The Need and Procedure to Obtain a Premise License

Under the Licensing Act 2003 a single system of premises licences was introduced combining the six licensing commandments including the sale and supply of alcohol, the terms of legalized entertainment, the terms of late night refreshment. This act removed the non-essential red tape from the regulations that were followed before the act.

Why Premises License??

Businesses are now required to apply for a premises licence to be able to permit all the licensable activities they wish to perform in their premise. Premises licences are neither subjected to time period except for when it is requested, nor it requires renewal after every three years which was required according to the earlier rules and regulations nor they have a extent of one year which was there earlier in case for public entertainment licences.

The fee charges for a Premises Licence Application are same which used to be for application before the introduction of the Licensing Act and limitations on the number licensable activities on the premises has also been relieved. Inquiries on an application only happens where the demonstration from concerned group or responsible authorities is desired and hence eliminating pointless administrative and legal expenses.

The Application Procedure…

In order to practice any of the 4 licensable activities in a place, one must apply for premises licence to any of the licensing authority. To carry out retail sale of alcohol, a dedicated premises supervisor or DPS should be present in the premise that holds a personal licence.

The licensing directive has four major licensing objectives which are as follows:

• To prevent crime and disorder
• To ensure Public safety
• To prevent public annoyance
• To protect the children from harm

One has to perform a risk estimation to classify if one’s proposed use of the premises may challenge one or more of the licensing objectives. One must consider the actions required minimizing the recognized risks, and thus suitable conditions should be accepted. For instance, if the premises will be offering adult entertainment services, the owner may need to fulfill a condition that no children will be allowed on the premises where the adult entertainment is going to take place. And also if the premise is going to provide entertainment, the owner will have to reflect on how to minimize possible noise trouble. The projected measure should be documented in the appropriate section of the application form.

The Premises Licence Application form should also mention the type of premises that is intended, for example a hotel, a cafe, a community center, a pub, a night club, a supermarket, a convenience store, and should specify all activities that are to be performed at the premises as well. The form should indicate the non domestic rate able value of the activities, as this will be used to evaluate the fee payable for the application and also as the annual fee. It should also specify the opening hours, and any seasonal variations in the timings of the premises, each and every detail need to be set out.

Once a premise has obtained a premises licence it can be varied at any time by the similar process.