You will need to apply for a premises licence if you intend to provide licensable activities from a particular premises.
Licensable activities permitted under a premises licence are:
You will still require a licence if you are a charity undertaking licensable activities. Premises that sell alcohol to the public will also be required to specify a Designated Premises Supervisor, or DPS, who must be a personal licence holder.
Each type of application requires payment of a statutory fee, and some applications require the application to be advertised by way of a statutory notice at the premises and a notice in a local newspaper. Details are provided on the relevant application forms and advice can be given by the Licensing Team.
To apply for a new premises licence, you will need to complete and submit the relevant application form, a plan of the premises, consent of the designated premises supervisor (if applicable) and pay the prescribed fee.
The day after the application has been received by the Council, a statutory notice (printed on pale blue paper) must be clearly displayed at the premises for a minimum of 28 days. In the case of a premises covering an area of more than 50 metres square, a further notice must be displayed every fifty metres along the external perimeter of the premises abutting any highway.
The same notice must also be placed in the local newspaper, or if there is none, in a local newsletter, circular or similar document, circulating in the vicinity of the premises, on at least one occasion during the period of ten working days, starting on the day after the application is received in the Council offices.
Apply online:
Apply via post*:
Where the premises licence holder wishes to amend the premises licence, an application under the Licensing Act 2003 can be made.
The areas in which a licence can be varied are:
Where the proposed variation has the potential to adversely impact the licensing objectives, a ‘full’ variation application must be submitted. Some variations may be considered by way of a ‘minor’ variation application. To determine whether a proposed variation is 'minor' depends on whether it could impact adversely on any of the licensing objectives.
If submitting an application for a 'full' variation, a statutory notice (printed on pale blue paper) must be clearly displayed at the premises for a minimum of 28 days, beginning on the day after the application has been submitted. In the case of a premises covering an area of more than 50 metres square, a further notice must be displayed every fifty metres along the external perimeter of the premises abutting any highway. The same notice must also be placed in the local newspaper, or if there is none, in a local newsletter, circular or similar document, circulating in the vicinity of the premises, on at least one occasion during the period of ten working days, starting on the day after the application is received in the Council offices.
If submitting an application for a minor variation, a statutory notice (printed on white paper) must be clearly displayed at the premises for a minimum of 10 working days, beginning on the working day after the application has been submitted. In the case of a premises covering an area of more than 50 metres square, a further notice must be displayed every fifty metres along the external perimeter of the premises abutting any highway. There is no requirement to publish a notice in a newspaper for a minor variation.
Apply online:
Apply via post*:
Where the premises licence is transferred to another individual, registered company or other organisation, an application to transfer the premises licence must be completed. This must include a consent form completed by the current licence holder.
Apply online:
Apply via post*:
Where it is proposed to change the designated premises supervisor (DPS) at the premises to another individual, an application to specify a new designated premises supervisor must be completed. This must include consent of the proposed designated premises supervisor.
You can notify the Council of your removal as DPS at a premises here.
Apply online:
Apply via post*:
There is provision for certain community premises to disapply the mandatory requirement to specify a designated premises supervisor, instead nominating the board or committee of individuals with responsibility for the management of the community premises.
Apply online:
Apply via post*:
If a licence holder dies, becomes mentally incapable, becomes insolvent or is no longer entitled to work in the UK, the licence will lapse and a transfer application or interim authority notice must be applied for within 28 days.
An interim authority notice allows the person giving the notice to act as licence holder and continue to carry out the licensable activities at the premises for up to three months.
Apply online:
Apply via post*:
Provisional statements are effectively provisional licences. These allow an operator to assess the likelihood of obtaining a full licence before committing to the costs of developing a site. They can be obtained in situations where the premises have not yet been constructed, extended, or altered for use for licensable activities. We do not currently have the facility to accept these applications online.
Apply via post*: Application for provisional statement
A responsible authority or any other person may apply for a review of a licence or certificate that is in force. There is no fee for this application.
Only review applications that relate to at least one of the four licensing objectives can be considered:
Review applications must clearly relate to the premises for which the review application is being made. The licensing authority may reject any ground for a review it considers to be frivolous, vexatious or repetitious, or if the grounds cannot be attributed to the operation of the premises concerned. Applicants calling for a review cannot apply for a review anonymously. We do not currently have the facility to accept these applications online.
If you have a legal interest in a property you are entitled to be told of any licensing matters to do with it. Once you have notified the licensing authority, we will tell you about any changes made to the licensing register that may affect the property. A notification last 12 months. We do not currently have the facility to accept these applications online.
You have a legal interest in a premises if:
Apply via post:
* When applying for certain licences via post, you have a statutory duty to send copies of the application to the relevant responsible authorities. Failure to do so will render your application invalid.
A licence holder is required to ensure that the details on the premises licence are current, including the name of the premises, the name and address of the licence holder, and the name and address of the designated premises supervisor. Notifications of these changes must be completed using the following form.
Apply online:
The main fee levels for application fees and annual fees can be found on the GOV.UK website. Additional fees (for increased capacity) and other fees relating to premises licences can be found on the GOV.UK website here.
An annual fee is due for most premises licences (with the exception of certain ‘exempt’ community premises). The fee is due on the anniversary of the licence issue date.
Applications must be sent to relevant Responsible Authorities, either via post or email, by the applicant. Where an application is submitted via the GOV.UK website, there is no requirement to do this.