Access between arcades
Date: 11 July
2007
The granting of premises licences is a matter for local
licensing authorities. Under the "fast track procedure" licensing
authorities must issue premises licences if the application is
properly made and meets the mandatory licence conditions. The
conditions are set out in Part 8 of the Gambling Act
2005 and in the Mandatory and
Default premises licence regulations. If it is a new
application, a variation of a licence or after a review and if
there are specific risks or problems associated with specific
premises a licensing authority will be able to attach individual
conditions to address this. Licensing authorities should refer to
the legislation when making their decisions and operators should be
aware of the content of the mandatory and premises licence
conditions when configuring their premises.
The Commission has issued general guidance on the matter of
access between premises in our Guidance to Licensing
Authorities document. This guidance has been agreed with DCMS and
LACORS. It has been published on the Commission's
website and has been widely distributed to trade associations,
licensing authorities and the Commission's staff. The
Commission and DCMS do not intend to issue further guidance on this
matter.
The Commission does not have the legal jurisdiction to make
decisions on individual cases. The Act does not grant the
Commission any specific powers to mediate between operators and
licensing authorities, we are not given the power to hear appeals
nor are we considered the prime regulator with more weight than
LAs. Licensing authorities must have regard to any guidance the
Commission has issued but ultimately it is their decision whether
to grant the licence or not. The Commission may on occasion
make representations on specific premises licences in its capacity
as a responsible authority, but this is likely to be a rare event.
Licensing authorities in England and Wales can utilise LACORS
services to discuss their interpretations of the guidance and
regulations.
If applicants believe that licensing authorities have made
mistakes in interpreting the legislation then they have the
opportunity to use the remedies available such as appeals and the
Council's complaints procedure. Operators can appeal to the
magistrates (or sheriff in Scotland) against any decision taken by
the licensing authority. Prior to this, where trade bodies believe
that licensing authorities in England and Wales have acted
illegally they can also inform LACORS via its 'trade issues' form
and LACORS will look into the matter to seek a resolution.
This is an informal mechanism which has proved useful under
the Licensing Act 2003. However, LACORS emphasises that the
matter must come via representative organisations such as trade
bodies, the form must be completed with all information, and the
operator needs to have sought to have resolved the matter locally
before involving LACORS.