Late Licence Application

If you sell alcohol, put on entertainment or serve hot food after 11pm then you must have a licence under the new rules which come into effect on November 25.

Prior to August 6 it was a relatively straightforward procedure to have your existing licence converted.

But what happens now if you are one of the hundreds of old licence holders who didn’t apply in time?

For a start, you are facing a more expensive and time consuming procedure. There is still time before the November deadline to apply but you are relying on the speed and goodwill of your local council. All may not be lost, but it depends on where your business is based.

Time is of the essence. Once your application has been received, the local authority has two months in which to make a decision.

That doesn’t mean that they cannot rush through your application, but at the very latest applications should be in by the middle of September.

In my experience, some local authorities have been very good at planning ahead and reorganised staffing levels to cope with the changes in the law. Some of our clients already have their new licences.

However, some in other areas are still waiting regarding applications that were sent in earlier than some of those we’ve already heard back on.

There are a number of requirements under the new system which must be met and may be costly.

The new law requires licensees to have a personal licence as well as the venue holding a premises licence.

Prior to August 6, any person who held an old licence automatically got a personal licence. Now the deadline has passed that no longer applies.

These people now need a new licensing qualification such as BIIAB Level 2 or Goal Qualification to get a personal licence. To qualify you must have attended and passed a recognised course run by the British Institute of Innkeepers. It’s a one day course with an exam, and places will be in demand in the next few weeks.

Applications must also include a detailed operating schedule of how the business is run. A designated premises supervisor must be named in the schedule, and they must hold a personal licence.

If you are someone who is thinking of going into the licensed trade, you should beware. The outgoing licensee may not have applied for a premises licence under the new system, so you will have to. In any case, you will also need a personal licence.

Meanwhile, anyone still licensed under the old system who wants to vary their licence for whatever reason must go to the magistrates’ court as normal. Courts are still holding licensing sessions until November 25.

Terry Hamer is a licensing specialist at Blackett Hart & Pratt in Darlington. For more information, contact him on (01325) 466794.