7.58. In determining applications, the licensing authority should not take into consideration matters that are not related to gambling and the licensing objectives. One example would be the likelihood of the applicant obtaining planning permission or building regulations approval for their proposal. Licensing authorities should bear in mind that a premises licence, once it comes into effect, authorises premises to be used for gambling. Accordingly, a licence to use premises for gambling should only be issued in relation to premises that the licensing authority can be satisfied are going to be ready to be used for gambling in the reasonably near future, consistent with the scale of building or alterations required before the premises are brought into use. Equally, licences should only be issued where they are expected to be used for the gambling activity named on the licence. This is why the Act allows a potential operator to apply for a provisional statement if construction of the premises is not yet complete, or they need alteration, or he does not yet have a right to occupy them. Part 11 of this guidance gives more information about provisional statements.

7.59. As the Court has held in a 2008 case (The Queen (on the application of) Betting Shop Services Limited –v- Southend-on-Sea Borough Council [2008] EWHC 105 (Admin)), operators can apply for a premises licence in respect of premises which have still to be constructed or altered, and licensing authorities are required to determine any such applications on their merits. Such cases should be considered in a two stage process; first, licensing authorities must decide whether, as a matter of substance after applying the principles in s.153 of the Act, the premises ought to be permitted to be used for gambling; second, in deciding whether or not to grant the application a licensing authority will need to consider if appropriate conditions can be put in place to cater for the situation that the premises are not yet in the state in which they ought to be before gambling takes place.

7.60. For example, where the operator has still to undertake final fitting out of the premises but can give a reasonably accurate statement as to when the necessary works will be completed, it may be sufficient to simply issue the licence with a future effective date, as is possible under the Regulations (SI 2007/459: The Gambling Act 2005 (Premises Licences and Provisional Statements) Regulations 2007 and SSI No 196: for Scotland). The application form allows the applicant to suggest a commencement date and the notice of grant allows the licensing authority to insert a date indicating when the premises licence comes into effect. In other cases, it may be appropriate to issue the licence subject to a condition that trading in reliance on it shall not commence until the premises have been completed in all respects in accordance with the scale plans that accompanied the licence application. If changes to the pre-grant plans are made, then parties who have made representations should be able to comment on the changes made. Part 9 of this guidance gives more information about licence conditions.

7.61. If the plans submitted at the time of the application for a premises licence are changed in any material respect during the fitting out of the premises after the grant of the licence, then the applicant will be in breach of the licence. If the applicant wishes to change the proposed plans after grant, then, in order to avoid breaching the licence, it will be necessary for the applicant to either make a fresh application under s.159 or seek an amendment to a detail of the licence under s.187 of the Act. If there are substantive changes to the plans, then this may render the premises different to those for which the licence was granted. In such a case, variation of the licence under s.187 is not possible. For this reason, and while this is a matter of judgement for the licensing authority, the Commission considers it would be more appropriate in the case of any material post grant change, for the applicant to make a fresh application under s.159 to preserve the rights of interested parties and responsible authorities to make representations in respect of the application.

7.62. The local authority will need to be satisfied in any individual case that the completed works comply with the original, or changed, plan attached to the premises licence. Depending upon circumstances, this could be achieved either through physical inspection of the premises or written confirmation from the applicant or surveyor that the condition has been satisfied.

7.63. Requiring the building to be complete before trading commences would ensure that the authority could, if considered necessary, inspect it fully, as could other responsible authorities with inspection rights under Part 15 of the Act. Inspection will allow authorities to check that gambling facilities comply with all necessary legal requirements. For example, category C and D machines in a licensed family entertainment centre must be situated so that people under 18 do not have access to the category C machines. The physical location of higher stake gaming machines in premises to which children have access will be an important part of this, and inspection will allow the authority to check that the layout complies with the operator’s proposals and the legal requirements.

7.64. If faced with an application in respect of uncompleted premises which it appears are not going to be ready to be used for gambling for a considerable period of time, a licensing authority ought to consider whether – applying the two stage approach advocated in paragraph 7.59 – it should grant a licence or whether the circumstances are more appropriate to a provisional statement application. For example, the latter would be the case if there was significant potential for circumstances to change before the premises opens for business. In such cases, the provisional statement route would ensure that the limited rights of responsible authorities and interested parties to make representations about matters arising from such changes of circumstance are protected. Licensing authorities may choose to discuss with individual applicants which route is appropriate, to avoid them having to pay a fee for an application that the licensing authority did not think was grantable.

7.65. When dealing with a premises licence application for finished buildings, the licensing authority should not take into account whether those buildings have to comply with the necessary planning or building consents. Nor should fire or health and safety risks be taken into account. Those matters should be dealt with under relevant planning control, building and other regulations, and must not form part of the consideration for the premises licence. S.210 of the Act prevents licensing authorities taking into account the likelihood of the proposal by the applicant obtaining planning or building consent when considering a premises licence application. Equally, the grant of a gambling premises licence does not prejudice or prevent any action that may be appropriate under the law relating to planning or building.

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Application for premises variation (s.187): ‘material change’

Last updated: 14 September 2023

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