Audrey Junner, Hill Brown Licensing
Question
I am helping organise a very small music event in our village. The event will have a bar, some stalls and a stage where local artists will be given the opportunity to perform. It is not T in the Park! We are holding it on the playing fields and only plan to run it for one day from 11am to 6pm. We have been advised that we will need an occasional licence for the alcohol which we accept but have just received an email from the Council stating that we also need to apply for a Temporary Public Entertainment Licence. We are not charging anyone for entry and any proceeds are going to a local charity. We did this last year without any problems. Could you please advise if this is correct?
Audrey Junner, Partner Hill Brown
Answer
Up until the end of 2016 if you obtained an occasional licence for an event which involved entertainment this automatically made you exempt from the requirement to obtain a Temporary or Full Public Entertainment Licence. This exemption was however removed by a provision in the Air Weapons & Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 which came into effect in 1 November last year. While this often means an extra application for organisers of small scale events, which involve any type of entertainment ranging from ice rinks to circuses, there is some good news. As Public Entertainment Licensing is a discretionary activity it is for each individual Council to determine the type of entertainment which they require to be licensed. This decision is made in the form of a Section 9 resolution. Consulting the Section 9 resolution for your Council will tell you if your activity is captured. Many have made exemptions for events catering for under 500 people, charitable events, gala days, art exhibitions and various other forms of entertainment. I would encourage you to engage with the Civic Licensing Team at the Council as early as possible to ascertain if any of the exemptions apply as it can take a number of months for a licence to be processed particularly if it attracts any objections.
Question
We have a beer garden at the back of our pub on the outskirts of Glasgow. There is a condition on the licence which states that everyone must be seated and that there can be no music. Is there any scope to have these conditions lifted?
Answer
The conditions you describe are two of the standard Preventing Public Nuisance Conditions which apply to most licensed premises in the City operating outside areas. Altering the conditions would involve a major variation. The Licensing Boards Policy does suggest that if your beer garden is an enclosed area on private ground then vertical drinking may be permitted provided the facility does not case public nuisance. So there is certainly scope to apply for a variation to have this one removed. Music may be more challenging. The restriction is on amplified music so if your operating plan permits recorded music or live performances and your layout plan shows those activities taking place throughout then they could legally take place in the outside space provided there was no amplification. The board have been willing on a small number of occasions to make an exception in the past to allow amplification but only where they were entirely satisfied that there were no residents in the vicinity and there would be no disturbance. The position of your beer garden will therefore be key and l would recommend consulting a licensing solicitor who will be able to give you tailored advice.
For more information you can contact Audrey directly at Hill Brown Licensing: AJ@mshblicensing.com