More of your questions answered in this months Hill Brown Licensing Q & A.
Question
I have been running a karaoke themed bar for the past 30 years without any issues. However, last week various members of the Council and the Police entered my premises and advised that I would have to cease hosting karaoke nights until I had updated the operating plan that accompanies my premises licence. The operating plan states that no live performances take place on the premises. Is this correct and if so what can I do to rectify the situation?
Answer
Sadly it would seem that if your operating plan does not currently include live performances or reference to karaoke elsewhere then the officials are correct and the activity should technically cease until a major variation to include it as an activity has been approved by the Licensing Board. The bad news is that in some areas major variations can take up to 6 months so it would be advisable to submit the application as soon as you can.
Question
Audrey Junner, Partner Hill Brown
I am taking over an existing lease for a unit as the new tenant. I was advised by the landlord at the start of the transaction that the previous tenant held the premises licence and therefore my intention was to make the lease subject to the premises licence being transferred. However, it has come to light that the licence was actually revoked last year. I have already began work on the new premises with the intention to open as a family friendly restaurant within the next few months. I am conscious of the fact that I am likely to lose money as a result of not being able to provide alcohol. Do I have to apply for a new premises licence? Can this be applied for and obtained to allow for opening in October? Can you transfer a licence that has been revoked?
Answer
This is an all too common situation. Where a licence has been revoked there is no official way to revive it, it can’t be transferred and the only option is to start again with a full premises licence application. If possible l would make you lease subject to this being approved as there is no guarantee that it will be granted despite the history of previous licensed use. A premises licence application will have to be accompanied by certificates from Building Control, Environmental Health and Planning so there could be a number of hoops to jump through, in particular any unapproved building works may need retrospective warrant approval. It will also be subject to public scrutiny so there may be objections to contend with. As a stop gap the Clerk to the Board may allow you to lodge a series of occasional licence applications to licence the premises for two week periods at a time. This is not always possible but it would certainly be worth asking the question.
For more information you can contact Audrey directly at Hill Brown Licensing: AJ@mshblicensing.com