Review of Premises Licence / Club Premises Certificate

Where the operation of a Premises Licence or Club Premises Certificate is causing harm to the licensing objectives, a responsible authority or an interested party may apply to the Council, as Licensing Authority, for a review of the licence or certificate.

Who may apply

Reviews may be applied for by either responsible authorities or interested parties.

An interested party for the purposes of the Licensing Act 2003 means any of the following:

a)    a person living in the vicinity of the premises;
b)    a body representing persons who live in that vicinity;
c)    a person involved in a business in the vicinity of the premises;
d)    a body representing persons involved in such a business.

How to make application

A copy of the application must be sent to the Licensing Section. Copies should also be sent (together with any accompanying documents) to each of the responsible authorities.

A copy of the review application also needs to be sent to the holder of the premises licence or club holding the club premises certificate.

Advertisement of review

Where an application for a review is made, the Licensing Authority will advertise the review by:

• Displaying a site notice at or near the site of the premises
  Publishing a notice on the Council’s website

for 28 days starting on the day after the application was given to the Licensing Section.

Grounds for review

The ground for review must be relevant to at least one of the licensing objectives, for example:

• Prevention of crime and disorder
  Public safety
  Prevention of public nuisance
  Protection of children from harm

The application form requests any additional information or details, for example, dates of problems included in the ground for review.

In the case of an application made by an interested party, the application will be rejected if the ground is frivolous, vexatious or is a repetition.

A ground for review is a repetition if:

a)        it is identical or similar to

       i)    a ground for review specified in an earlier application for review made in respect of the same premises that has already been determined;

       ii)     representations that have already been considered by the licensing authority when the application for a premises licence was originally determined; or

b)    a reasonable interval has not elapsed since an earlier application for review or the grant of the licence (as the case may be).

Determination of application

Where an application for review is made which complies with the above requirements, a hearing of the Licensing Committee will be called to determine the application.

The Licensing Committee may, if it considers necessary for the promotion of the licensing objectives, consider the following steps:

a)    modify the conditions of the licence;
b)    exclude a licensable activity from the scope of the licence;
c)    remove the designated premises supervisor;
d)    suspend the licence for a period not exceeding three months;
e)    revoke the licence.

The decision of the Committee will not take effect (a) until the end of the period given for appealing the decision; or (b) if the decision is appealed against, until the appeal is disposed of.

For further information in relation to review applications please contact the Licensing Section.