Following the implementation of the Licensing Act 2003, in February 2005 all premises where ‘Licensable activities’ are provided will require a Premises Licence:

Licensable Activities:

• The sale by retail of alcohol.
• The provision of a Regulated Entertainment in the presence of an audience for the purpose of entertaining the audience. This includes the performance of live music, a dance or a play; the playing of recorded music; the exhibition of a film; an indoor sporting event.
• The provision of late night refreshment.
• The supply of alcohol by or on behalf of a club to, or to the order of, a member of the Club.

If any of these activities are being supplied on your premises you will need to apply for a Premises Licence:

Premises Licence:

Converting an Existing Licence:

The Licensing Act 2003 provides a transitional period from 7th February- 7th August 2005 during which time it will be possible for holders of existing liquor, entertainment, night café, theatre and cinema Licences to apply to convert those Licences into a Premises Licence.

An application to convert an existing licence to a Premises Licence should be made to the Local Authority in which your premises are situated. On applying to the Local Authority, the application should be determined by the Local Authority within 2 months.

On making a successful application to convert an existing Licence, the new Premises Licence will not come into force until November 2005 on a date still to be decided. Until this date, the licence will continue to act in accordance with the existing Licence. It is important to note that, until the Premises Licence is introduced, the existing Licence needs to be maintained and adhered to in the usual way.
In converting to a new Premises Licence, the same rights as enjoyed under the existing Licence will be retained. Should an application to convert the existing licence to a Premises Licence not be made in the transitional period, those rights will be lost and it will be necessary to apply for the grant of a new Premises Licence. If in November 2005 a new Premises Licence has not been granted then it would be necessary to cease trading until a Premises Licence is obtained.

Application for a New Premises Licence:

Applications for a New Premises Licence may be made during the Transitional period and they will come into force on a date to be decided in November. From November onwards, Premises Licenses will come into force on the date on which they are subsequently granted

All new applications should be made to the Local Authority in which the premises are situated. The application must include a plan of the premises, an operating schedule and the details of the proposed activity requiring a Licence.

It will be necessary to provide notice of the application to the public by placing an advertisement in a newspaper and outside the premises on which the licensed activity will take place.

In addition to applying for a Premises Licence, individual selling or supplying alcohol will also be required to obtain a Personal Licence:

Personal Licence:

A Personal Licence will provide an individual with authority to sell or supply alcohol in accordance with the Premises Licence.

In applying to convert an existing Liquor Licence to a new Premises Licence within the transitional period, an individual named on an existing Justices Licence on 7th February 2005 or an individual granted or transferred onto a Justices’ Licence between 7th February- 6th August 2005 can apply for a Personal Licence.
If an application for a Personal Licence is made on or after 7th August 2005 the following requirements will need to be fulfilled:
(i) Personal Licence Qualification: An individual applying on or for a Personal Licence on or after 7th August 2005 will need to obtain the new accredited Licensing Qualification. It should be noted that should an application be made between 7th February-6th August 2005, the applicant will be exempt from obtaining such qualifications

(ii) The Criminal Records Bureau Certificate: A certificate will need to be obtained in applying for a Personal Licence. Such Certificates may take up to 8 weeks to obtain. Again, should an application for a Personal Licence be made during the transitional period, the applicant will be exempt from fulfilling this requirement.
Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) :

It is also a requirement that the Premises Licence Holder must appoint a Designated Premises Supervisor. The nominated person will have the responsibility for the day to day running of the premises. The DPS must be nominated on the Application Form for the Premises Licence and consent to act and also be a Personal Licence-holder.

Club Premises Certificates:

The procedure in applying to convert an existing Club Registration Certificate to a Club Premises Certificate is similar to the procedure in converting an existing licence to a Premises Licence as described above.