Premises Licences

Licence summary

You need a premises licence from us to provide late-night refreshment and regulated entertainment and sell alcohol from any premises in the district. If you intend to sell alcohol, in most cases you will also need to obtain a personal licence.

Most premises licences do not have an expiry date but you do have to pay an annual fee.

What happens if I don't apply for a licence?

You can be fined and/or jailed for up to six months if you carry out any licensable activities at your premises without a premises licence.

How do I apply?

Complete and submit the relevant forms and pay the fee online:

Your application must include:

• a detailed plan of the premises

• an operating schedule that includes information such as the hours when alcohol will be sold

• consent from the designated premises supervisor if the application involves the supply of alcohol. 

A notice of the application must also be:

• displayed at the premises for 28 days starting from the day after the application was submitted and

• published in a local newspaper within 10 working days starting from the day after the application was submitted.

The notice must be printed on pale blue paper.

Please note that if you are applying as an individual/(s), rather than a company, you will be required to prove that you have the right to work in the UK.

The council is under a duty to protect the public funds it administers, and to this end may use the information you have provided on the application form for the prevention and detection of fraud. It may also share this information with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds for these purposes. Further information is available on our Data Matching page.

Fees

Application fees are based on the rateable value of the property and range from £100 to £1,905. If the premises do not have a rateable value the fee will be in the lowest band.

Alcohol licensing fee levels

How do I make a change to my licence?

A premises licence can be changed in many ways and an application can be made at any time once the licence has been granted.

To vary a designated premises supervisor (DPS)

The application must include the consent form completed by the person wishing to be the new DPS. The cost of this application is £23.

To transfer a premises licence

The application must include the consent form completed by the current licence holder. The cost of this application is £23.

Interim authority notice

If a licence holder dies or becomes bankrupt or mentally incapable, the premises licence will lapse. To allow the premises licence to continue, an “interim authority” notice may be given to the licensing authority (us) within 28 days. If a notice is not given within 28 days, the licence will lapse and an application for a new licence will have to be made.

The notice may be given by a person who has a prescribed interest in the premises concerned or is connected to the former licence holder. A person is considered to have a prescribed interest if he/she:

• is the personal representative for the former licence holder (where the former licence holder has died)

• has power of attorney where the former licence holder has become mentally incapable

• is the insolvency practitioner for the former licence holder.

The cost of this application is £23.

Apply to vary a premises licence

This application can be used to change a premises licence to amend the operating schedule.

You must display the application notice to vary your licence at the premises for 28 days from the day after it was submitted. The notice must be printed on pale blue paper.

Minor variation

Small changes to your premises licence (a minor variation) can only be used in certain circumstances. See the Guidance on Minor Variations for further information.

Does tacit consent apply?

Yes, except for minor variation applications. This mean you can act as though your application has been granted if you have not heard from us within 42 days of us receiving your application.