Requesting a premises review

A responsible authority or any other person may apply for a review of a licence or certificate that is in force.

A licensing authority may reject the application for review if it is satisfied that the grounds for review are not relevant to one or more of the licensing objectives:

The prevention of crime and disorder;
Public safety;
The prevention of public nuisance; and
The protection of children from harm

The licensing authority can reject any ground for review if it considers it to be “frivolous”, “vexatious” or a “repetition”.You can be fined up to £5,000 if you make a false statement on the application form.

What does “frivolous”and “vexatious” mean?

“Frivolous” or “vexatious” will bear their ordinary meaning. Whether representations are frivolous or vexatious will be for the licensing authority to determine. For example, the licensing authority might find the representations were vexatious if they arise because of disputes between rival businesses or frivolous if they clearly lacked seriousness.

What does “repetitious” mean?

A “repetitious” representation is one that is identical or substantially similar to:

A ground for review in an earlier application, which has already been determined (the licensing authority’s “register of licences” will include all applications for reviews made to them in the past)
Representations considered by the licensing authority when the premises licence was first granted.
Representations made when the application for the premises licence was first made and were excluded because of the prior issue of a provisional statement.

In addition to the above grounds, a reasonable interval has not elapsed since any earlier review or the grant of the licence.

Things to consider before starting the review process

The review process is not intended to be used simply as a second bite of the cherry following the failure of representations to persuade the licensing authority on earlier occasions. It is for licensing authorities themselves to judge what should be regarded as a “reasonable interval” in these circumstances.

Interested parties cannot apply for a review anonymously. If interested parties are concerned about possible intimidation, they could consider asking the police, or another appropriate responsible authority to apply for a review on their behalf.

Before applying for a review, interested parties may want to consider whether their concern(s) could be effectively dealt with outside of the formal review process. This could involve, for example:

Talking to the licence or certificate holder to determine whether there are any steps they may be willing to take to rectify the situation
Asking the licensing department at your council to talk to the licensee on your behalf
Ask your local MP or Councillor to speak to the licence or certificate holder on your behalf
Talking to the relevant “responsible authority” (e.g. environmental health in relation to noise nuisance, or the police in relation to crime and disorder) to determine whether there is other legislation that could help resolve the issue

Things you may want to consider when seeking a review

It may be helpful to get the support of other people living, or businesses operating in the vicinity of the premises, or other “responsible authorities”.

If you are thinking of raising a petition as supporting evidence, it is important to ensure that the licensing authority can determine whether all the signatories are within the ‘vicinity’ of the premises. So, including their addresses and indicating clearly which of the licensing objectives they are all asking for a review. It would also help if a spokesperson could volunteer to receive details about the hearing etc and may be willing to speak on behalf of the petitioners at the hearing. It would then be their responsibility to pass the information received from the licensing authority on to all those who signed the petition.

If you want to ask another person such as an MP or local Councillor to represent you at the review, it is advisable to make such a request in writing so that the individual can demonstrate he or she was asked

There is no requirement for an interested party to produce a recorded history at a premises to support their representations. However, it is important to be able to support your claims. You could for example do this by keeping a diary over a period of time and sound or video recordings may also be helpful. It may also be a while before any hearing, so it is good to keep a clear record.

Try to get as much information as possible about any official response to any individual incidents (e.g. – police being called out)

You may also be able to support your application with data such as crime statistics. However, it should be noted that conditions attached to licences cannot seek to manage the behaviour of customers once they are beyond the direct management of the licence holder and his staff or agents, but can directly impact on the behaviour of those under the licensee’s direction when on his premises or in the immediate vicinity of the premises as they seek to enter or leave.

If there is general noise nuisance on streets because of licensed premises, you will probably need to show how it relates to the specific premises.

Residents or businesses applying for a review following a particular incident should be cautious, as a licensee may argue that this was a one off problem that can be rectified without a review.

Have a good idea how you’d like the situation to be resolved.

Applying for a Review

An application for the review of a premises licence or club premises certificate must be given in writing and be in the prescribed application form.

Please note – You cannot request a review anonymously.

Download and complete the Review Premise Licence Application form

What happens after a request for a review has been made?

We'll send a copy of your application to:

All Responsible Authorities
The holder of the premises licence or club premises certificate for the premises.

We'll publish notice of your application:

on or near the premises for 28 days
at our main office - on the information display board in Wellington Street
on our website.

This notice won't give your name and address.

Other interested parties and responsible authorities then have this period to make representations about the review.

If the request for a review is not rejected then the licensing authority must hold a hearing at the licensing authority to consider the application, unless all parties agree that this is unnecessary.

The licensing authority will write to you with the date and time of the hearing and will inform you of the procedure to be followed at the hearing.

As the person or body requesting the review, you are required to give notice to the licensing authority at least 5 working days before the start of the hearing, stating:

Whether you consider a hearing to be unnecessary;
Whether you intend to attend and/or be represented at the hearing;
Any request for any other person to appear at the hearing, stating that person's name and giving a brief description of the point(s) on which that person may be able to assist the licensing sub-committee in relation to your application, representations or objection (as applicable).
With your notice a written summary of the representations you wish to make to the licensing sub-committee in relation to your application and provide copies of any documents or evidence you intend to submit in support of your application.

You must let the licensing authority know as soon as possible (by written notice no later than 24 hours before the start of a hearing, or orally at the hearing) if you want to withdraw your application.

Hearings

Hearings will generally be held in public, unless the licensing authority decides it is in the public interest to hold all, or part of the hearing in private.

Hearings will normally take the form of a discussion and will be led by the licensing authority, which will consist of a minimum of three local authority elected councillors

NB - A hearing can still go ahead in the absence of any party (e.g. - applicant or interested party)

What happens after a hearing?

If no decision is made at the hearing, the committee has a maximum of 5 days from the day or the last day of the hearing to come to a decision. Following a review, a licensing authority may:

Decide that no action is necessary to promote the licensing objectives
Modify or add conditions to the licence
Exclude a licensable activity from the licence
To give a warning letter to the licence holder
Remove the designated premises supervisor
Suspend the licence for a period (not exceeding 3 months)
Revoke the licence

If you're unhappy with the result

If we decide to reject your application for review, we'll write to you and explain our decision and our reasons for it. If you're unhappy with this, you may apply to the High Court for a judicial review of our decision.