If any licensed premises starts to cause you regular problems
then you have the right to apply for the licence to be
reviewed. If your application for review is valid, the
Council will advertise the review and invite representations from
other Interested Parties and Responsible Authorities. We will
then hold a hearing with the Licensing Sub Committee where you can
put your case.
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You can request a review of a licensed premises if:
- you are an interested party AND
- your grounds for review relate to the failure of the premises
to address one or more of the four licensing objectives AND
- your request is not repetitious, frivolous or
vexatious.
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- A person living in the vicinity of the premises
- A body representing persons living in that vicinity
- A person involved in a business in that vicinity
- A body representing persons involved in such business
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- The protection of children from harm
- The prevention of public nuisance
- The prevention of crime and disorder
- Public safety
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Grounds for a review may be rejected if the Council deems them
to be any of the following:
Repetitious
A complaint that is identical or substantially similar to:
- a representation that was made when the licence was
originally being decided OR
- a ground for review that has already been considered by the
Council OR
- a representation about a provisional statement which was
excluded.
Grounds for review that are rejected because they are
repetitious will become valid after a “reasonable interval” has
elapsed. This "reasonable interval" will generally be 12
months, except in particularly compelling circumstances.
Frivolous
A complaint that is trivial e.g. one about a noisy New
Year's Eve party at a premises that had not created any
disturbance for the past 10 years.
Vexatious
A complaint that is not genuine e.g. one that is made
as a result of a different dispute between neighbouring
residents or businesses.
If your application for review is rejected for any of these
reasons we will write to you and explain our decision and the
reasons for it. If you are unhappy with a decision you may
apply to the High Court for a judicial review of the Council’s
decision.
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No. This is forbidden under the Act.
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1) Complete an application form to request a review
of a premises licence.
Explain your concerns as fully as possible and use examples if
you can.
When making a decision, the Licensing Sub Committee has to look
at each premises separately, so you need to be clear why this
particular premises should be singled out for consideration.
You need to link the problems you are experiencing to one or
more of the four licensing objectives. For example, if you
were kept awake every night by loud music, this would be to do with
the prevention of public nuisance. If you knew alcohol was
being sold to under 18s, this would relate to the protection of
children from harm.
Log sheets are available from licensing@bathnes.gov.uk
which you can use to record any incidents of nuisance or
disturbance that you experience. This can be very useful to
back up your point of view at the hearing.
You should also be able to tell us what you would like to
be done about it e.g. premises closing earlier on week nights, or a
noise limiter fitted to music equipment.
Remember that you can be fined up to £5,000 if you make a false
statement on the application form.
It is important to remember that once a review has taken place,
you may have to wait 12 months before another one can be held on
the same grounds. This means that it is important that you
gather as much evidence as possible and build a strong case before
requesting a review.
2) Send copies of your application to the licence holder
and the
Responsible Authorities.
All the copies you send need to be delivered to the Licence
Holder and the Responsible Authorities on the same day.
Your application will not be valid unless you comply with these
requirements.
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If your application is accepted, the Council will advertise the
review by putting up notices outside the premises and in the
licensing office for 28 days. This will give other interested
parties the chance to have their say too.
After the 28 days, a hearing will be arranged and you will be
notified of the details at least 10 working days before so that you
can attend.
At the hearing, you, the licence holder and any other interested
parties will get the chance to have their say. You will need
to stick to what you have written in the application form and not
raise new issues or evidence.
The Licensing Sub Committee will then decide to do one of the
following:
- Leave the licence as it is
- Modify the licence conditions
- Exclude a certain activity from the licence
- Remove the Designated Premises Supervisor
- Suspend the licence for a period of not more than three
months
- Revoke the licence
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You will be notified of the decision in writing and have the
opportunity to appeal to the Magistrates' Court within 21 days of
receiving the decision. Any decision made at the hearing will
not take effect until the 21 day interval for requesting an appeal
has passed, or until such an appeal has been determined.
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This Guidance has been made as comprehensive as possible.
However, in attempting to simplify the law, certain requirements
have been omitted. Full details of what you must do are in
the legislation itself.
Laws can and do change. This information was accurate
when produced, but may have changed since. We must advise
that only the Courts can give an authoritative opinion on statute
law.
This information is available in alternative formats such as
large print, Braille or on audio cassette if required. Please
contact us should you require any further information or
assistance.
