Premises Licence - Variation

This page is aimed at individuals or businesses who hold a premises licence who may be considering an application to vary that premises licence.

What is an application to vary

If you already hold a premises licence issued by Wirral Council then you will have some form of authorisation to carry out one or more licensable activities.

Under the legislation you can at any time make an application under section 34 of the Act to vary your premises licence to alter the terms of your licence.

You may wish to extend the hours you sell alcohol, or ask to have conditions removed from your existing licence. You can also add a licensable activity that your current licence does not authorise you to carry out.

If however you want to add alcohol then you need to be aware that you will need to fulfil a lengthier application process.

1. You will need a personal licence holder to authorise the supply of alcohol in line with your premises licence.
2. You will need to nominate a designated premise supervisor (DPS) on your premises licence application. The proposed premises supervisor will have to complete a consent form. The premises supervisor must be a personal licence holder.

It is also important to note that you will not be able to carry out the activities you have applied for until your application has been processed by the Licensing Authority.

If your application receives representations during the application process this could take up to two months.

Overview of the application process

On the application form you need to describe what steps you will take to promote the licensing objectives. When you send copies of your application to the responsible authorities they will look at this section to check whether you have taken sufficient steps to promote the licensing objectives.

If one or more of the agencies are not satisfied with the content of this section your application may receive a representation.

Your application may also need to include an updated plan. If you are an existing premises licence holder then we will already have a plan of your premises on file.

However If your application to vary is going to lead to substantial changes to the nature of the premises licence then we will expect you to submit a new plan with your application.

For example if you are adding a new licensable activity then this would require an updated plan showing where the new licensable activity will take place.

If the variation just changes the hours of operation of your existing licensable activities then an amended plan may not be required.

If you are not sure whether we will be expecting you to submit a new plan with your application to vary, please contact the Licensing Authority.

Unless agreed with the Council, the plan should be drawn to a standard scale with a key showing the items mentioned above. The standard scale is 1:100.

When you send your application to the Licensing Authority and the responsible authorities you will then need to fulfil a 28 day notice period.

This is a period of time when your application is advertised and when responsible authorities and other interested parties such as local residents can make representations to the licensing authority about your application.

If after this 28 day notice period your application has received no representations then your new licence will be granted subject only to certain conditions which are consistent with the measures you volunteered within your operating schedule of your application form plus any other mandatory conditions imposed by the Act.

If representations are received during the notice period then your application will go to a hearing. Your new varied licence will remain in force from the date of issue indefinitely.

Advertising your application

When applying for a variation of a premises licence, the Act requires you to advertise your application. The rules on advertising are strict and should be followed carefully.

You must display a notice about your application at or on your licensed premises. The notice must be displayed for 28 days. The 28 days run from the day after you sent your application to the Council.

The notice must be on pale blue A4 paper, although it can be larger, with black lettering. The lettering must be at least in 16 font. Do not obscure the notice in any way or make it difficult to read. Others must be able to read the notice from outside your premises.

If your premises is more than 50 metres square you must place a notice, identical to the one described above, every 50 metres along the external perimeter of your premises where it touches the highway.

You must also publish a notice about your premises licence variation. It must be placed with a local newspaper which covers the area where the premises is located.

The notice should appear within 10 working days of your application being sent to the Council. It must contain the same information as the notice placed on your premises but does not need to have the same lettering, dimensions, font size or colouring.

Fees

The fee to accompany your application is based on the non-domestic rateable value of your premises.

The Valuation Office Agency has compiled the 2005 list of rateable values, which can be found on their website www.voa.gov.uk. All you have to do is enter the billing authority, Wirral, and then the address of your premises to find the valuation.

Alternatively you can call their help line on 0845 602 1507. Further information on how must to pay can be fond in the link below.

Apply Online

Application to Vary Premises Licence