Licensing Act 2003

During 2005, the Licensing Act 2003 replaced all existing liquor and Entertainment Licences in favour of a single premises licence. Where alcohol is being sold, it is also necessary for someone who holds a personal licence to authorise the sale. There is a new Club Certificate and a notification process for small short-term events, called a Temporary Event Notice (TEN). The new licences are aimed at enabling licensees to have more flexible opening hours with regard to the sale of alcohol. There are no longer set licensing hours so licensees are free to apply for any hours they want. The Act also requires premises supplying hot food and drink after 11.00pm to be licensed, including take-aways.

Statement of Licensing Policy

On 14th December 2004 Coventry City Council approved its Statement of Licensing Policy. This policy informs businesses and citizens of Coventry how the council will carry out its licensing function. A copy of the policy is available to download at the bottom of this page.

Premises licences

Under the Act, a licence is required for any of the following:

Retail sale or the supply of alcohol.
Performance of a play.
Exhibition of a film.
Indoor sporting events.
Boxing or wrestling events.
Performing live music.
Dancing.
Providing facilities for making music or dancing.
Supplying hot food or drink between 11.00pm and 5.00am.

Coventry City Council has become the licensing authority for its area, dealing with all licensing functions relating to the above-mentioned activities. As part of its responsibility, the Council prepared a licensing policy. This Licensing Policy explains the factors that the council considers when examining applications for licences, and for monitoring compliance with licence conditions. This policy also explains the objectives of the council in relation to licensing.

The four main objectives, which have equal importance, are as follows:

Prevention of crime and disorder.
Protection of children from harm.
Protection of public safety.
Prevention of nuisance.

When determining applications for licences the council can only consider matters that will impact on one or more of these licensing objectives. The regime will be an opportunity for the council to rise to the challenge and continue to encourage commerce and the provision of live entertainment, whilst protecting the public.

Premises Licences

Premises licences, once granted, will last for the life of the business and will therefore not require to be renewed. However where premises create problems which impact on the four licensing objectives (see above) anyone can ask for a licence to be reviewed by the council. If the objections are upheld the council has the power to restrict or remove licences.

Reviews may be called, for example, where their is evidence of ongoing nuisance despite service of a noise abatement notice by the council’s Environmental Protection Team; or where the police or council officers witness breeches of licence conditions. In any case, there MUST be evidence in support of requests for review. The council has the ability to dismiss objections that it considers “vexatious”, “repetitive” or “frivolous”.

Applications to licence premises have to be accompanied by various documentation - including a scaled drawing, and an operating schedule. There are detailed guidance notes available on the premises licence pages of this site. The contents of Operating Schedules must detail the proposed licensable activities, including whether or not alcohol is to be sold, the type of regulated entertainment to be provided, the hours they propose to open and how they intend to satisfy the four licensing objectives.

The Licensing Act 2003 represents a unique opportunity for licensees, Police, residents, businesses and the council to work together in partnership to build a thriving community in line with the city’s Cultural Strategy.

Personal licences

Personal licences are needed by anyone who supervises the sale of alcohol in any premises - including pubs, off-licences, restaurants, hotels and private member’s clubs. Applications for a personal licence must be made to the council for the area in which the applicant lives. This council will then be responsible for continuing to issue this licence even if the holder moves away from the area.

To qualify for a personal licence applicants must be:

Over 18.
Not have any of the relevant criminal convictions outlined in the Act.
Possess an approved licensing qualification.

Personal licences are valid for 10 years. There are various duties on holders of personal licences, and the court can forfeit their licence if they are convicted of various offences. Please refer to the Personal Licence pages for more details.

Temporary and occasional events

Licences are not needed for small events where less than 500 people are likely to attend, and which last for less than 96 hours, at a time. The organiser must however send a Temporary Event Notice to the council and the police. The police can, if they wish, issue, within 48 hours, an Objection Notice if they consider that the event will undermine the crime and disorder objectives. If no objection notice is served the event can take place with the confirmed notice returned back to the applicant.

Someone who holds a personal licence will be able to hold up to 50 temporary or occasional events a year at other premises that are not licensed, however there are limits to the number of events that can be held at a particular venue. Non-personal licence holders will be able to hold up to five temporary events a year. A Temporary Event Notice must be given to the council before an event of this sort can be held, and the police may object to it on crime and disorder grounds. More detail on temporary events can be found on the TEN page of this site.

How much does the service cost you?

In 2006/2007 the services of the licensing team cost each citizen of Coventry approximately 81 pence each. That's less than the cost of a soft drink in a licensed premises!