10.1. A premises licence may be reviewed by the licensing authority of its own volition or following the receipt of an application requesting a review from a responsible authority or an interested party (as defined in s.157 and s.158 of the Act). Licensing authorities should note that reviews cannot be delegated to an officer of the licensing authority – the lowest level of delegation permitted is to a licensing sub-committee.

10.2. The ‘aim to permit’ framework provides wide scope for licensing authorities to review premises licences where there is a potential conflict with the Commission’s Licence conditions and codes of practice (LCCP) and this guidance, the licensing objectives or the licensing authorities own statement of policy. Whilst the Act does not provide a pre-defined list of issues that might prompt a licence review, it is expected that the licensing authority will have set out its view on local issues and priorities that underpin its approach to regulation in its statement of policy in any event, which might then prompt a review.

10.3. Licensing authorities are expected to act in a manner that is in accordance with the powers set out under the Act. This means that licensing authority actions, including reviews, should be in pursuit of the principles set out in s.153 of the Act or underpinned by reasonable concerns, such as changes to the local environment or resident complaints.

10.4. Licensing authorities might consider it prudent to have constructive discussions with operators about any such concerns, prior to discharging its powers. To this end, the operator might be asked to provide the licensing authority with its own local risk assessment (as provided for under ordinary code 10.1.2 of the LCCP which sets out the controls it has put in place to mitigate risks). The licensing authority has the right to exercise its powers under the Act, if the operator does not offer reasonable or practical suggestions for mitigating risks.

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Initiation of review by licensing authority

Last updated: 14 September 2023

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