectives.
The Act also enables residents and businesses in the vicinity of the premises (interested parties) to make relevant representations about any application for a new licence or variations to a licence.
This includes the right to raise objections and gives the local community a greater say than ever before in licensing decisions.
Who Can Make a Representation?
You can make a representation if you are a responsible authority or if you are:
- a person living in the vicinity of the premises
- a body representing persons who live in that vicinity this now includes Parish/District Councils
- a person involved in a business in the vicinity of the premises
- a body representing persons involved in these businesses
How Do You Know When a Licence Application is Made?
You can view an online register of applications received on this website (see Licensing Register on home page of Council Website.)
Applicants are obliged to advertise licence applications by:
- displaying a pale blue coloured A4 sized notice outside the premises for 28 days from the day after the application is given to the Council
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You can also view copies of application forms at our offices, Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 9:00am - 4:30, Wed 10:00am - 4:30pm
Reviews of Premises Already Holding a Licence
Interested parties and responsible authorities can also apply in writing for a formal review of an existing licence at any time, where licenable activitittes held at the premises are causing problems to the neighbourhood.
The council will advertise the review application for 28 days by displaying an pale blue, A4 notice at, on or near the site of the licensed premises where it can be conveniently read outside. It will also be advertised at council offices and on this website.
Representations can be made about the review in the same way as those about licence applications.
What are Relevant Representations?
For a representation to be relevant it must be one that is about the likely effect of the application on the promotion of the licensing objectives, or if a review, the impact of the premises licence on the objectives.
See the link under Related Pages for more information about the four licensing objectives and the council's Licensing Policy(Licensing Statemment).
A representation made by an interested party will not be relevant if the Council considers it to be vexatious, frivolous or repetitious
Representations must be received within 28 days from the day after the date the licence was applied for, as specified in the newspaper and site notice advertisements placed by the licence applicant (or in the case of a review, the notices placed by the council).
Representations received after that time cannot be considered.
In the case of a review of a premises licence following a closure order by a magistrates court, an interested party or a responsible authority has a period of 7 days from when the licensing authority receives the order, in which to make representations about the review.
Code of Data Matching Practice
This Council is under a duty to protect the public funds it administers, and to this end may use the information you have provided on this form for the prevention and detection of fraud. It may also share this information with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds for these purposes.
For further information, see http://www.ambervalley.gov.uk/datamatching/ or contact the Council’s Data Protection Officer on 01773 841670.
Data Protection Act 1998, Freedom of Information Act 2000 & Environmental Information Regulations 2004
For further information, see http://www.ambervalley.gov.uk/services/publicorderjusticeandrights/security/datasecurity/
