Premises licence

You must have a premises licence if you want to provide late-night refreshments or regulated entertainment, or sell alcohol.

Eligibility

Any of the following may apply for a premises licence:

  • anyone who uses carries on a business in the premises to which the application relates
  • a recognised club
  • a charity
  • a health service body
  • a person who is registered under the Care Standards Act 2000 in relation to an independent hospital
  • a chief police officer of a force in England and Wales
  • anyone discharging a statutory or function under Her Majesty's prerogative
  • a person from an educational institute
  • any other permitted person

Applicants must be at least 18 years old.

The application process

You must send us your application forms along with a copy to the responsible authorities at the same time. Once you have done this there will be a 28 day consultation period.

You must display a notice on your premises with details of the application. You must also place a copy of of this notice in a local newspaper on at least one occasion within ten working days from the date of submission.

If your application is unopposed it is deemed granted on the 29th day after submission. If there are representations made against your application we will arrange a hearing at which your application will be determined by a panel of councillors.

Tacit consent

You will be able to act as though your application is granted if you have not heard from us by the end of the target period.

Tacit consent will only apply once a full application has been submitted and you have received an acknowledgment.

Objections

If you live near a licensed premise that has made a new application or wants to vary an existing premises licence, and this causes you concern, you may want to make a representation/objection to the application.

Objections must be based around one (or more) of the licensing objectives and must be made in writing. They must be sent to is within the 28 day consultation period.

Fees

Fees are based upon the non-domestic rateable value of the premises in five bands:

  • £100 application fee for premises rated to a maximum of £4,300
  • £190 for premises rated from £4,300-£33,000
  • £315 for premises rated from £33,001-£87,000
  • £450 for premises rated from £87,001 to £125,000
  • £635 for premises rated from £125,001 and above

An application to vary the premises licence to specify the designated premises supervisor will cost £23.00

There are separate fees to transfer and vary an existing club premises certificate.

Appeals

If you feel that your application was not decided fairly you can appeal the decision.

You may also appeal against any conditions attached to a licence, a decision to reject a variation application, a decision to reject a transfer application or a decision to exclude an activity or person as premises supervisor.

You must apply to a magistrate within 21 days. Another hearing may then be held to consider the facts of how the decision was made.

The public register

There is a public register for this licence, which is available to view on request. Please contact us for more information.

In this section:

  1. You are here: Premises licence Premises licence
  2. You are here: Eligibility Eligibility
  3. You are here: The application process The application process
  4. You are here: How to apply How to apply
  5. You are here: Objections Objections
  6. You are here: Fees Fees
  7. You are here: Appeals Appeals
  8. You are here: Variations Variations
  9. You are here: The public register The public register