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Policy and guidance

The Licensing Act 2003 relates to the sale or supply of alcohol, provision of regulated entertainment, and the supply of late night refreshment.

It is important proper authorisation has been given to carry out any of these activities, failure to do so would be committing an offence.

Licensing policy

Our licensing policy for 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2027 is available below.

At this stage we have not adopted a cumulative impact policy although this situation will be reviewed starting in April 2023. In the meantime we have included areas of special interest and consultation, where environmental factors may require further considerations by applicants in order to uphold the licensing objectives. Please see section 8 of the policy for more information. Supporting information at Appendix A to the policy will be available in March 2022.

Our previous policy remains available below for information.

The statutory guidance - GOV.UK (PDF) was updated in 2018 and made changes to the provisions for cumulative impact zones (see paragraphs 14.20 to 14.46). This guidance takes precedence over our licensing policy and therefore applicants and interested parties are advised to pay particular attention to it.

In particular, paragraph 14.40 of the guidance says:

“In publishing a Cumulative Impact Assessment a licensing authority is setting down a strong statement of intent about its approach to considering applications for the grant or variation of premises licences or club premises certificates in the area described. The CIA does not, however, change the fundamental way that licensing decisions are made. It is therefore open to the licensing authority to grant an application where it considers it is appropriate and where the applicant can demonstrate in the operating schedule that they would not be adding to the cumulative impact. Applications in areas covered by a CIA should therefore give consideration to potential cumulative impact issues when setting out the steps that will be taken to promote the licensing objectives."

Fees

Fees for applications under the Licensing Act are set by central government. Details are available below.

Guidance and policy documents

Various documents are attached below. These cover:

  • Fees for premises and club premises certificates
  • Fees for temporary activities
  • Model conditions
  • Policy on drugs misuse
  • Standard conditions for PELs
  • Licensing policy 2016 to 2021

Requirement to obtain other consents/permissions

Other permissions may be required in addition to your premises licence. Please visit the apply for pre-application advice page for further information on planning.

Please note that obtaining a premises licence does not override the requirement to obtain any consents required under other legislation including Planning. Enforcement action can be taken under other legislation including planning if you run a business without the benefit of the required consent/permission.

Other pages you may wish to consult