Problems with licensed premises

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Marmion House, Lichfield Street, Tamworth, Staffordshire B79 7BZ Phone: 01827 709709 enquiries@tamworth.gov.uk

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Problems with licensed premises

Grounds for complaint

At the heart of the new licensing regime are four licensing objectives. All licensing decisions must relate to these and in that respect, if you want to object to any application for a licence or request a review of an existing licence your representation must be based on the four licensing objectives:

Prevention of crime and disorder
Public safety
Protection of children from harm
Prevention of public nuisance (this category includes odour, litter, noise and light pollution)

Other legislation

The licensing regime is not the only way to regulate licensed premises and other legislation may apply. Legislation to control noise, safety or fire safety problems may be more appropriate to deal with a particular problem. You may find it beneficial to discuss your concerns with the licensing officer before you take any of the courses of action described below. Our contact details are given at the bottom of this page.

Representation against an application for a premises licence or club premises certificate

When someone applies for a premises licence or club premises certificate or if they want to vary their licence they have to notify the public of their application by putting a notice in the local press (once) and by displaying a pale blue notice on the premises for 28 days. If you are an interested party you then have the opportunity to make a representation in respect of the application. An interested party can be an individual (such as a resident), or a business, but must be in the vicinity of the premises applying.

Although you may make your representations or objections known to a Licensing Officer by telephone or face-to-face, these cannot be submitted to the Council's committee. All representations therefore need to be sent to the Council’s Licensing Team in writing and must include the following information:

Details of the premises so we can determine which premises your objection refers to.
Your objections and a note of which licensing objectives apply to your comments
Your contact details so we can confirm receipt and invite you to any hearing to determine the licence application.

Under the Licensing Act 2003, the Council has to make a decision on any application within set timescales. There is a time limit for making your views known; generally, this will be 28 days from when the application was received by the Council. For your objection to be considered it will have to be received by the Council’s Licensing Team within this 28-day period.

Representations cannot be of a "repetitious", "frivolous" or "vexatious" nature. When we receive a valid representation we may arrange a hearing before the licensing committee at which all concerned parties can express their views. The committee will then give a verdict.

If you are unsure about how to make a representation, please contact the licensing team. Our contact details are given below.

Request a review of an existing licence

At any stage, following the grant of a premises licence or club premises certificate, an interested party, such as a resident living in the vicinity of the premises, or a responsible authority, such as the police or the fire authority, can apply to the licensing authority for a review of a licence or certificate where problems are occurring.

Reviews may be called, for example, where there is evidence of ongoing nuisance despite the service of a noise abatement notice by the council, or where the police or council officers witness breeches of licence conditions. In any case there MUST be evidence in support of the request for review. The council has the ability to dismiss objections that it considers "vexatious", "repetitive" or "frivolous". However, the application must be on grounds relating to one or more of the licensing objectives (see the section above on grounds for complaint).

It is the the duty of the person applying for the review to notify the premises licence holder and the responsible authorities (fire, police etc.) with details of the application.

Forms and procedures for making representations and requesting reviews

The following table describes the procedures for making a representation against an application for a premises licence or club premises certificate or requesting a review of the licence or certificate where the premises is already licensed. The table provides links to forms and guidance.

More detailed guidance is given on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) website. You can view this website with the link on the right hand side.

What do you want to do?	Form	Fee
Make a representation against an application for a new premises licence or club premises certificate or make a representation against an application to vary an existing premises licence or club premises certificate Click here for guidance from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on making a representation (pdf)	There is no form to complete. You need to write a letter to the licensing team and send it to the address given below.	You do not have to pay a fee to make a representation.
Apply for a review of a premises licence or club premises certificate Click here for guidance from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on applying for a review (pdf). Click here for a List of responsible authorities (word) to whom you need to send a copy of your application for review.	Application for the review of a premises licence or club premises certificate (pdf)	You do not have to pay a fee to request a review of the licence.