Licensing Act 2003
Two people in a bar drinking
Information on Licensing Act 2003.
The Licensing Act 2003 brings together variety of licensing regimes to the new single regime for alcohol, entertainment and late night refreshment. This massive change to the country’s licensing laws also entails the transfer of responsibility for alcohol licensing from the Magistrates Courts to local councils.
These changes will affect anyone who is concerned with:
- Pubs and Nightclubs,
- Off Licences,
- Restaurants that serve alcohol,
- Businesses offering hot food between 11 pm and 5 am,
- Hotels, Guest Houses and other places that sell alcohol,
- Private member’s clubs and social clubs,
- Theatres and amateur dramatic groups,
- Cinemas,
- Occasional events of music and dance where alcohol is sold,
- Indoor sporting events.
The Act may also affect anyone who is concerned with:
- Village Halls,
- Church Halls,
- Post Offices and Village Shops.
What activities are covered by the Act?
Section 1(1) of the Act lists four licensable activities, which are to be regulated by the provisions of the Act. These, in brief, are:
- The sale by retail of alcohol,
- The supply of alcohol by clubs,
- The provision of regulated entertainment,
- The provision of late night refreshment.
Do I need a licence?
Licensable activities may only be carried on under, and in accordance with, a premises licence, temporary event notice or club premises certificate. If you intend to carry on any of the licensable activities and unless your activity is covered by one of the exemptions in the Act, you will need one of these three authorisations. It is an offence to carry on any licensable activity without such an authorisation.
Types of Licence
Personal Licence - Those who sell or supply alcohol, or who supervise the selling or supplying of alcohol will require a Personal Licence. Personal Licences are separate from Premise Licences; this permits the movement of Personal Licence Holders from one Premise to another.
Premises Licence - A Premises Licence authorises the use of any premises, (which is defined in the Act as a vehicle, vessel or moveable structure or any place or part of any premises), for licensable activities, listed above.
Club Premises Certificate - The Licensing Act 2003 recognises that volunteer and social clubs give rise to different issues for licensing law than commercially run premises selling alcohol to the public. Clubs with Club Premises Certificate are entitled to certain benefits, which include the authority to supply alcohol to their members and sell it to guests without the need for any member or employee to hold a personal license, and the absence of a requirement to specify a designated premises supervisor. There are also more limited rights of entry for the police and other authorised persons, as the premises are considered private and not generally open to the public.
Temporary Event Notice - The Act introduces a light touch system for ad hoc, permitted temporary activities. A Temporary Event Notice (TEN) may be given by an individual (premises user) and authorises the premises user to conduct one or more licensable activities at premises for no longer than 96 hours. TEN’s can be used to authorise relatively small scale ad hoc events involving less than 499 people at any one time, subject to certain restrictions.
Recent Licence Application's
A list of Recent application's for Licences under the Licensing Act 2003 to Fylde BC can be found in the related content section..
Information on making representation's about an application under the Licensing Act is available from this page.
Further Information
A number of questions are answered in our Frequently Asked Questions section, the Contact details for Responsible Authorities are also available, and Fees are listed here. For further information on any of these topics please contact us:
Guidance on how to review a Premises Licence or a Club Premises Certificate is available
The Council's licensing policy is currently being reviewed to cover the period 2008 to 2011
By Phone: 01253 658658
By Fax: 01253 713113
By E-mail: licensing@fylde.gov.uk
By Post
Licensing Team
Fylde Borough Council
St Anne's Town Hall
Lytham St Anne's
Lancashire
FY8 1LW
