Go to navigation
Consultation
Once the Licensing Unit has received your application, a member
of the unit checks the documentation and makes sure that the
application complies with all the requirements of the Licensing
Act 2003 (the Act).
- If they accept the application, within a couple of days you
will receive a confirmation letter and reminding you to advertise
your application.
- If they reject the application, they will return your
documentation along with a letter explaining the problems with your
application and what action you need to take to rectify the
situation.
Any missing documentation or fee payment will result in an
application being rejected and returned to the applicant.
Consultation period
Once your application has been accepted, the consultation period
begins. During the next 28 days:
- details of your application are entered on a computer
system;
- emails are sent to all of the responsible authorities informing
them of your application and making sure you have complied with the
legal requirement to send them a copy of the application: the
Licensing Unit also provides them with a deadline for their
comments;
- enforcement officers will visit the outside of your premises to
confirm that the notice is displayed on the premises
correctly;
- weekly emails are sent to the responsible authorities to ensure
their comments are provided;
- licensing staff will speak to any members of the public who
have any queries in relation to your application - they may be
interested in viewing your application or wish to discuss objecting
to your application.
No objections
If the council does not receive any objections from the
responsible
authorities or interested party, your application is granted on
the basis of the application you submitted. You will initially
receive a letter confirming that your licence is granted. This
allows you to operate the activities for the hours requested on
your application form.
Within the next couple of weeks, a licence and summary sheet are
sent. It is then up to the applicant to display the summary sheet
on the premises immediately to comply with the legal
requirements.
Objections
If the Licensing Unit receives any objections, it must arrange a
Licensing
Hearing Panel. A hearing will be set within a month of the end
of the consultation period. This is called the mediation
period.
Objections are called representations under the Act.
Once the unit receives a representation, it must decide if it is
relevant. The following criteria are applied:
- it must be in writing, that is in the form of a letter or
email;
- the person making it must provide details of their name and
their full postal address;
- the comments must be in relation to one or more of the
licensing
objectives;
- it must have been received by the council within the 28-day
consultation period;
- it must not be frivolous, vexatious or repetitive.
Irrelevant representations
If a representation fails to meet any of the criteria above, the
Licensing Unit will write to the objector to say that it cannot
accept it under the Act as it is irrelevant.
Relevant representations
If a representation meets all of the criteria above it is a
relevant representation.
The Licensing Unit then notifies the objector and tells them
that there will be a meeting of the Licensing Hearing Panel. It
also advises them that they can bring a legal representative to
assist with presenting their evidence at the hearing. Later, the
unit will contact them again with the date, time and location of
the hearing.
The unit also notifies the applicant or their solicitor or agent
that it has received an objection and that there will be a meeting
of the Licensing Hearing Panel and that they can bring a legal
representative to assist with presenting their evidence at the
hearing. Later, the unit will contact them again with the date,
time and location of the hearing.
Mediation period
There are two types of representations and they need to be
handled differently. The mediation period gives the applicant an
opportunity to look at the objections and decide if they wish to
amend their application or provide evidence at a hearing dealing
with the issues raised in the objections.
Interested party
It is often extremely difficult to arrange a mediation
discussion with residents and the applicant, so once a
representation is received from an interested party, the hearing
usually goes ahead. In the meantime, the applicant has an
opportunity to arrange a residents meeting that may allow all the
parties to openly discuss their concerns and see if an agreement
can be reached. A hearing will only be cancelled if the objector(s)
then withdraw their objection in writing and no other relevant
representations are outstanding.
Responsible authority
As soon as the Licensing Unit receives a representation from one
of the responsible authorities, a letter is sent to the applicant
enclosing the objection notice form. The form will inform them of
the contact name at that authority. The letter will explain what
action the applicant must now take.
Applicants should contact the authority immediately, discuss the
objection and decide whether they agree with the comments and
recommendations that the authority might have put forward.
If they agree, they should tell the Unit in writing so that it
can ask the authority to say if it is willing to withdraw its
objection. If it does, the hearing will be cancelled as long as no
other relevant representations are outstanding. If an agreement
cannot be reached, the hearing will go ahead as planned.
Add this page to my Quick Links:
Add page
Send this page to a friend:
Send