Licensing Act 2003

What the Act does

St Albans City and District Council licenses the premises in the district which:
• sell alcohol for consumption on and/or off the premises
• supply alcohol to members of a club
• provide regulated entertainment: plays, films, indoor sporting events, boxing and/or wrestling entertainment, live or recorded music, performances of dance, facilities for making music and/or dancing
• provide late night refreshment.

Additional information on the Licensing Act can be obtain from the governments website: http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/alcohol_and_entertainment/default.aspx

One Off Events

To be permitted to carryout any of the above functions without holding a permanent licence or to extend what you are normally permitted to do, you can submit to the Council a Temporary Event Notice (TEN).

The event must comply with the following:
• Total capacity permitted (including staff) is 499 people
• Last for less than 96 hours (4 days)
• Each location can only have 12 TENs a year
• There must be at least 24 hours between each TEN
• The TEN must be submitted no less than 10 working days before the event (working days: Monday to Friday not including bank holidays)

If you hold a personal licence you can submit 50 TENs a year (not all at the same location). A non personal licence holder can submit 5 a year. Each TEN cost £21.00.

Please click on the link below for additional information and for a copy of the notice. Alternatively visit the government’s website: http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/alcohol_and_entertainment/3195.aspx 

• TEN application form and guidance (PDF - 44 kb)

Licensing Act 2003 - Statement of Licensing Policy

The Licensing Act 2003 requires that each local authority produce and publish a policy with regard to how it will carry out its functions under the Act.

Please click on the link below to view our policy.

St Albans City & District Council acts as the licensing authority for the District in respect of the Licensing Act 2003.

The current Statement of Licensing Policy was adopted by Council on 29th November 2007 with effect from 7th January 2008.

This policy is now due for review as it expires on 6th January 2011.  The Licensing Act 2003 and Statutory Guidance have been revised to include new provisions such as minor variations, community premises exemption from requiring a DPS and new mandatory conditions, therefore, the Council's Policy needs to reflect these changes.

One of the many legal responsibilities that a local authority has is a responsibility to consider applications for premises licences, club premises certificates and temporary event notices made by persons wanting to provide licensable activities within the local authority area.  It also has to consider applications for personal licences from persons residing within the local authority area irrespective of where they intend to work.

In connection with this responsibility, St Albans City & District Council proposes that this policy will encompass all elements of Licensing Act 2003 licensing and therefore assist applicants, the local authority and all other parties.

Licensing Policy

The consultation period will commence on Monday 19 July 2010 and will continue for 12 weeks ending at midnight on Monday 11 October 2010.

This is your opportunity to raise any issues you may have and contribute to the formation of the Council's Statement of Licensing Policy.

All responses during the consultation will be considered and incorporated into the Policy where appropriate.  A summary of all responses will be included in the Report to Elected Members during the Committee process.  The final Policy will be determined by the Elected Members.

Please note that all responses including personal details may be subject to publication or disclosure.

Please note that all responses must be received by midnight on Monday 11 October 2010.

Contact Details
All responses to the consultation should be sent in writing to:

Licensing
St Albans City & District Council
District Council Offices
St Peters Street
St Albans
Herts  AL1 3JE

Please direct queries to the Licensing Team on 01727 819541 or at licensing@stalbans.gov.uk

Consultees
The following interest parties will be consulted:

All existing premises licence/club premises certificate holders under the Licensing Act 2003
Hertfordshire Constabulary
Responsible Authorities under  the Licensing Act 2003
SADC Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement & Support
SADC Licensing & Regulatory Committee
SADC Community Safety
SADC Councillors
SADC Legal Services
SADC Town Centre Manager
St Albans Chamber of Commerce
Association of Convenience Stores (ACS)
Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR)
Association of Town Centre Managers (ACTM and Purple Flag)
British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA)
British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) British Institute of Inn Keeping (BII)
British Retail Consortium (BRC)
Circus Arts Forum
Cinema Exhibitors’ Association (CEA)
Department for Culture, Media and Sport (see links to the Licensing Act 2003, Explanatory Notes, Guidance and Regulations)
Equity
Independent Street Arts Network
Institute of Licensing (IOL)
Justices Clerks’ Society
LACORS
Licensed Victuallers Associations (LVAs)
National Association of Local Government Arts Officers
nalgao
National Pub Watch
NOCTIS (Formerly Bar, Entertainment and Dance Association (BEDA)
The Portman Group

• Statement of licensing policy (PDF - 269 kb)

Child protection statement

One of the licensing objectives under the Act is "the protection of children from harm".  The document below indicates what might be considered with regard to this objective when applying for a licence:

• Licensing Act 2003 - Child protection statement (PDF - 65 kb)

Premises licence

Please download the following pdf's to apply for the grant or variation of a premises licence.

• Premises grant.pdf (PDF - 119 kb)
• premises vary.pdf (PDF - 159 kb)

Notification of applications

The original application and fee must be sent to: Licensing Authority, St Albans City and District Council, Civic Centre, St Peters Street, St Albans, Herts AL1 3JE. Tel: 01727 819541. Fax: 01727 819433. Email: licensing@stalbans.gov.uk

Copies of application for the grant/variation of a Premises Licence or Club Premises Certificate should be sent to the following Responsible Authorities:

Applications for the grant/variation of a premises licence/club premises certificate must be advertised in a local publication which is distributed in the vicinity of the premises and on the boundary of the premises. The below document gives you suggested wording for this advert.

• Notice of an application under the Licensing Act 2003 (PDF - 14 kb)

Making a representation regarding an application

Residents in the vicinity of the premises and local business can make a representation regarding an application. These representations must be submitted in writing during the 28 day consultation period which is indicated on the public notices displayed at the premises and published in a local newspaper. The representation must be based on one of the 4 licensing objectives to be considered:
• The prevention of crime and disorder
• Public safety
• The prevention of public nuisance
• The protection of children from harm

It is an offence knowingly or recklessly to make a false statement in connection with an application. The maximum fine for which a person is liable on summary conviction for the offence if £5,000.

The representation can be submitted by email: licensing@stalbans.gov.uk, fax: 01727 819 433 or post: Licensing Authority, St Albans City and District Council, Civic Centre, St Peters Street, St Albans, Herts AL1 3JE. If you wish, you may use the document below to make a representation.

• Representation form from interested parties (PDF - 25 kb)

Reporting problems from licensed premises

If you are experiencing a problem from a licensed premises then please contact the Licensing Authority by telephone: 01727 819541, fax: 01727 819433, email: licensing@stalbans.gov.uk or post: Licensing Authority, St Albans City and District Council, Civic Centre, St Peters Street, St Albans, Herts AL1 3JE.

We regularly have officers working at the weekend so it is always worth ringing our Licensing Hotline: 0777 0701 720. If you cannot talk to an officer you can leave a message on the voicemail and this will be dealt with as soon as possible.

Noise complaints from licensed premises can also be dealt with by an Environmental Health Officer (EHO). Call the 24 hour call centre on: 01727 811155. The call centre will contact the on duty EHO who will determine what action may be taken. An EHO is on duty: Friday 20.00-01.00, Saturday 20.00-02.00 and Sunday 20.00-midnight. During office hours telephone: 01727 866100.

Public register

The public register holds information relating to each licensed premises. It shows what conditions are attached to the licence and what applications have been or are being processed.
To view the public register please use the following link: http://www.stalbans.gov.uk/business/BusinessLicences/online-licensing/

What happens at the hearing?

If a valid representation (see above) has been received regarding an application the matter is brought before the licensing sub-committee to determine. The below document gives the procedure at the hearing.

• Licensing committee procedure (PDF - 24 kb)

It is the intention of the hearing to give all parties an opportunity to speak about the application so that a fair decision can be made. After the hearing all parties are sent a written determination. This will detail the decision that was made and how the decision may be appealed at the magistrates court.

Reviews

Responsible authorities (see list above) and interested parties (those persons living within the vicinity of the premises) have the right to ask for a licence to be review. This request must be based on one of the 4 licensing objectives:
• The prevention of crime and disorder
• Public safety
• The prevention of public nuisance
• The protection of children from harm

It is strongly recommended before you consider asking for a review that you meet and speak with the manager of the premises concerned to see if the matter can be resolved informally. It has been our experience that if the matter is brought before the magistrates court upon appeal, that the courts look unfavourably on anyone who has not done this. You will also be required to provide evidence to support your allegations. Interested parties may seek assistance from a relevant responsible authority or a Licensing Officer who may give guidance to the kind of evidence that would be required.

The application form and guidance for seeking a review can be obtained from the following link:

• Applying for a review under the Licensing Act 2003 (PDF - 609 kb)

Personal licence

Premises that sell alcohol under the provision of a Premises Licence must have a Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS). This person is in day to day control of the premises, particularly with regard to the sale of alcohol. This person must hold a personal licence.

Private members clubs which supply alcohol to its members and bona fide guests under the provision of a Club Premises Certificate do NOT need a DPS and non of the staff are required to hold a Personal Licence.

The application form to obtain a Personal Licence can be downloaded from the following link:

• Personal Licence Application Guidance (PDF - 43 kb)

• NCPLH booking form (PDF - 11 kb)

More information on the course can be seen on the BIIABs website: http://www.biiab.org/ and alternative accredited organisations can be seen on the governments website:

• Accredited personal licence (PDF - 47 kb)

You will also need to obtain a basic criminal records disclosure (even if you don’t have a criminal record). This can be obtain from Disclosure Scotland: http://www.disclosurescotland.co.uk/. This report, once received, is only valid for the purposes of the Personal Licence application, for 28 days.

Guidance fact sheet - village halls

Guidance specifically tailored to the needs of village halls can be seen on the following fact sheet:

• Licensing Act 2003 - Village halls factsheet (PDF - 44 kb)

Disclaimer

In offering this advice St Albans City and District Council wishes to make it clear that:
• Legislation may change over time and the advice given is based on the information available at the time the guidance was produced. It is not necessarily comprehensive and is subject to revision in the light of further information.
• Only the courts may interpret statutory legislation with any authority.
• This advice is not intended to be a definitive guide to, nor a substitute for, the relevant law. Independent legal advice should be sought where appropriate.