Licensing Act 2003
Any individual or organisation involved in one or more of the following 'licensable activities', either on a temporary or permanent basis, must be authorised to do so by their local licensing authority. The licensable activities are:
- sale or supply of alcohol
- provision of regulated entertainment (including plays, films, sports, music and dancing)
- provision of facilities for entertainment
- sale of late night refreshment (hot food or drinks supplied between 11pm-5am).
Licensing Authorities (who are local Councils) are responsible for issuing licences to 'premises' at which any of the above activities are carried on. These licences may be permanent, or for one-off events. Individuals who work in licensed premises, authorising alcohol sales, must also be licensed by their local licensing authority.
The Licensing Act 2003 sets out four licensing objectives, and any decisions that we make must be based upon these objectives:
- prevention of crime and disorder
- public safety
- prevention of public nuisance
- protection of children from harm.
As a Licensing Authority we are required to carry out our licensing functions with:
Forms for every type of application under the Licensing Act 2003, including Premises Licences, Club Premises Certificates, Personal Licences and Temporary Event Notices.
This page gives details of all recent applications for grant, variation or review of Premises Licences and Club Premises Certificates.
This page gives advice for local residents and businesses on the range of powers available to them under the Act, including the ability to comment on applications and request reviews of licences.
Types of licences
There are four types of licence available under the Licensing Act 2003, and the following pages give information on each.
Premises Licences are permanent licences that authorise a combination of licensable activities at a particular location. An applicant requests authorisation for the activities that they wish to carry on, and the authority will either grant or refuse permission for that combination of activities, based on the outcome of a consultation process. Premises Licences are typically held for pubs, bars, nightclubs, theatres, cinemas, supermarkets, off-licences, restaurants, late night fast-food outlets, hotels, schools, community centres, and any other location at which licensable activities are regularly carried on.
Premises Licences can also be obtained in respect of large one-off events, such as outdoor music concerts.
Club Premises Certificates are an alternative toPremises Licences, available only to members clubs. They offer clubs several benefits over conventional licences, but clubs must abide by strict rules restricting how they can operate.
Temporary Event Notices allow licensable activities to be provided on an occasional basis, either in respect of unlicensed locations, or to temporarily extend the licence in licensed premises.
Any individual who authorises the supply of alcohol from licensed premises must hold a Personal Licence. A Personal Licence does not by itself allow an individual to sell alcohol - it must be used in conjunction with a Premises Licence or a TEN.
Licensing policies
Each licensing authority is required to publish a statement of licensing policy document, which sets out the ways in which it will administer the Act locally, provides guidance on how it will usually determine contested applications, and gives information on its expectations of licence-holders.
We are required to review our statement of licensing policy periodically, to ensure that it remains appropriate. During this review process, local residents, businesses and licence-holders will all be invited to comment upon the suitability of the policy. The next review is currently scheduled to take place in 2010, and more comprehensive information will be made available at that time.
We also have a separate enforcement policy that gives further details on the way in which we will carry out our enforcement functions under this legislation.